Irrigation System

[basilic13]

Does anyone know how much would cost (Baht) an irrigation system used to cover about 40 rais of tree plantation?

Where to buy it? what different systems there are? Can it be bought second hand?

Thanks

[Maizefarmer]

You need to define a few "parameters" before that can be answered:

1) how close are you to a water supply and how much lower/higher than the plantation is that water supply?

2) how much water do you wish to irriigate with per hour?

Both the above determine your required pump size and power requirement (i.e. one cost consideration)

3) Flow rate desired (this will determine piping/tubing diameter and pump pressure).

4) land slant angle (energy consumption)

5) Irrigation method: do you want to use sprinklers (not reccomended), or do you want to use flood or high flow drippers

The former requires a high pressure pump, the latter does not but requires considerable pipe layout - the diameter of which is detemrined by flow rate/dripper size/ dimensions of field.

Basilic13 - come back with some additoinal info please: then I am sure members will be more than happy to help

MF

Edited August 15, 2008 by Maizefarmer

[basilic13]

You need to define a few "parameters" before that can be answered:

1) how close are you to a water supply and how much lower/higher than the plantation is that water supply?

2) how much water do you wish to irriigate with per hour?

Both the above determine your required pump size and power requirement (i.e. one cost consideration)

3) Flow rate desired (this will determine piping/tubing diameter and pump pressure).

4) land slant angle (energy consumption)

5) Irrigation method: do you want to use sprinklers (not reccomended), or do you want to use flood or high flow drippers

The former requires a high pressure pump, the latter does not but requires considerable pipe layout - the diameter of which is detemrined by flow rate/dripper size/ dimensions of field.

Basilic13 - come back with some additoinal info please: then I am sure members will be more than happy to help

MF

Thanks MF!! Your reply really get me started!!

However, as I am only exploring this issue at that point, I can't provide many details

Water supply would be in a well on the land itself, which is flat. At that point I don't know how deep it is.

Irrigation would be used to grow trees, as water supply support during the dry season (Wester Thailand). So I think this will be used on an occasional basis, rather by dripping...

thanks for any comments and feedback

[Maizefarmer]

Well ... thats a starting point: because how much you can draw from the well per unit time (plus the depth of the well) are the 2 factors that are going to determine your pump size.

Keep in mind: you want to draw from the well constantly - as much as you can constantly, without running it dry and having to stop the pump for it to fill up again through seepage. And your other consideration is the well bore diameter (usualy 6", 8" or 12" in diameter).

And - power source: diesel or AC power (then will it be single or 3phase). Keep in mind that pumping with AC power is about 30% cheaper than pumping with diesel, and about 40% cheaper than using deisel to drive an AC gennie to power the pump. And if thats not enough 3phase is about 12% more efficient than single phase. (all figures based on Thai costs for energy).

...... all issues which for a land size of 40rai can have a substantial affect on your annual accounting.

Drip irrigation would be the best - thats a no brainer: calucalte how much you can lift from the well per unit time, divide that by the number of trees to get the number of drippers required, and select drippers with a flow rate of about 5% - 10% less than the well/pump flow rate (to ensure you always have a positive head at the pump so it doesn;t run dry and damage the pump). Anything well/bore more than about 4 - 5metres deep, start looking at submersible options - surface moutned pumps working at more than 0,5bar negative head will work, but very in-efficiently.

That is very very roughly the way forward - but if you want to get the figures bang on the mark, things like land slant and length can also start having an effect as the longer the piping the greater the resistance blah blah, blah blah .... though quite frankly, at the slow rates that most drippers work it I hardly think youre going to have to go to these lengths.

Oh - one more thing: keep it simple and it will be reliable(a laughable statment coming form someone who's just written all the above, er!!!).

all the best

[Pierrot]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I'm working on a similar project that may be of some interest to the OP.

My project involves a water tank, a cement water tank. The problem is, after checking with neighbours who have such kind of tank, they all have the same problem : the tank is leaking. Is there a way to avoid this problem or is it inherent to this kind of tank ?

