If you don’t know this number, you’re irrigating blind

To irrigate accurately, you must know how much water your irrigation system applies per hectare per hour. AgriWiz™ uses this value to calculate correct irrigation time based on crop, soil, and climate demand. If this number is wrong, irrigation time will be wrong.

Step 1: Know your emitter flow rate (L/hour)

Each dripper or sprinkler has a flow rate (e.g. 1.6, 2.0, or 3.5 L/hr). This is usually in the supplier’s specifications, but field conditions often differ. Best practice: verify flow using a bucket (catch) test.

Step 2: Bucket (catch) test – measure real emitter flow

1. Select 5–10 emitters across the block (start, middle, end).
2. Place a container under one emitter.
3. Run irrigation for exactly 1 minute.
4. Measure collected water in milliliters (ml).

Convert to litres per hour

Emitter flow (L/hr) = ml × 60 ÷ 1,000

Example

Collected in 1 minute = 33 ml

33 × 60 ÷ 1,000 = 1.98 L/hr

Actual emitter flow ≈ 2.0 L/hr

Use the average of all tested emitters.

Step 3: Calculate trees per hectare

1 hectare = 10,000 m²

Trees per hectare = 10,000 ÷ (row spacing × tree spacing)

Example

Row spacing = 5 m

Tree spacing = 4 m

Area per tree = 5 × 4 = 20 m²

Trees per hectare = 10,000 ÷ 20 = 500 trees/ha

Step 4: Calculate emitters per hectare

Emitters per hectare = trees per hectare × emitters per tree

Example

500 trees/ha

2 drippers per tree

1,000 emitters per hectare

Step 5: Calculate system delivery rate (L/ha/hour)

Delivery rate (L/ha/hr) = emitters per ha × emitter flow (L/hr)

Examples (1,000 emitters/ha)

• 1.6 L/hr → 1,600 L/ha/hr
• 2.0 L/hr → 2,000 L/ha/hr
• 3.5 L/hr → 3,500 L/ha/hr

This is the key number AgriWiz™ needs.

Step 6: Calculate irrigation time

Irrigation time (hours) = target water (L/ha) ÷ delivery rate (L/ha/hr)

Example

• Target = 5,000 L/ha
• Delivery rate = 2,000 L/ha/hr
• 5,000 ÷ 2,000 = 2.5 hours