Of course I don't know if its possible neither if feasible. But, assuming that it is a small installation, I'd go for a much simpler approach: use an irrigation system by dropping water directly over the roots, and a reservoir that is big enough to accomodate the power failures. Power on, the water pump works to fill the reservoir. No matter where the water comes form, the system can manage a couple of solenoid valves releasing water by gravity to the supply hoses.

Just a suggestion. Works fine in dry areas in Brazil's northwest.

bhrescobar,

Yes, this overhead tank idea came to my mind which can act as buffer. I need to work out on extra land cost and tank construction cost. I think a tank just 1 meter above ground will do.

Just an Engineer,

I think 25000 L tank is about 25 cubic meter tank. I can go for 1m depth then 5mx5m space is required. I can not go for more depth else it may become a danger point for children as they may enter the tank to take bath for fun.

I think this idea is feasible and can be tries out easily. Good point and with clear details. I appreciate it.

You may could have greater depth if thinking of children a grate were fitted at 1m depth?

Our farms are unprotected from human entry and people can enter while there is no one watching them. I am not sure about any safety net fitted at 1m from top that will be a complete trouble free stuff. Swimming pools have been reported of accidental deaths and I do not want have any such thing in my farm.

Not net, grate is hard will support a persons weight

Hi Shyam,

I will recommend you drip irrigation system which is offered Jain Irrigation located at Jalgoan, Maharashtra. They can advise you on this project. I will not recommend you any sophisticated computer controls as they can not be maintained in our rural farms.

Suresh Sharma.

suresh sharma,

As this idea is not for ordinary villagers, and my project is handled by engineers so having sophisticated control system is not a problem. What I am worried about is the availability of mains 230V power for pumps which has severe cut off. I need only small power for the control systems which will be mostly from 12V / 24V batteries charged from available mains power.

I have not yet finalized irrigation method to be used and I will prefer to keep that point open as per need. In some areas spray from top is required and in other areas drip irrigation looks better. Flood irrigation to be used only in open spaces.

I have 10 acre space for this small experimental farm. There is enough ground water right now.Idea is to keep an eye on the farm irrigation system from local home which is 2km away. I have a wireless link that can work two ways using transceivers operated on 12V. These are Radiometrix UK radio transceivers integrated and supplied to me by an Australian company Embedded Communication. 100mW power is enough to reach the signals. I am very happy about these wireless transceivers.

Adequate supply of water.

I believe you are using well water, DOes depth of water available change over time? Similar if using surface water; Also with surface water, ability to keep intakes unobstructed.

Good luck!

milo

We use bore well water and bore hole depth is about 60ft and water level 30ft. We do have some limited surface water supply coming from river water. Water scarcity may become obvious if there is no rain for few years. This is the first bad year with little rain.

It is a good project!

There are many vendors of equipment in this area, since water is the limiting factor for any farm in this area.

A Solar Pump would be possible.

A sort of hybrid hydroponic system where you grow in soil, in containers or elevated beds, allows you to precisely control the moisture level of the soil & reclaim the excess water nutrient combination, getting oxygen to the roots is one of the keys to increasing yield. The soil acts as a buffer, making the method a bit more forgiving than hydroponics... Having an air gap below the soil, helps maintain proper drainage & makes recycling the water/nutrient easy. The soil can be soaked on whatever schedule suits the particular plant. The content of the soil is opitmized for the particular crop.

Solar pump is a very good idea and it can provide me 8-10 hour power. However, solar cells are very expensive and they also require batteries and inverter. Perhaps a DC pump will be ideal but may still require good average power to function. We have nearly good solar light for 9 months and for remaining three months it is raining here so does not require any pumping of water.

Perhaps in near future solar power will be most appropriate to be used. This point is very valid.

Actually you can use a solar pump with out batteries, only a level control is needed. The tank would only have to have enough capacity for the early morning watering...

Garthh,

Power from solar cells fluctuates with solar intensity changes and some kind of buffer energy storage is required. Our current pump is about 5kW and not easy to store and buffer that much power to keep constant power flow into pump motors.

I am going to plan battery array for solar cells (and also for mains inverter) then let me see how this works out with respect to cost. Battery life may be just two years and then I need to change them. I already have 1kW such inverter for my home for running my computers, lights and fans. I use two 12V batteries that can deliver 1kW for 4 hours or total 4kW capacity. Total cost of the inverter and batteries is about US$600. I will need five times power to work for my far then it may be estimated to US$3000. In addition to above, I need to place solar cells that may cost $1000 per kw or more so $5000 for solar cells. Tank may cost another $2000 and piping $5000.