[Maizefarmer]

They all leak - every see a Thai cement water tank manufacturer using a vibrator to compress and solidate the wet mix in the mold?? I haven't and its crazy becaus ethat is exactly why they leak: the mix isn;t compresse dinto the mold properly, or they pop it from the mold to early.

Your best bet is to line it with something like Shell's FLINTKOTE - which was discussed in some detail on this section a few threads back as a solution for a leaking Koi pond.

Good stuff, safe for all water (and drinking water) and lasts forever.

[basilic13]

They all leak - every see a Thai cement water tank manufacturer using a vibrator to compress and solidate the wet mix in the mold?? I haven't and its crazy becaus ethat is exactly why they leak: the mix isn;t compresse dinto the mold properly, or they pop it from the mold to early.

Your best bet is to line it with something like Shell's FLINTKOTE - which was discussed in some detail on this section a few threads back as a solution for a leaking Koi pond.

Good stuff, safe for all water (and drinking water) and lasts forever.

Thanks MF!!! you are such a great source of information

[Pierrot]

They all leak - every see a Thai cement water tank manufacturer using a vibrator to compress and solidate the wet mix in the mold?? I haven't and its crazy becaus ethat is exactly why they leak: the mix isn;t compresse dinto the mold properly, or they pop it from the mold to early.

Your best bet is to line it with something like Shell's FLINTKOTE - which was discussed in some detail on this section a few threads back as a solution for a leaking Koi pond.

Good stuff, safe for all water (and drinking water) and lasts forever.

Thanks for the info. Since we're at it, what is the best size for such a tank ? Would you go for a big one or a couple of smaller ones?

For the time being, we have a well and a couple of plastic tanks for home use. We also use it to water the lawn and the flowers around the house. But we have now around 2,000 sqm of lawn and around 20 rais of fruit trees, so I'm afraid we need to upgrade our irrigation system. The water will come from a pond and actually there is an other question: is it a good idea to mix the well and the pond water or better to keep the two systems independant? I would go for the second solution but I may be wrong ? (FYI we drink bottled water )

Edited August 16, 2008 by Pierrot

[Maizefarmer]

You can store in tanks made form concreate rings - each ring from 2m - 3m diameter and 1m - 1.5m high, cemented one on top of each other (I've seen these as much as 8 - 10 rings high), or you can use lots of seperate round/barrel type concreate tanks. The former are generally a better option in most cases. How many comes down to how much water you want to store, does the pond or well run dry in the dry season and if so, for how long do you need to carry a stored water supply. You'll have to work that out yourself.

Where to build your water strioage structure. Well as a rule you want to place the domestic water stroage fairly close to the house - and a good 3 - 5 meters above the taps - so you get a decent pressure flow (or install a domestic diamphram pressure pump). The lawn and fruit orchid water should be stored on the highest part of the land. By storing it like this you have access to irrigation water that can run under gravity (low energy costs)

Keep domestic water for the house seperate from all other water - do not mix with other sources (well)- but no harm mixing pond/well water for irrigation.

There a whole bunch of approaches you could adopt, but without the following info its hard to say which will be best - so as usual, some questions:

1) Where's the highest point on the land and how far this point from the house (lawn), and how far is it from the fruit orchid.

2) Is the water from the well fit for drinking?

3) Is the well water avalible all year round, and/or do you know if the well water level drops in the dry season and by how much

[Pierrot]

There a whole bunch of approaches you could adopt, but without the following info its hard to say which will be best - so as usual, some questions:

1) Where's the highest point on the land and how far this point from the house (lawn), and how far is it from the fruit orchid.

2) Is the water from the well fit for drinking?

3) Is the well water avalible all year round, and/or do you know if the well water level drops in the dry season and by how much

1/ The pond is about 30m below the highest point of the land (where the tank will be). The house and trees are about the same level, 5m below the highest point. The water is pumped up to the tank, then down to wherever we need it

2/ We don't drink it. We either use bottled water or water form the roof (rain water).

