Books and Publications

This publication focuses on key design issues, efficiency of irrigation and management of centre pivot and lateral move systems in broadacre farming.

Content

Chapter 1: Introduction to centre pivot and lateral move

Chapter 2: Safety

• Importance
• Hazards associated with centre pivot and lateral move systems

Chapter 3: Environmental impacts of irrigation

• Importance
• Sustainable use of irrigation water
• Management

Chapter 4: Centre pivot and lateral move systems

• Overview
• Centre pivot
• Lateral move
• Components
• Advantages / Disadvantages
• Importance of design

Chapter 5: Irrigation efficiency

• Efficient use of water
• System capacity

Chapter 6: Key design issues

• Pipe sizes and energy costs
• Capital and operating costs
• Average application rate
• Wheel rut
• Wheel equipment

Chapter 7: Emitters

• Types of emitters
• Wetting patterns for emitters
• Uniformity of application

Chapter 8: Managing CPLM systems

Efficient irrigation systems measure and monitor water use. This book makes sure water losses are kept to a minimum, while keeping the crop or pasture growing with no moisture stress. Efficient water storage, water budgeting and water use efficiency are explained in detail.

Content

Part 1: Meters

• Introduction to metering
• Safety
• Environmental impacts of irrigation
• What meters measure
• Where to put the meter
• Select the right meter
• Installation
• Maintenance

Part 2: Storage and distribution

• Introduction to storage and distribution< /p>
• Efficient distribution
• Efficient storage
• Reduce loss in storage

Part 3: Benchmarking and water budgeting

• Irrigation benchmarking and water budgeting
• Irrigation benchmarking
• Water budgeting
• Sample water budgets

Irrigation Scheduling - Scheduling irrigation is about planning when and how much water to apply to a crop to achieve crop production or a particular quality. The principles of scheduling water apply to all crops, however the critical timing, methods and techniques can vary with the crop.

Content

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Safety

• Importance
• Hazards associated with irrigation systems

Chapter 3: Environmental impacts of irrigation

• Importance Sustainable use of irrigation water Management

Chapter 4: The need for water varies

• Evapotranspiration
• Water stress and water logging
• Crop response to stress

Chapter 5: Factors affecting evapotranspiration

• Weather
• Crop
• Other factors
• Calculating crop evapotranspiration

Chapter 6: Scheduling irrigations

• Weather-based scheduling
• Plant-based scheduling
• Soil-based scheduling

Chapter 7: How soil holds water

• Soil moisture tension
• Field capacity Saturation point
• Refill point Permanent wilting point
• Plant available water capacity (PAWC)

Chapter 8: Data from soil moisture probes

• Non-continuous data
• Continuous data Data display
• Record keeping

Chapter 9: Do you need a calibrated probe?

• When calibration is not needed
• When calibration is needed

Chapter 10: Implementing a deficit strategy

• Introduction
• Types of deficit strategy

Chapter 11: Placement of soil probes

• Introduction
• Use of Electro-Magnetic (EM) induction soil surveys

Chapter 12: Irrigation water quality

• Salinity
• Water pH
• Sodicity
• Chloride
• Calcium carbonate
• Soluble iron
• Turbidity
• Nutrients
• Pesticides
• Testing water quality
• Minimise the effects of irrigating with poor-quality water

An understanding of current irrigation systems, what is involved and how they work is essential if you plan to install or upgrade a system. Just as important is that you can save money by increasing productivity and efficiency of your irrigation system if you can improve the performance of the pump. This publication covers selecting the irrigation system that is best for your enterprise. It will also help you to select, operate and maintain your pumping equipment.

Content

Part 1: Systems

• Introduction to systems
• System safety
• Environmental impacts of irrigation
• Irrigation systems
• Water
• Other factors to consider

Part 2: Pumps

• Introduction to pumps
• Pump safety
• What do you want your pump to do?
• Common types of pump for irrigation systems
• Can a pump do what you need?
• Prime mover and drive units
• Pump maintenance

This volume represents the first formal attempt to draw together design practices for border check irrigation from all parts of Australia. The practices in these Design Guidelines have been collected from each State and recommend those recommended at a State level.

The Design Guidelines are part of a program initiated by the Irrigation Association of Australia (now Irrigation Australia Ltd) to raise the standards of irrigation design and practice throughout Australia. The intention of this code is to assist the industry by providing guidelines appropriate to current conditions.

The Drip and Micro Irrigation Design and Management for Trees, Vines and Field Crops is a practice plus theory book targeted for people who need to know practical, technical details related to design, material selection, installation and management of drip and micro Irrigation systems. The information in this book was obtained over the years from discussions with literally hundreds of growers, system designers, installers and professionals. The information is (i) a mix of new ideas developed by the authors; (ii) a compilation of grower, dealer and manufacturer experiences and common knowledge; and (iii) some data from published articles or books. Using their own practical experiences and academic background their objective of this book is to help people shorten their "learning curve."

