Irrigation on Hills

BOOK 8|
IRRIGATION ON HILLS i
 Contents
Irrigating on hills 1
This book is part of a series
providing a comprehensive Ten Commandments 1
training resource for irrigation
industry participants in Defining hill country irrigation 2
New Zealand.
It looks at the specific Identifying and explaining the risks 3
issues and challenges facing
irrigation on hills and suggests 1. Landscape factors 3
management techniques 2. Soil factors 4
and tools to improve
design and management of 3. Irrigation system factors 11
irrigation systems. 4. Farm management factors: 12

ISBN No. TBC

Managing the risk 13
Compiled by: C. Hedley,
S. Laurenson, I. McIndoe, 1. Land management units 11
P. Reese. 2. Irrigation infrastructure options 15

© Irrigation New Zealand 2014 3. Irrigation scheduling and application 19

4. Tools for good irrigation management 21

Appendix 22

Supported by Sustainable Farming Fund New Zealand Hillslope Classifications 22

References 23
Irrigating on hills
While some hilly areas in New Zealand have been irrigated for many years, the majority
of irrigation has been on plains farms. However advances in technologies to access, store,
distribute and apply water, combined with favourable economics have led to irrigation
being introduced into new hillier areas not traditionally considered for irrigation.
This book provides an information resource for famers irrigating on hills so that irrigation
design and management can be adjusted to minimise the likelihood of runoff and achieve
good practice. It is paired with the IrrigationNZ Resource Book 4: Irrigation Essentials.
The guidelines have been prepared through a Sustainable Farming Fund project led by
IrrigationNZ and are co-authored with AgResearch, Landcare research and Aqualinc with
input from Precision Irrigation and North Otago Irrigation Company.
Guidelines contained in this book are relevant to all irrigated areas in New Zealand where
slope has the potential to cause irrigation water to move off-site as either surface or
subsurface flow.
Several methods of irrigation are used on hill slopes in New Zealand. They include contour
flood irrigation, spray (sprinkler) irrigation, drip and micro irrigation. These guidelines focus
on spray irrigation, although the principles can be applied to all irrigation methods.
Achieving efficient irrigation on hill country is more challenging than on flat land and
therefore needs improved skills and approaches. Design and management have to be
carefully tailored to the situation. Standard irrigation design approaches do not fully
account for variations found in hill country. The critical challenge when designing and
managing irrigation on hill country is to keep the water in the plant root zone avoiding
and minimising runoff.
The New Zealand Piped Irrigation Systems Design Code of Practice is being revised to
include recommendations from this book.

Ten commandments
We begin this book with ten commandments for irrigating hill country. Irrigating by these
simple rules will go a long way to ensure your operation is sustainable and efficient.
1. Before irrigating know the existing soil moisture deficit, and measure the
soil moisture regularly
2. Be certain of the depth of irrigation being applied – calibrate your system
3. Be prepared to vary irrigation to different land management units
4. Know the available water-holding capacity of your soil
5. Know and enhance the infiltration of your soils
6. Dig holes to visually investigate your soils’ drainage characteristics
7. Be prepared to compromise production in some areas to minimise runoff risk
8. Design and maintain your irrigation system so that it can apply irrigation at
the rate and precision required to minimise runoff and drainage
9. Manage your operations to preserve your soil
10. Love thy neighbour!

IRRIGATION ON HILLS | 1
INTRODUCTION

Sheep tracking starts to p

show at about 25˚ stee
ry
Ve

ep
Ste

tely
dera
Mo steep
ngly
Stro ling
rol
Rolling
Flat Undulating

NZLRI 0–3˚ 4–7˚ 8–15˚ 16–20˚ 21–25˚ 26–35˚ > 35˚

OVERSEER 0–7˚ 8–15˚ 16–25˚ > 25˚

Traditional Lowlands and downlands Hill land and downlands Steepland

classification (Slope <12˚) (Slope 12–28˚) (Slope >28˚)

Figure 1. Common New Zealand topographical slope classifications. (De Klein et al., 2009)

Defining hill country irrigation

Hill country in the context of this document and the guidelines book refers to sloping
ground ranging from 3˚ to 25˚. Irrigation occurs on the full range of slopes. All crop types
can be grown on hilly ground including arable, pasture, viticulture and horticulture fruit
and vegetables, limited only by the ability to harvest them. Figure 1 and Appendix A
provide hill country slope definitions.
Hill country situations and soils are more variable than those on flatter ground due to a
range of factors. These include topographic position, aspect, underlying geology, climate
and past use.
Hill country landscapes typically include a complex mixture of flat and sloping land, with
The aim of hill country irrigation is different aspects. In many instances mechanical land alteration has occurred to allow
to maximise irrigation efficiency – irrigation and farm infrastructure to be installed further increasing complexity.
the percentage of applied water
that stays in the root zone and is To guide hill country irrigation practices, it is necessary to understand the interactions of
used by the plant. the different components of the whole system. This book focusses on the landscape, soil,
irrigation system and farm management factors affecting irrigation on hills.

2 | IRRIGATION ON HILLS
Identifying and
explaining the risks
1. Landscape factors
KEY CONCEPTS
• The steeper the slope the more likely water will move
• Adjusting for different aspect is necessary
• Slope has a bearing on production and therefore water demand

Evapotranspiration Precipitation

Subsurface lateral flow

Surface run-off
Vertical percolation

A
Cla AB
ypa
n
Bt1
Deep
percolation Bt2
Claypan C

Figure 2. A stylised cross section through a hill slope to illustrate vertical and lateral water
movement through soil horizons and underlying parent materials

There are three main landscape factors to consider.

