The irrigation system is divided into sectors so that each tree is watered every three days and requires a system pressure of 4 bar. The submersible pumping system is designed to take water from a well located directly by the river and pump it into an irrigation reservoir three kilometers away, from where the water is distributed by gravity through the system. The operation of diesel engines of such power cost the owners a little more than $400 per day, which resulted in $41 500 for 100 days of irrigation.Īn autonomous submersible pumping system Lorentz – PSk2-100, powered by solar panels, was chosen. The orchards were laid out in 2021 and, despite being close to a water source, in the first season, the owners were forced to supply irrigation water to the drip irrigation system using a 2 000-tonne tank, where the water was pumped and distributed through the system using two diesel pumps with a capacity of 90kW/hour since there is no electricity source in the area. The site is located just three kilometers from the Alazani River, which serves as the border between Georgia and Azerbaijan. The hottest month is July with an average temperature of 26.2☌. The selected growing area is in the subtropical climate zone (Cfa) characterized by hot and humid summers and cool to mild winters. Because of the lack of irrigation water, farmers plant only small orchards, mainly for local consumption. Horticultural production (mainly grapes) in the municipality has declined by 89% since the collapse of the Soviet Union due to the degradation of irrigation canals.
The municipality is known for its lack of irrigated agricultural land. There is an almond intensive orchard of 120 ha between Sabatlo and the village of Pirosmani, on the Georgian border of the municipality of Dedoplitskaro and Azerbaijan.
This opens up opportunities for the use of solar-powered irrigation in orchards, EastFruit experts believe. At the same time, Georgia has an average European level of solar radiation, which is lower than in Spain and Italy, but higher than in Germany and the Netherlands. In addition, remote lands often lack access to electricity, which also limits the use of groundwater resources. Since the Georgian irrigation infrastructure was adapted to large land plots due to Soviet agricultural practices, irrigation canals are currently inaccessible to many of the smallholders who entered the sector after privatization in the 1990s. Thus, Georgian farmers face serious challenges due to the risks of climate change.
Despite rich Georgia’s water resources, with 14 000 m3 of surface water per capita compared to the European average of 9 300 m3, available water resources are unevenly distributed in Georgia and mainly accumulated in the western parts of the country. Irrigation is critical for the development of horticultural production.
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