5th Edition - 2016 - by Charles M. Burt, PE, Ph.D., and Stuart W. Styles, PE

Environmental Design and Management Practices

by James Barrett, Brian Vinchesi, Robert Dobson, Paul Roche and David Zoldoske.

This book is a practical tool to help golf course architects, builders, superintendents, irrigation consultants, designers and installers to improve aesthetics and playing conditions in the face of diminishing natural resources. It offers valuable insight on the designing, installation, management and maintenance of irrigation systems - the most important tool used on today's golf courses.

This book edited by Daryl Stevens, and first published by CSIRO in 2006, aims to provide the user with a historical background of water treatment, use and disposal from Australian wastewater treatment facilities, the technologies now utilised to treat our wastewater, and provide a background in the fundamentals required to ensure a reclaimed water scheme is developed that addresses the environmental, economic and social requirements of society today.

This comprehensive work examines the fundamentals required for reclaimed water schemes to deliver sustainable farming operations that achieve the yield and quality of produce necessary for acceptance in the market.

The history of irrigation in Australia

Peter J. Hallows, Donald G. Thompson
Edited by, Suzanne J. Lucas
ANCID, First Mildura Irrigation Trust, [1995]

In 1995 The 'History of Irrigation in Australia' was prepared under the direction of the Australian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (ANCID) now the IACID, following an initiative of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID).

The development of irrigation in Australia has a rich and controversial history. Droughts, economic depressions, government subsidies, closer settlement schemes, rising watertables and the spread of salinity, protests over increasing water prices, the relatively low value of agricultural produce per ML of water in Australia and the continual questioning of the economic viability of irrigation have fueled a lively debate.

Description: Irrigation History - chronicles significant developments of the 20th century in chapters devoted to each of the states.

The fifth edition of PIA’s Pipe Friction Handbook has been fully reviewed and updated to cover all upgrades in the relevant Australian Standards since the fourth edition. II The principle changes to the friction tables, while maintaining the same format as previous editions, involve wrought steel pipes, ductile iron unlined pipes and ductile iron cement lined pipes. II Pump Industry Australia’s Pipe Friction Handbook, now in its fifth edition, is a handbook which complements PIA’s Pump Technical Handbook. The book teaches the user how to calculate pipe friction losses in a wide range of pipe types and sizes, commonly in use in Australia, up to in some cases, 2000mm. The handbook includes easy to understand instructions on how friction losses are calculated for straight pipe and a wide range of pipe valves and fittings. II The first section of the handbook covers pipe friction losses in the most commonly used pipes in Australia. With the exception commercial steel pipe which is to ASME/ ANSI B36:10M standard, all the other pipes and tubes are to an Australian standard. II The following are the piped types covered by the friction tables:

- Commercial Steel and Stainless Pipe

- Large Fabricated Steel Pipe

- Medium and Heavy Duty Galvanised Steel Pipe

- Uncoated and Cement Lined Ductile Iron Pipe

- Copper Tube

- Brass Tube

- Stainless Steel Tube

- Series 1 and 2 PVC Pipe

- Polyethylene Pipe

- Rural Polyethylene Pipe

- Aluminium Irrigation Tube

- Elastomeric Rubber Hose

- Concrete Pipe,

In addition to the above tables there is a table for the friction loss of viscous liquids in commercial steel pipe and a chart for the calculation of friction loss in lay flat hose. II The second section of this handbook covers friction loss factors for valves and fittings and how to calculate friction loss in a pump system. Tables are included that will be useful to the pump engineer.

Pump Industry Australia’s Pump Technical Handbook has been has been specially designed for the Australian Pump Industry. The handbook is for those who work and are associated with the pump industry such as manufacturers, distributors, educators, designers, operators and users. It is easy to understand with a basic knowledge of physics.

The handbook covers a wide range of topics beginning with definitions that are used when working with pumps followed by details of the classification details of both centrifugal and positive displacement pumps. It also comprehensively covers the characteristics, selection and application of centrifugal pumps as well as positive displacement and slurry pumps.

The efficient operation of pump systems details how you can make sure a pump system operates efficiently throughout its working life & calculating the life cycle costs of a pump system. The Handbook also discusses the metallic and non-metallic materials pumps are constructed from and provides basic pump material selection for applications other than water. A table of Australian European and American material standards is included.

Good intake design is critical to the correct and efficient operation of a pump system and is extensively covered. How to construct a wide variety intakes and the common problems to be avoided have been included. Piping systems including how to calculate system head is explained, done in conjunction with the PIA Pipe Friction Handbook which complements the Pump Technical Handbook.

How are pumps tested, to what standard and to what tolerances are a pump tested? What data can you expect from a pump test? All this and more is covered in the pump test chapter. The Operation and Maintenance and Troubleshooting chapters discuss how pumps should be commissioned and maintained once shipped from the manufacturer and delivered to the end user.