3/ So far both the well and the ponds (we have a couple of them) have water all year long. How much the water level drops during the dry season ? For the well, I have absolutely no idea, it's about 50 m deep and I don't really know what's going on there. So far, we have no shortage of water, that's the only thing I know. For the ponds, as I said, we have a couple of them, and we will take water from those which seems to have no shortage, even in the dry season. If it's not enough, we will dig an other pond.

I'm looking for a "low tech" solution, something reliable and low maintenance. It's not a commercial operation so the cheaper it is, the better my banker will like it.

[Maizefarmer]

There a whole bunch of approaches you could adopt, but without the following info its hard to say which will be best - so as usual, some questions:

1) Where's the highest point on the land and how far this point from the house (lawn), and how far is it from the fruit orchid.

2) Is the water from the well fit for drinking?

3) Is the well water avalible all year round, and/or do you know if the well water level drops in the dry season and by how much

1/ The pond is about 30m below the highest point of the land (where the tank will be). The house and trees are about the same level, 5m below the highest point. The water is pumped up to the tank, then down to wherever we need it

2/ We don't drink it. We either use bottled water or water form the roof (rain water).

3/ So far both the well and the ponds (we have a couple of them) have water all year long. How much the water level drops during the dry season ? For the well, I have absolutely no idea, it's about 50 m deep and I don't really know what's going on there. So far, we have no shortage of water, that's the only thing I know. For the ponds, as I said, we have a couple of them, and we will take water from those which seems to have no shortage, even in the dry season. If it's not enough, we will dig an other pond.

I'm looking for a "low tech" solution, something reliable and low maintenance. It's not a commercial operation so the cheaper it is, the better my banker will like it.

Okay - so you have to pump up 30 meters (against 3bar), plus whatever the height of the water storage tank is going to be - I'd say go for a pump that is rated for a head output pressure of between 4bar (at least) and 6bar (at most). This is for the pond - will chat about the well later. Pump flow rate? Personally, seen as you want to keep things simple (agreed 100%) I'd go for a low flow rate AC pump - something that you can run off your home electricty supply. Speed of filling? Look for something that pumps around 20 litres per minute is fine (i.e. 1200 litres per hour) - it'll be easy to install, easy to maintain, won't cost much to buy and will be safe on single phase domestic electricity (won't draw much current).

5meters (0,5bar) is sufficient height above the trees for gravity powered dripper irrigation for the fruit trees - so no need for an irrigation pump for the fruit orchad.

The well is 50meters deep and then you have the 30 meters or so to pump the water from the ground surface at the well to a storage tank above the house - all in 8bar! You want a single phase submersible capable of 8bar - 10bar that will give you a flow rate related to your storage tank volume. Remember - keep the domestic water storage tank seperate from the pond water storage for irrigation - but the larger it is the less often you have to fill it, so the slower the rate at which you do have to fill it and the cheaper the submersible pump will therefore be. In my experiance 3000 litres is plenty plenty for a domestic water storage tank (based on you, partner and 2 kids consumption over 36 - 48hrs. Thats my personal opinion - others may feel more or less is needed). At that rate a submersible pump flow rate of around 3litres per minute at 8bar - 10bar should be fine - meaning a +/- 30% duty cycle on the pump (try not to exceed around +/-30% duty cycle on the pump if you want it to last forever i.e. over any period time it should pump no more than 30% of the time)

From the storage tank for the house you are going to get 0,5bar water pressure in the taps.

Personally, I'd want 2bar - 3bar (??). I'd install a small pressure pump - cheap and easy to install and avalible from all hardware shops in Thailand (easily recognised: usualy red or orange and have what looks like a steel compressed air bottle next to a small electric water pump the steel bottle is a damper and switch mechanism - turn on the tap, the diaphram inside moves, pressure drops and pump switches on)

Distributing water to the fruit trees? lay 1" back semi-flex pc tubing - selct the drippers as described earlier and insert them into the tubing using a hot sharpened bicycal spoke to make the hole in the pvc tubing - then screw in the dripper. Thin pvc tuing will be fine - your flow rates are low so friction loss will be a non-issue over the length of each irrigation pipe/tibe length.

