Alsace 47°52'46"N 7°24'30"E | Here in France we irrigate corn mainly in 3 methods:
- with center pivots or linears,
- with rolls and water guns
- with a grid of pipes and little sprinklers
Center pivots / linear drives ask for particular field layouts and are the most expensive in terms of investments.
Water guns on rolls are very flexible but quite labor intensive: 1 to 2 hours work per position.
Sprinklers on a pipes are used as a complement to the other 2 methods to irrigate small fields, the pipes are installed in late spring when corn is waist high and collected just before harvest or at harvest the 2 rows where the sprinklers are are left for a later time to allow removal of the pipes and sprinklers. This later method is also quite investment heavy.
Actually all methods are quite investment heavy, but they allow for regular harvests and better yields.
The method that asks for the most energy is water guns on rolls as you have to compensate the pressure loss of the rolled tube, and need a good pressure (some 100 PSI) at the water gun to get the reach.
You are quite lucky to be able to use surface water as you don't have to invest in a well.
If you have nearby electricity, I would consider an electric pump as it is far more efficient as anything else.
Now for the method of irrigation, I have found that center pivots work best in my case: low pressure, low labor, remote controllable.
I have a friend who remote controls several center pivots from the ease of his office, which enables him to devote his time to another activity. His maths showed him that center pivots were the best solution: due to low pressure, he didn't have to invest in strong pumping gear and he would not give up the ease of use. He should know what he is speaking of as he has been using all 3 methods.
Anyway, your conditions may lead you to other decisions, I would appreciate to learn what you decided and why.
JMHO
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Justifying Irrigation?
