Producing more with less using retro-fit telemetry to reduce energy and water consumption during carrot production

Modification of new and existing technology in agriculture is required to ensure productivity growth and to address issues of climate change and natural resource sustainability. Two key challenges faced by the irrigated agriculture community are competition for increasingly limited water resources and increases in energy costs. Limitations to water availability are expected to intensify under climate change scenarios, while energy costs will increase under pricing strategies, including those to limit carbon emissions. Travelling gun irrigators are commonly used in Tasmania due to their low capital cost and practicality of use on undulating topography, but non - uniformity of distribution of water is of concern. Modifications to improve the performance of a travelling gun irrigator were made in a collaborative project involving retro fitting telemetry devices and modified irrigation components to a travelling gun irrigator to enable a constant set pressure to be maintained at the gun regardless of slope or length of the irrigation run. Comparisons between modified and conventional travelling gun irrigation were conducted and included monitoring energy and water use, yield, quality and disease assessments in a carrot crop. Results show a 17% and 5% reduction in energy and water use respectively between the modified and conventional irrigator, for a 10% increase in yield of carrots for the modified irrigator. The retro-fitted component technology developed in this project demonstrate an innovative approach to address issues of sustainable natural resources management, adapting to climate change challenges and responding to increases in energy costs.