What size for this storage tank(s)? - as big as you can practicaly build them. Its 40rai altogether you have to irrigate and I can't help but feel if you can dig a small pond at the top for fruit tree irrigation water storage - all the better. The problem here of course for me, is that i don;t have a clue how much water each tree needs per day and how many trees you have per rai - so the above figures could be complelty wrong, but apply the same principal if you can i.e. pump that supplies sufficent water at no more than around +/-30% duty cycle. Of course the larger your stroage is the better it will be, and digging hole to hold water is usualy easier and cheaper to do than building an above ground tank of the same volume.

Anyhow - figures aside, I hope the above gives you some idea of the way forward.

[Gary A]

I don't know what kind of trees you have, but most trees are able to pretty much look after themselves. To irrigate that much land will be a MAJOR expenditure. I'd buy a decent size water tank on wheels and water as necessary.

[Pierrot]

I don't know what kind of trees you have, but most trees are able to pretty much look after themselves. To irrigate that much land will be a MAJOR expenditure. I'd buy a decent size water tank on wheels and water as necessary.

Actually that's what I was told (most trees are able to pretty much look after themselves).

For the water tank on wheels, agree if I were still in Europe. But this is Thailand, and the less is left to personnal initiative, the better it is.

[basilic13]

MF you are amazingly knowledgable on the subject!

When you mention to dig a pond on the higher point of the land, how would you make sure the water won't leak around? how would you coat the bottom of the pond?

And what about the water tower you mentioned earlier? how easy is it to build one? Earlier still you mention leaking as well... What precautions u need to take when building / assembling the cylinders together?

Thanks!

[Maizefarmer]

I am an agriculture engineer by profession, not ironicaly, a farmer!

If you are going to build a tower out of concreate rings I suggest you go to the guy who makes them, stipulate the concreate mix you want, watch them mix it, watch them pour it into the molds, make sure they tamp it all down (even if they do it by hand with sticks), and make sure they throw some steel reinforcing rings in as well (usualy steel rebar about a 1/4" thick every 6" or so), mark the molds and wait 3 days - come back after 3 days and then take the rinsg out the molds in front of you - not before. Check they have no cracks and let them stand for a week. Check again no cracks - then move them home.

If you are involved in all steps of the production of the rings assure you they will not leak (I'll share details with you of a good concreate mix to use if this is what you want to do).

When it comes to placing them one on top of the other care needs to be exercise:

Make sure you have a good solid reinforced base that is 100% level: you want 6" - 10" of hardcore, then 6" concreate with 3 layers of 2" or 3" steel mesh (nothing larger than 3" square) equaly spaced in the 6" thick concreate layer. if you want to make it thicker - fine, no harm done. You need that for the first 3 rings. For every ring after that add another 1" of cement, and respread the reinforcing mesh so that it stays equaly spread between the top and bottom of the concreate floor with the no more than 1" of concreate at top and bottom surfaces. The bottom ring ie. the one on the concreate base is added while pouring the base - sunk into the base about 1/2" plus - by careful adjustment with small stones moved around underneath it's edge while the base is still wet you use this to establish your level for the rest of the rings.

It has an advantage and a disadvantage:

Advantage: you ceate a solid and level base ring that ain't going anywhere

Disadvanatge: it can;t be moved once dry - you will loose that ring if you every want dismantle and move your concreate water storage tank.

The other way is simply to place the first ring on topof the base once dry, and then throw some more cement around its inner and outer diameter - sealing and holind it to the base.

Your call - but which ever way you want to go, make sure your bottom ring is perfectly level all round.

