The controller is the brain of an irrigation system. It automates the irrigation of a field crop, greenhouse, fruit or vegetable, green house, urban trees, park and garden, etc…

Trees play a pivotal role in the urban landscape as a symbol and key element of the green infrastructure. Their presence is essential for providing key functions such as cooling and regulating the water cycle, thus contributing towards the sustainability and resilience of the cities.

The automatic centralised irrigation control system that first appeared in France in the 90s consists of a combination of products and techniques that allow for the remote management of irrigation controllers.

This is one of the questions that are almost existential: The Sea or the Mountains, Tea or Coffee, Diesel or Electric. So, in irrigation as well, when considering how to go about renovating the irrigation system, there is a risk of asking the question: should I use pulse DC or 24-volt AC for my 2-wire system?

Irrigation professionals and specialised consultants will, in the course of their study, take a number of technical elements into account in order to lay out the sprinklers in such a way that the irrigation system is fully optimised and the minimum amount of water is used to achieve maximum efficiency.

From the first day of the first year of planting, a tree’s only source of water comes exclusively from the root ball. It is, therefore, dependent on rainfall and irrigation, which are important factors in ensuring that the roots emerge from the tree pit. Thus it is of interest to monitor the soil water status in order to schedule the irrigations, thus ensuring the recovery of the tree and its medium term resilience, while rationalising the human and financial resources deployed.

Digital technology is revolutionising all the industries, including the traditional ones

We all use the web on a daily basis to gather information and to compare and to find out about products and technology. This is, of course, the case for private individuals concerning automatic irrigation, a concept that is not always very well-known or understood. The Internet has also developed very rapidly for professionals who wish to search for technical information and find less expensive sources of supply. The development of online market places that include professional products is only going to expand.

There has been a change in the perspective of the stewards and managers of the irrigation projects. It is no longer simply a matter of knowing that the irrigation system is working correctly or whether the equipment is performing well, rather they also have to manage the whole upstream and downstream aspect of the water supply, i.e. for the irrigation system, from the withdrawal of the resource right through to the point where the water comes in contact with the soil or is lost through drainage. 

The sprinklers are devices that allow for a spray to be produced, in order to irrigate by sprinkling. Among those available, we have the mobile sprinklers for surface systems and fixed sprinklers for subsurface networks. Among the fixed sprinklers: we have the spray-type nozzles, for small fixed spray heads used on small surface areas and the rotors (rotary type), for greater nozzle ranges (a wider radius). Mainly used by the municipalities or local authorities, the spray-type nozzles are, in fact, extremely well adapted to residential use because the traditional sprinklers are often oversized for the small surface areas (too large a radius, water wastage, less accurate sprinkling). It is the advent of plastic that has allowed for this type of sprinkler to be developed (originally made of brass and, therefore, very expensive).

The life cycle of an irrigation system is composed of several different phases: planning, installation, operation and maintenance. At each stage, every effort should be made to make the work as straightforward as possible for those involved further down the line. As the study (designing the irrigation system) is the first of these stages, it will, therefore, affect the installation, operation and maintenance, so it, therefore, takes on a special significance.

Plants have been grown on the terrace roofs of building for around thirty years, but now more than ever, planting vegetation on buildings fulfils many varied functions in response to a number of key issues:
• protecting the building and increasing the life of the outer surfaces and cover materials (waterproofing, for example);
• participating in the everyday comfort of the buildings (sound and thermal proofing);
• contributes towards the everyday comfort of densely populated urban areas (reduction in the heat island effect through evapotranspiration, combatting pollution);
• contributes towards storm water management (prevents the saturation/clogging of the drainage networks through the temporary retention of water on the roof) in a natural and economic manner….

The 70s: the modern irrigation of sports fields takes off. At this time, it was a matter of irrigated praise. The world of sports fields has nog entered into the realms of professionalism.

Concerning the irrigation of young trees, i.e. during the first three years of their existence, watering is essential and must be performed judiciously. Several questions arise: how much water should be applied? How often and using what method? 

Apart from standing out as a method of public transport that meets the challenges of sustainable development, tramways are also genuine landscaping projects.

In fact, many tramways now have flora and foliage running inside and around the tramlines, mainly turf grass, thus allowing for vegetation and nature to be brought back to the city, which city dwellers are increasingly demanding. We can mention the examples of the lines in Angers and Tours, with grass laid along more than 50% of their routes. Or even the new lines under construction in Angers, which will have grass laid along 80% of their route 2.

With more and more presence on the agricultural or parks and gardens market, micro-irrigation systems are becoming increasingly efficient in the various world markets. The users are constantly…