Comprehensive sections with conversion tables and pumping formulae, charts covering maximum and normally attainable pump efficiencies and performance corrections for slurry pumps are featured throughout the handbook. There are also more than 150 detailed images which significantly improve the reader’s ability to understand pump drawings and curves.

The Pump Technical Handbook is appropriate for readers with all levels of technical experience, including engineering and pump industry professionals, pump operators and maintenance technicians, upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in mechanical engineering, and students in engineering technology programs.

This is the second edition of Ring Tank Guidelines. This edition includes all of the information in the first edition on correct construction techniques, up-to-date information on management and maintenance plus a new section on responding to failure, both in the immediate and long term, should that be necessary.

The original edition of these guidelines was produced in May 1998 by the North-West NSW Branch of the Irrigation Association of Australia (IAA) when a large number of ring tanks were under construction or being contemplated. An unacceptably high proportion of ring tanks built at that time failed to some degree; hence, the objective of the original guidelines was to show farmers and contractors how to build safe storages.

Since then more storages have failed, some due to poor construction and some due to poor management and maintenance. This prompted a rewriting of the second edition.

Since the last publication of Irrigation, Fifth Edition in 1983, there has been a tremendous amount of research, innovation and new applications of irrigation products, technology and expertise that helps position irrigation as a significant contributor in the efficient use of water to grow food, fibre, fuel, and maintain the urban environment where we live.

This latest compilation of irrigation topics is divided into 30 chapters and covers agricultural, landscape, turfgrass and other applications of irrigation systems. Certified Irrigation Designer exam reference (CID-Step 2, CID Step 3-Landscape/Turf and Agriculture, CID Step-4 Sprinkler, Drip Micro and Surface).

Published by the Irrigation Association (USA) - A comprehensive cased in book 1000+ pages placing special emphasis on water and energy conservation through design, operation and scheduling. The publication covers system use, system planning, soil-water-plant relationships, sprinkler patterns, hydraulics, pumping plants, agricultural and turf systems, environmental control, chemical application with sprinklers, installation, operations and maintenance, economics of irrigation, piping and drip systems. The standard text for the industry. It is printed in 2 colours throughout.

This book has both metric and imperial measurements and is the ideal reference book for people considering the Certified Irrigation Designer (CID) course.

Out of the Scientist's Garden

A story of water and food

Richard Stirzaker, CSIRO

Out of the Scientist's Garden is written for anyone who wants to understand food and water a little better – for those growing vegetables in a garden, food in a subsistence plot or crops on vast irrigated plains. It is also for anyone who has never grown anything before but has wondered how we will feed a growing population in a world of shrinking resources.

ISBN: 9780643096585

Published by: CSIRO Publishing

With continuing drought, dwindling dam levels, closure of the Murray River mouth and water restrictions having been experienced in many urban centres, most Australians are aware of the sensitive nature of our water resources. Against this background it is not surprising that the irrigation industry is constantly reminded that it consumes almost 70% of Australia's annual freshwater resource and, as such, is seen as a target for meeting increasing urban and environmental demands. This second edition, written by P Charlesworth (CSIRO/CRC Irrigation Futures) bring together information on current equipment and techniques for measuring and monitoring soil water status, extending to their use as controllers in automatic irrigation systems. The main part of the package focuses on equipment with agents and back up within Australia

The hub of the publication is a collection of tables summarising the main product features. This enables product features. This enables product features to be compared quickly. As well as technical data, there is also commercial information on suppliers, contact details, availability and price (accurate as at October 2004). Case studies from personal experience and from the literature provided further insight into the advantages and limitations of each device in relation to its potential applications.

Published by the Irrigation Association of Australia - In a first for the water industry in Australia, a national set of best practice guidelines for urban irrigation and home garden irrigation was developed in 2006. This major achievement for the industry is the result of a project funded by the Water Services Association of Australia and the Irrigation Association of Australia.

The Guidelines come in two parts:

1. Urban Irrigation Best Management Practices

This publication is intended as a guide for the commercial irrigation sector (manufacturers, designers, installers and contractors) and for those who specify irrigation equipment and projects and develop regulations to do with urban irrigation (water authorities, State governments, local government, and managers of recreational turf). It details best management practice for designing, installing, maintaining, and operating irrigation systems in an urban setting. The aim of the publication is to define best management practices as a way of encouraging improved standards in the industry and a consistent approach national to the specification, design, installation and operation of irrigation systems. This will help to ensure that urban irrigation is as water efficient as possible.

2. Guide to Good Landscape Watering

This 4-page publication is a simple reference for home gardeners and provides basic information about irrigating home gardens. It is not designed as a definitive publication, rather acts as a “starter” document with pointers to other sources of information, particularly for the more committed home gardener. This publication has been produced to provide a consistent set of introductory guidelines to garden irrigation that can be applied by any home gardener in Australia. Download your free copy of the Guide to Good Landscape watering here.