A COMPARISON OF BOOM TYPE CART VERSUS BIG GUN IRRIGATION SYSTEMS
Sustainable Agriculture
Don McMoran
Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Faculty- Director
Washington State University
Burlington
Abstract
Agricultural producers in Northwestern Washington need an irrigation system that is \r\na low-cost, non-permanent, and highly mobile to provide supplemental irrigation water to certain crops. Big-guns on reels fill this need. Recently a few progressive growers have been experimenting with boom systems in western Washington. This presentation will prove that these systems can work with the existing reels but use long "booms"cantilevered over both sides of the cart to distribute water through drop tubes similar to a center pivot. Don's presentation will discuss the system performance comparison evaluations for efficiency and uniformity for both of these systems. The data proves that it is economical and practical for farmers to convert from a big-gun to a boom system based on the energy consumption and higher yeilds associated with this more uniform irrigation system not to mentior the reduced impact the environment seen through higher efficiencies and a reduction in overall water useage.
Authors: McMoran, D.
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McMoran, D. Agriculture And Natural Resources Extension Educator, Washington State University, Washington, 98233