Promote Good Plant Health and Better Yields: Winterization

We understand that preparing your irrigation system for winter is the last thing on your mind, especially during harvest. Algae, biomatter, and sediment buildup in the system after a season of irrigation from fertilizers and standing water can lead to plugged emitters and poor distribution uniformity (DU), which affects water efficiency and yield. The highest efficiency possible is important with water being the number one input in agriculture. Kurita America tailors water treatment solutions to your specific situation.

A part of these solutions is an end-of-year winterization to help maintain a clean system throughout the winter months and ensure a clean start up for the next season. Whether or not you are running a maintenance program, performing an end-of-year winterization makes sense to prevent any buildup of biomatter in the irrigation system while the water is sitting stagnant. If the bio growth builds up during the off season, then it can create plugging issues on start-up of the following year. Allowing this to happen will greatly affect your water efficiency and DU. Starting irrigation with a clean and efficient system will promote good plant health and better yields.

As an industry leader in agricultural water treatment, Kurita America has the expertise to clean and maintain drip irrigation systems, wells, and reservoirs.

How It Works

During the last irrigations of the season and after post-harvest fertilizers and sprays have been applied, water treated with a higher-residual chemical rate runs through your system. Winterization will knock down any potential biofouling buildup in your system during the last irrigation season. The treated water remains in the irrigation line until the first irrigation of the following season, and it will continue to breakdown any biomatter and calcium carbonate scale in your system, ensuring less growth and buildup during the off season. The biproducts of CO2 and water will have no impact to your irrigation system or crop.

Start up for the New Season

In preparation for the next irrigation season, a proper flush is important, which removes any remaining organic or mineral residues in the system and prevents plugging. A proper flush consists of the following:
  • Back flushing the filter system
  • Flushing main lines and sub mains
  • Finely flushing the laterals (drip lines)
Look to Kurita America for your Water Treatment Needs

Irrigation winterization services are just part of what Kurita America can do. As a large global leader in water treatment, we offer a full line of agricultural water treatment solutions: drip irrigation line maintenance, reservoirs, wells, food safety, and wastewater to name a few. To learn more, contact Brice Jones, Agriculture Regional Manager, Bryan Hansen, Agriculture Area Manager, or visit https://www.kuritaamerica.com/industries/agriculture.

About the Author

Bryan Hansen is an Area Manager for Kurita America’s agricultural industry, specializing in chemical sales, automation, drip irrigation, water treatment and equipment. After working as a journeyman electrician for 15 years and a service manager in agricultural water treatment for five years, he joined Kurita America in 2016 and has focused on agriculture and equipment design, troubleshooting, and development of automation and remote monitoring in the industry.

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