Do not place the rings direct on top of each other - seperate them with thin pieces of wood about 1mm - 2mm thick. Check your levels whenever raising another ring - make sure it doesn't start leaning. Allsorts of ways of filling the gap between the rings from dry pack to wet cement. What I do is wrap gaffer tape around the outside and then trowl into the gap a strong cement mix. Spray the gap with a little water to ensure the surfaces are damp - it removes accumulated dust and dirt and ensures good adhesion for the cement packing. Work your way right round leaving the pieces of wood in (they are removed after the cement has dried 48hrs later - and remove them you must otherwise they will become wet,expand and crack the cement holding the rings together.

DO NOT USE SILICON SEALENT - IT DOES NOT PROVIDE SUFFICIENT ADHESION AND EVENTUALY THE RINGS WILL LIFt FROM EACH OTHER.

If this is down properly and carefully it will be all that is needed to secure the rings together. Many folk also like to add a bit of a rounded lip to both the inside and outside joints, so that the lip overlaps a couple inches of each ring - fine, it can only add strength. No harm done.

You can work the above method at 3 rings at a time. I've seen folk work this with 5 rings at a time i.e. the pile up 5 rings with wooden spacing between the rings - then start sealing the joints with cement. Personally I'm uncomforatble with that, so I am not going to reccomend it, but that said all those built like that I have seen, are still standing!

Last point: my opinion again: height should not exceed 3 x external diameter (e.g. ID = 3m therefore max height =9m) - and is absolute max. This is all about stability - not pressure. From a pressure point of view, I have never seen a concreate tower split from pressure.

Let the whole lot settle for a couple days, coat it inside with Shell Flintkote or simialr if you want, throw a roof on made of tin sheet or something like that on top if you wish.

If you want to dig a pond, then you are going to have to line it - either with pvc or plastic sheeting (so long as its not to deep), or if youre going over about 3m then you'd best be pegging throwing a 1" or so thick dry or semi wet core of cement powder and gravel stones , over which you can peg 4" x 4" or 6" x 6" reinforcing mesh ontop and then throw another 2" of concreate mix. Let it cure overnigth, then have a labourer spray it down with water duirng the day every 3 hours or so for the next 10 days to stop it cracking while it hardens. Then fill it up.

I'll deal with drilling holes through the tank later.

Right - have to get back to milking now ..... any questions please ask.

Edited August 16, 2008 by Maizefarmer

[basilic13]

wow... that s a very very detailed reply indeed...

it seems from your explanation that digging a pond seems much much simpler.. would that what you would recommend to do?

So if i understand properly, you start with just laying dry cement powder, add reinforcement (what is that exactly) and gravel then you cover with wet cement mix?

A layer of pvc for a deep pond wouldn't do it because of the pressure applied to it, is that it?

Thanks...

[Lickey]

14 months ago i bought a thai urn for the farm, [2300 litre clay rainwater pot] nearly every house in rural thai has 1/2/3, it was specially made with 2in female in/outlets, and a 3/4 in drain hole, 700bht, delivered from 30ks away.

Borehole pump feeds into the top and an electric float starts and stops the booster pump for sprinklers,the other 2in outlet is there if i want to add more tanks [pots] this would feed into the bottom of another tank + + + whatever i needed, but 1 tank is enough, every 20 mins the booster pump starts and then stops for 20mins while the tank fills again.if i need to add something to the water in the tank like urea,neem oil,white oil to keep the bugs down, thats when i do it and move the sprinklers acordingly.

I made a concrete base for the tank, about 4sq ft, 6in thick and some old rebar i had, total cost, 1000bht, and the tank can be moved anywhere on our 40rai farm,

I did look into a concrete ring tank and worked out the cost, [plus the possible leakage] and found that it takes 2 men 2 days to dig base and lay conrete, 2/3 men to place 1st ring, 4/5 men to place second ring, 6/7 men to lift last ring on, then to seal it, make water outlets ect, 7k+ and its imoveable, like a temple..

