MOREE property “Keytah” will host the first automation irrigation demonstration site involving four systems of irrigation in Australia with the next step of the Keytah Systems Comparison Trial.
The Gwydir Valley Irrigators Association (GVIA) and local grower Sundown Pastoral Co, owners of “Keytah”, realised the potential to expand upon the eight years of research into alternative irrigation systems in the region.
The Keytah Systems Comparison Trial compared industry best practice siphon or furrow irrigation with subsurface drip, lateral move and bankless channel, with the research finding there were minimal differences in water use efficiency over time, as each season is different and the advantages of each of the systems varied with seasons.
The GVIA, with the support of project funding from the Cotton Research and Development Corporation, the Commonwealth Government’s Smarter Irrigation for Profit, together with Sundown Pastoral Company in Moree, aims to implement an automation project that proposes to evaluate the suitability of flood irrigation automation concepts in a large-scale grower-led trial in the Gwydir Valley.
Using the original Keytah Systems Comparison Trial site enables the flood irrigation automation of the siphon field using smart syphons and the bankless channel field with automated gate installations, along with comparisons of the lateral and drip systems.
Ideally the project would enable the inclusion of additional technology designed to facilitate the scheduling of automated irrigation, GVIA executive officer Zara Lowein said.
A critical component of the project is access to reliable high-speed internet connection with the ability to handle data transfer associated with automation and in-field water management.
“The GVIA is excited about the opportunity to build upon the data collected in the region since 2008,” Ms Lowein said.
“The project highlights the best practice and highly efficient systems that we already manage but looks to assess what the future industry may look like. The project is an opportunity to address key challenges faced by growers while maintaining water use efficiency.”
The cotton trial site will be planted soon, with the GVIA innovation field day to be hosted on February 8, 2018.
For more information visit the GVIA website www.gvia.org.au or the Facebook page @GwydirValley.
