Drip irrigation is a mainstream technology in dozens of crop production systems throughout the world. This technology is ever evolving, with the latest innovation in drip tape now available to Australian vegetable growers. Vegetables Australia reports.

Market demands, weather patterns and resource availability change every day, so precision agriculture practices must evolve to help growers stay ahead.

Toro has released the Aqua-Traxx® Azul™ drip tape.

From increasing yield and improving quality to making the best use of available resources, irrigation technology is evolving too. Each step gives you more precise control over the time, energy and water you invest in your crop.

Toro Australia is pleased to announce the introduction of the new Aqua-Traxx® Azul™ drip tape. This tape features an innovative flow path design in the emitter and is more effective in resisting clogging than ever before.

The key to reducing drip tape clogging is to protect the flow path labyrinth from debris. The drip tape uses an innovative emitter design that protects the labyrinth from debris and maximises clog resistance and performance.

Patent-pending multi-stage filters protect the emitter from different sizes of debris and therefore the tape only has a 120-mesh filtration requirement.

An optimised flow passage in the dripper further helps to resist clogging. Optimised large flow passages in the emitters ensure a consistent and uniform distribution of water and nutrients to maximise clog resistance and performance.

Grower feedback

Bruno Capogreco from Capogreco Farms in Western Australia is one of the first growers in Australia to use the Aqua-Traxx Azul drip tape.

Capogreco Farms has been using Toro’s Aqua-Traxx drip tape for over a decade, and the operation has installed more than 5,000 reels over the years. The 200-hectare family farm is located in Hamel, an hour south of Perth.

The Capogrecos grow rockmelon, honeydew, watermelon and orange candy for the Australian market and export to Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Japan and Hong Kong.

Bruno’s feedback on the new product has been positive. He says that maintenance and flushing of the dripline is easy.

“We use flushing valves at every end and flush once per month. Uniformity of Azul is a lot better, and we have seen a five per cent improvement in yield,” he adds.

The new Aqua-Traxx Azul is available in 0.49 and 1.02 Lph emitter flow rates.

Options available

The new Aqua-Traxx® Azul™ drip tape is available to Australian growers.

Other premium drip tapes in the range include Aqua-Traxx Classic and Aqua-Traxx FlowControl. The former is the original drip tape and can help to improve yield, water-use efficiency, and crop quality by putting water and fertiliser right where you need them.

You can choose emitter spacing from 10 cm to 90 cm (4” to 36”) – with no cost increase – for precise placement and flexibility when designing your system.

Aqua-Traxx FlowControl premium drip tape is the only flow-regulating drip-tape available – giving you more control and uniformity wherever you farm.

The innovative emitter design provides flexibility to increase or decrease flow while maintaining a uniform output across changing elevations. You will have more control over how much water your crops get, especially in long runs or hilly terrain, where water pressure can vary throughout the run.

Every tape in the Aqua-Traxx range is made with PBX technology – which means it is designed and moulded with a high level of precision, resulting in manufacturing consistency over 97 percent.

Toro’s free drip irrigation design software, AquaFlow™, allows you to see how the different products in the range will perform for your unique application.

It will calculate emission uniformity and generate colour-coded Uniformity Maps to help illustrate how each product will perform. This helps you to select the right product for each application.

Find out more

For further details, please click here.

Cover image: Winter lettuce and radish.