I also set up drip for the papaya plants last year, [wet season and all the stuff for this was there from a melon plantation] so it was free, got it all set up and working thanks to MF & Chownahs guidance, using blak plastic 1in pipe and with rubber tube drippers, after the labour took the first lot of fruit a lot of pipe was damaged ect, after the 2nd time i gave up & reverted to sprinklers on a timer to water at night when the water would do more good.

We dont live on the farm but our gatekeeper lives opposite the only vehicle access, the rest has a 2 mtr barbed wire fence, its just another consideration before throwing a lot of money at an unsecure farm, make sure its secure.

In this case Gary A is quite right in what he suggests, a water tank on wheels, pick-up with a 3/4000 ltr tank, a honda pump, you can suck water to fill tank, then reverse the action to water the trees, if you do this make sure you plant the tree rows 3mtr apart to allow truck to pass, this happens a lot in our area, many farms are rented and no fences, so farmers cant leave anything on site because of thieves.

Quoting Gary again, it really depends on the trees you grow to what water they want, if youve growing a large hardwood fruit tree native to Thailand, then forget the water in the dry season, its there resting time, far better to sprinkle a bit of NPK around the tree dripline [outer dia of tree branches] before they start to bud at the start of the wet season.

Would be good to know what trees you have ?

Also, deep ponds, its all very well sealing them, and to rely on rainwater, but with deep ponds, they could aslo fill automatically from water pockets in the ground, our local hillside ponds do, the opo digs them as deep as his 360 will allow, then wacks the sides with the bucket, to halt landslides ect, some just fill with water, others wait for rain.

Hope some of this helps, Lickey..

[Pierrot]

I don't know what kind of trees you have, but most trees are able to pretty much look after themselves. To irrigate that much land will be a MAJOR expenditure. I'd buy a decent size water tank on wheels and water as necessary.

Actually that's what I was told (most trees are able to pretty much look after themselves).

A precision : I believe it's true for mature trees, but ours have been planted at the beginning of this rainy season and they are on average 20 to 50 cm high ... I'm afraid all may not pass the next dry season. We have no big trees to protect the soil and the evaporation rate is quite high in winter.

\

For the water tank on wheels, agree if I were still in Europe. But this is Thailand, and the less is left to personnal initiative, the better it is.

Actually I thought about it but then you will need a tractor to move the tank. If you have no other need for the tractor, then adding the price of the maintenance and the gasoil, I'm not sure you will save any money with this solution.

[Gary A]

If you don't have a tractor, how do you control weeds? Beside our number one farm, the neighbor planted rubber trees and then just left them on their own. Within the first year, you couldn't see the rubber trees. Just about a month ago he hired a tractor to come and clear that jungle. I think weed control is more important than water.

[Pierrot]

If you don't have a tractor, how do you control weeds? Beside our number one farm, the neighbor planted rubber trees and then just left them on their own. Within the first year, you couldn't see the rubber trees. Just about a month ago he hired a tractor to come and clear that jungle. I think weed control is more important than water.

Manually, with a shoulder carried grass cutter. 20 rais is not that big, and when it's done regularly, it's easely manageable. Furthermore I wouldn't send a tractor in an area where trees are around 5 m aparts and no more than 50 cm high.

[Gary A]

The OP has 40 rai. Using a weed whacker? That would be a full time job for several people. Better you than me.

[Pierrot]

The OP has 40 rai. Using a weed whacker? That would be a full time job for several people. Better you than me.

Sorry, I was selfishly talking about my own problem

[Maizefarmer]

Weeds and other growth - which is why its important to use drippers and not sprinklers that will irrigate the whole ground area. In the dry season its not going to be a problem, but in the rainy season, for the first 2 - 3 years at least, you are going to have either cut (rent a tractor with a rotor once every 6 weeks or so - small tractcor if the spacing is not much) or apply herbicide every couple months. In any event what ever method is adopted I wouldn't anticipate it being a problem - easily managed.

Personally - yes, I'd dig a pond.

