Design of a sprinkler irrigation system for sun flower

Abstract

Sunflower is one of the few crop species that originated in North America and possibly brought in Uganda by missionaries as one of the experimental crops in 1920s and 1930s. It is the third largest source of vegetable oil worldwide; their meal is higher in fibre but also contains proteins. It is an Industrial application used in certain paints, varnishes and plastics fibre, proteins. Sunflower grows well in soils ranging in texture from sand to clay. It does not require as high levels of fertility to acquire satisfactory yields. Irrigation basically enables adequate supply of water to crops throughout the growing season which maximizes production. Sunflower is an economically viable Crop which does well in almost all soil I types apart from saline and water logged soil. The study embraces the solution to problems associated with unreliable rain fall in Malawa-A Village to boost production of sunflower in the region. Sprinkler irrigation system is an irrigation system that applies irrigation water which is distributed by pipes by pumping and irrigate entire soil surface through spray heads. The sprinkler irrigation System is a very suitable method for irrigation on sloppy lands and on shallow soils. It also works best on undulating terrain where land shaping is expensive or technically 110t feasible. Sprinkler irrigation systems can also be adopted in hilly regions where plantation crops are grown. The system is pressurized by a water pump. This design report discusses the agricultural constraints faced by sun flower farmers. It goes ahead to justify the need for the design of the sprinkler irrigation system which will water the crop. The system is designed for a one acreage (I 00 x 40) m piece of land. The capacity of the designed system is 7.12Ips, nominal irrigation interval for the designed system is 3 days; the nominal set operating time is 2.299hours/set and one set operates every day. The system is made of 5 risers each of height 23.111, each sprinkler on the riser discharges 14411mill and there radius Of through is 20 m. The system is made of a polyvinylchloride (PVC) main pipe line of nominal diameter 90 mm and lateral HOPE pipe line of inside diameter 75mrn. The pump selected to achieve a flow of 7.12 I/s is of total dynamic head (TDH) 38,874rn and net positive suction head (NPSH) 4.3 J 2 m. The design project is an eye opener to the possibility of a better tomorrow through improving the economic welfare by ensuring continuous sun flower production in Malawa community.