The experimental installation uses a 10 kW Lorentz solar pump delivering 24 cubic meters per hour, fed by an 18 kW photovoltaic array. Researcher Ignacio Severina identified the key finding as a reference flow rate of 2 cubic meters per hectare under irrigation. This baseline enables straightforward equipment sizing calculations. For a 50-hectare operation, INTA estimates requirements of approximately 100 cubic meters flow, a 100 kW pump, and a photovoltaic array near 200 kW.
Trial results demonstrated optimal practice involves installing solar capacity approximately double the pump’s nominal power rating. This oversizing extends operating hours during periods of reduced solar radiation. In the Manfredi area, the system achieves roughly 1,950 annual irrigation hours, averaging near seven hours daily during the irrigation period, with lower winter availability increasing through summer.
Initial trials on 6 hectares split among wheat, second-crop soybeans and corn revealed that maximizing water application using all available solar energy generated minimal yield improvements. In wheat, increasing water application from 300 millimeters under electric pumping to 520 millimeters with solar pumping raised yields only from 55 to 70 quintals per hectare. Second-crop soybeans showed no significant yield variation when application increased from 100 to 300 millimeters, maintaining approximately 35 quintals per hectare. Corn yields rose marginally from 15 to 16 tonnes per hectare as application doubled from 250 to 500 millimeters.
Based on these findings, INTA doubled the irrigated surface from 6 to 12 hectares without modifying pump or photovoltaic infrastructure. Under this configuration, water applications approximated 350 millimeters for wheat, 250 millimeters for corn and 200 millimeters for second-crop soybeans, with no relevant production declines. The research team concluded that adjusting water supply to crop requirements and utilizing available capacity to expand irrigated area proves more efficient than applying maximum possible water to smaller surfaces.
INTA will present complete findings at the 9th International Irrigation Meeting and 3rd Exporiego on October 14-15 at INTA Manfredi, bringing together producers, researchers, companies and specialists in irrigation, energy, automation and precision agriculture.
This article was curated and published as part of our South American energy market coverage.
