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These two tools show some interesting approaches to irrigation challenges.

Willie Vogt

November 22, 2019

2 Min Read
Mixtron irrigation injector display at Agritechnica
WATER POWER: Injecting fertilizer or chemicals into the irrigation stream can take power, but perhaps not anymore. This new injector uses water pressure you already have.Photos by Willie Vogt

Roaming the trade floor of any farm show can yield a few gems. Farm Progress found a couple during Agritechnica that show innovation in new ways. Neither are in the North American market, though for the first item below, that could change.

Water at work

Dosing and mixing fertilizers and crop protection products into irrigation lines requires an irrigation injector. The new Mixtron injector line is a dosing and mixing hydraulic system installed directly in the water supply line. This allows the user to get the right mix, regardless of changes in flow or pressure.

Water flow activates the injector, and the additive is pulled into the system at the proper dose and mixed in a solution, which is then pushed downstream into the irrigation system. The company has smaller injectors suitable for drip systems and lower-pressure approaches. However, the unit shown is a higher-volume prototype that the company will offer to the market in 2020.

You can learn more about the system at mixtron.it/en.

Euromacchine Lampo Green irrigation engine/generator with solar panels display at Agritechnica

MULTIPOWER: This irrigation engine-generator gets a boost from the solar panels. It’s not for North America, but is an interesting idea.

 

Power choices

It stops a show visitor short. Why are there solar panels on top of a combination gen-set and diesel irrigation power unit? Turns out it can help with some efficiency, and for this Lampo Green system from Euromacchine, there are other benefits to the design. The portable unit generates 30 kilowatts of power with its diesel engine, but the solar panels generate 3 kW, which is a 10% boost, or savings, in fuel use. In addition, those solar panels require an electrical connection, which the designers have used to allow a user to hook the unit to electric power if it’s available at some pumping points.

It’s a kind of multipower machine; and as more companies seek greater efficiencies, there could be more approaches like this. One person on the stand admitted it was just 10% in added power, but “still 10%,” so every little bit helps. Learn more at Euromacchine’s Lampo Green webpage (it’s in English).

About the Author(s)

Willie Vogt

Willie Vogt has been covering agricultural technology for more than 40 years, with most of that time as editorial director for Farm Progress. He is passionate about helping farmers better understand how technology can help them succeed, when appropriately applied.

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