The Manfredi Agricultural Experiment Station of Argentina’s National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA), in Córdoba province, is researching how to size off-grid, solar-powered subsurface drip irrigation systems for field crops.
The experimental system combines a 10 kW Lorentz solar pump, with a flow rate of 24 m³/h, and an 18 kW PV array. It was initially used to irrigate 6 hectares before researchers doubled the irrigated area to 12 hectares using the same infrastructure.
Ignacio Severina, a researcher at INTA Manfredi, said one of the main findings is a benchmark flow rate of 2 m³/h per hectare of irrigated land. This figure can be used to determine the required pump capacity and PV system size.
For a 50-hectare farm, for example, INTA estimates that the system would require a flow rate of around 100 m³/h, a 100 kW pump and approximately 200 kW of PV capacity.
The trials also showed benefits from oversizing the PV array relative to the pump’s nominal power. As a rule of thumb, researchers found that PV capacity can be around twice the power required for pumping, extending operating hours during periods of lower solar irradiance.
In the Manfredi area, the system provides around 1,950 hours of irrigation per year, averaging close to seven hours per day during the irrigation season. Availability is lower in winter and higher in summer.
The initial trials covered 6 hectares planted with wheat, second-crop soybeans and corn. Researchers found that using all available solar energy to increase water application resulted in relatively small yield gains.
For wheat, irrigation increased from around 300 mm with electric pumping to 520 mm with solar pumping, while yields rose from 55 quintals per hectare (qq/ha) to nearly 70 qq/ha. For second-crop soybeans, irrigation increased from 100 mm to 300 mm with no significant change in yield, which remained at around 35 qq/ha. For corn, irrigation increased from 250 mm to 500 mm, while yields rose from around 15 t/ha to 16 t/ha.
Based on these results, INTA doubled the irrigated area from 6 hectares to 12 hectares without changing the pump or PV array. Under this configuration, irrigation levels were around 350 mm for wheat, 250 mm for corn and 200 mm for second-crop soybeans, with no significant decline in yields.
The researchers concluded that matching water application to crop requirements and using the available pumping capacity to irrigate a larger area is more efficient than applying the maximum amount of water to a smaller area.
INTA Manfredi has been researching subsurface drip irrigation since 2012. It added PV-powered pumping in 2022 through a technology partnership with Tonka Solar and Rivulis-Conci.
The results will be presented at the 9th International Irrigation Meeting and 3rd Exporiego, which will take place on Oct. 14 and 15 at INTA Manfredi in Córdoba. The events will bring together farmers, researchers, companies and specialists in irrigation, energy, automation and precision agriculture.
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