Let me see how this turns out. $15000. I missed the cost of pump, electrical wiring and accessories so putting it together it may cost be near US$20000. Wohh!

How much I can get back from my 10 acre farm in an year? US$20000. That means the first year has no income and then I get about US$20000 - US$2000 (maintenance cost) = US$18000 per year return.

This is good survival gain for small family here. I think it is worth doing it. No, my income is much higher and this is only experimental money for me so I am not looking for any gain for myself but trying to create an experimental model for others to gain experience and some gain for my farm worker to let them run their families.

Can any one correct my estimates if there is serious error somewhere.

I have a farm, and there is a 6" dia. bore well, I have a tractor, and there are good number of workers to support me. Looks like it is a time to go green. I will love to spend few days in a month on my farm house (hut).

Let me add here to have a small compost (Gobar) gas plant to have some cooking power also.

Shyam, I think that you are doing a proper assessment. I would only say that you are overlooking one possible aspect- thatis the quality of the water in your borehole.

I do not know the details of water chemistry in your country, over here we have problems with calcium carbonate water hardness and can encounter high mineral content. This can become problematic as scale build up, fouling on nozzles and clogging of emitters. Eventually this mineral build up will lead to the creation of what they call "hard pan" in your soil. A mineral laden impermeable layer of minerals in the soil. This increases puddling and the potential for runoff, loss of soil, and reduced crop yields. Sometimes they combat this by applying acid to 'break up' the mineral layer.

If you have 'hard water,' the addition of a water conditioner at the borehole will prevent the problems that I described, plus it will improve the effectiveness of the fertilizer that you apply. I would have the water tested for dissolved minerals and hardness at a reputable lab or university, and then get a professional opinion about the liklihood of it creating a hard pan when applied as irrigation in significant amounts.

milo

Milo,

Water in the zone where I have this farm, is good one so no such problem I have ever faced in last 30 years. Perhaps this water is more useful for drinking than farming but people have to use it for farming also. I think the value of water is more than the outcome by farming as water is rather purer for drinking.

So far it was normal farming that was going on and was inefficient one and I now want to change it to new engineering way and to make an experimental farm. Earlier experiments were done by adopting new crops and changing from grain farming to veg farming etc. Now the plan is shifting to high value herbal farming. New crop system requires highly sophistical control over moisture and temperature for best results. Nutrients are also analyzed as per support from agriculture University colleges near by. They do soil testing and also advice on nutrient to be injected.

Agriculture is tougher business than science and engineering technology. It also pays much less. However, for a nation to survive, it is equally essential. There are people who are living on such farms and by making the production better and without affecting the environment is something to be tried.

If my experiment succeeds then I can hire more land of other farmers by giving them greater return than what they are getting now. However, it is all management for me rather than working myself. It is also not a point of income for me and idea is to give a chance to those who deserve it and I should keep working on technology to find funds from research. I get much more than I ever need to survive. This is what makes me to inject small funds back into all shorts of research works. Some 35 years ago I used to work to buy food. My projects in villages can support few hundreds of families that are simply working for food and life with dignity. It is all for them and not for me.

"Become the change you wish to see in the world " springs to my mind.

Peace.

milo

Shyam and others,

There are many good points noted here, but I'm getting worried as to whether this "small" enterprise is outgrowing itself.

10 acres of intensive farming (for vegetables or herbs) is substantially different from a 1/4 acre greenhouse like my friend has. Your required volume of water will be substantial. (We used to irrigate 12 acres of watermelon from a creek and that required 3" pump running around 50 hours per week.)

You are smart enough to calculate how much water you need per given area to water your "experiment", I'll talk metric numbers, but the imperial is equally easy (But the Americans will get a different answer in gallons.)

If you need 25mm of effective water per week across the entire 4 Ha farm, then you need 25*40,000 liters of water per week. (1,000 cubic meters)

I suggest that you check your sums and size the project to the available water supply. It might even be worthwhile "testing" the bore by running a 24 hour non-stop pumping run and see how much the water level drops. It would be a shame to get 10 acres of herbs started and then to have to sacrifice half of it through lack of water.

I'd also support the recommendation for proper water testing. You woul dbe aware of the problems that happened with the "red pumps" in the mountain regions where aid groups provided wells and pumps, only to find the water sources they had tapped were less than ideal.

Just an Engineer,

Yes, I understand that the power requirement is much higher for me as I have a pump having 6" dia on bore well. I am going to have a new bore well of 12" dia to place submercible pump of 6" diameter inside it. nWe have enough water and power was only greater concern.

I think 10 acre is a small farm. Few green houses and bit of open farming. Plan is only for herbs (Ayurvedic). I am getting rid of other natural farming in this experimental farm.