No not dry cement powder. You want a hardcore base which is a cement mix with stones but no sand - but you don't want it wet and slushy - cement powder, gravel stones (large ones - as much as 15mm average size will be fine) and just enough water mixed in to make it damp enough so that you don't have cement dust flying around - that'll be sufficient. Mix it up and spread that out on the soil ground - both the bottom and the sides of the pond. There will be lots of small gaps between the gravle stones when you pour this mix - thats fine, nothing to be concerned about, the second mix you pour over this and the mesh wil seal it all up.

Reinforcing: on top of the base described above you want to peg down some steel mesh - mesh size about 6" square - you buy it rolls from hardware stores - its made up of thin steel reinforcing bars about 1/4" diameter laid out to form a mesh with 6" square holes/spacing between the re-bars. To keep it flat on the bottom and stop it wanting to role up again, per to down with short pieces of 1/4" diameter steel rebar pieces about 6" - 8" long. This will stop the pond base from cracking and leaking when loaded with the weight of the water.

Purchase a couple bottles of waterproofing additive for the 2nd concreate mix - failing that add a few squirts of dish washing liquid - it helps the mix to consolidate and flow consistantly (and also makes it easier to clean your concreate mixer afterwards!!)

PVC: PVC will be okay - so long as you can ensure that the pond base earth base and sides are perfectly smooth and that there is nothing that will perforate the pvc film. The problem with PVC is seldom on the bottom, but more often on the sides - just where is comes above the water level. Care has to be taken in secuirng the edge right round the pond to stop dirt slipping down. And as its also exposed to more wear and tear at the edges it can be difficult to maintain - but it will be fine if you go about it with care. The problem with pvc on the bottom is that if it does tear water can get under it and lift the whole lot from the bottom. If your soil is pourous your water will drain away (espeically as your pond is high up and is going to be relatively small in relation to the soil volume around it i.e. with the volumes I think you have in mind storing, I would think it would drain away before saturating the soil and stop draining away). However, if the soil is dense and clay like, it won't be a problem and youre not likely to loose much water. The question is: what is the soil like - not at the surface but at the depth you expect to dig the pond to - may be an idea to dig a hole and check this out, then make a decision.

You get PVC and you get PVC in Thailand - the real good stuff for agricultural purposes is not chea at all - Baht 4000 plus for a 25yard roll. The cheap plastic stuff most shops stock doesn't last - sunlight will quickly destroy the edges above the water line.

[basilic13]

Very informative MF!!! thanks again

[basilic13]

Thanks lickey... very interesting...

as far as trees, we are considering agarwood, patchoulis and / or eucalyptus... any comments on the water needs of those trees?

thanks...

[Lickey]

Hi Basilic13,

I have to admit i know little about planting trees from saplings, but we recently cut down some 6yr ol euca trees to repair our small farmhouse [lockable storage and balcony for a rest] that the ants have eaten, the euca comes from the peri fence and has had no attention atall, 1 trunk is about 9in dia, now wheather this is because they are at the bottom of the hillside farm and below the level of the 23mtr deep borehole and getting a good natural water supply i dont know?

As for Agarwood/krisana was it on this thread i said about they needed shade and plenty of water when young? banana as a shade cash crop till they get established?

Sis in Laws rubber trees benfited by our irrigation of the papaya [intercropped] they are near 2 mtrs taller than the ones without irrigation.

As a footnote, 25k north of us, and 20 k from the Mekong is a huge orange grove, i did spot that the irrigation/drippers are fixed to the trees, about 2ft from the ground, this will of course eliminate damage from strimmers and labour picking fruit, but what the orange tasted like after year round water, i dont know, didnt stop to buy any,

Cheers, Lickey.

[avocados]

Hello everyone,

I have looking around for local made/producers of sprinkler irrigation system for my 300 rai farm. So far I have only got quotes from these really expensive products (mostly made in Israel). Does anyone have recommendation on where I can start looking and who I should talk to? Its for commercial farming hence I am looking for large volume of pipes, and around 10,000 sprinkler heads. Thanks.