1. Angle of slope – the steeper the slope the more likely water will move laterally
under gravity.
2. Length of slope – longer slopes are more likely to result in toeslope seepage and
runoff. These losses represent the cumulative volume effect with runoff increasing
as water applied above runs downhill to the next slope position if there is either
infiltration or saturation excess.
3. Aspect – orientation to the sun and winds affect shading and exposure in turn
affecting soil wetting and drying, plant growth and evapotranspiration rates.
Irrigation needs to be varied, timing and amount, to account for different aspects.
Nationally, differences in total annual production between sunny and shady slopes
varies from site to site depending on whether temperature or soil moisture is the major
constraint to production.
Trials in North Otago, suggest that a southerly facing slope remains colder and wetter
than a north-facing slope. These soils have a lower growth potential, and require less
irrigation than north-facing slopes.

IRRIGATION ON HILLS | 3
IDENTIFYING AND EXPLAINING THE RISKS

At a high rainfall North Island site, Gillingham (1973) reported yields on N facing slopes
were 10% higher than from S facing slopes. Interestingly he also showed that slope
accounted for 22% of the observed variation in pasture growth rates. Annually yield
decreased by around 100 kg DM/ha/yr for every degree increase in slope.
When scheduling irrigation to account for aspect, it may be necessary to work out an
adjustment factor. Trial and error will be the best way to determine the adjustment factor
as each slope and system is unique. Water use will be related to yield so this may be a
good starting point for the factor. If yields are down 10%, water use will also be down 10%.

2. Soil factors
KEY CONCEPTS
• Very important to know your soils well
• Soils are highly variable in hilly environments
• The variation and soil properties will dictate design and management
of irrigation

The soil is your key asset and to maximise the irrigation input and avoid soil and nutrient
loss, looking after the soil structure is a priority. Keeping good soil structure will achieve
twin objectives of maximising moisture conservation and providing an ideal environment
to grow crops. Knowing and understanding your base soil resource is the most important
aspect to be able to manage irrigation on hilly ground. The soil variability and properties
will influence design and management of irrigation.

WATER HOLDING CAPACITY

The critical information required to assist irrigation management is
• the soil water content at field capacity (FC),
• the ‘total available water’ holding capacity (TAW) of the soil and
• the actual soil moisture on any one day.
TAW is a measure of the amount of water that the soil can store which is then
available for plant use. The TAW values vary considerably between different soils.
Full explanation of all soil water concepts are provided in the IrrigationNZ Resource
Book 4: Irrigation Essentials.
These soil water properties are reported as a percentage of the soil volume or in
millimetres to a fixed depth. The size of TAW is determined by the type of soil that exists
and the depth of roots.
For irrigation scheduling the mm/depth is the most practical to use. For example a TAW
of 20% by volume is equivalent to 200 mm in 1 metre of soil, or 100 mm in 0.5 m.
The term “Profile Available Water” (PAW) is used to report mm to a fixed depth, normally
the rooting depth.
Importantly for hill country PAW is likely to vary considerably on different parts of a
slope. For example the PAW in Pallic soils (deep, silty with compact subsoils) is often
reduced due to a slowly permeable or impermeable subsoil, above which water perches
to form a saturated layer. Plant roots die in saturated conditions and are unable to grow
through an impermeable zone (and the saturated zone, if saturated for a long period),
effectively reducing the PAW. A crop will extract water from the soil over its rooting
depth. If a hard pan exists in the soil, roots may not grow through the pan. If a tighter
soil horizon but not a hard pan exists, roots may grow through it, but their growth is

4 | IRRIGATION ON HILLS
 IDENTIFYING AND EXPLAINING THE RISKS

likely to be restricted. The majority of water is extracted from the area with the greatest
concentration of roots, so this area is the most important to manage to keep enough
water in that portion of soil.
A rule of thumb for irrigation scheduling recommends that irrigation should commence
when half of the total available water (50%) has been used, commonly termed the ‘stress
point’. The allowable depletion factor (50%) is the percentage of water depleted before
plants slow their growth to compensate for less accessible water – the stress point.
This introduces the concept of Readily available water (RAW). RAW is the amount of
water between FC and the stress point. This rule of thumb applies equally to hill country
and flat land irrigation.
The actual soil moisture content on any one day can be estimated, modelled or measured.
It is preferable to take regular measurements of the soil moisture, and relate it to field
capacity and RAW.
Irrigation should be designed to apply a depth of water so that soil moisture does not
exceed field capacity or drop below the stress point (this maximises plant growth but
this can be altered if it is desirable to put plants under water stress, e.g. grapevines to
manipulate fruit quality).
An example under a pastoral situation is if a soil has a PAW of 120 mm over a 500 mm
root zone and the allowable depletion is 50%, the irrigation system should be designed to
apply up to 60 mm.
Figure 3 provides an example of a soil water balance for a soil which has an TAW of
98 mm. The vertical axis shows the millimetres of water in excess or in deficit for any
one day. On 31 July the soil was close to Field Capacity and there were several drainage
and runoff events (denoted by the green squares). By September the soil was in deficit by
98 mm, i.e. at Permanent Wilting Point. The red line is the trigger point for irrigation and
shows that these soils required irrigation for the period September–January, and then for a
short period on March–April.

49
Runoff/drainage
event
RO

Field
mm

0 Capacity
Soil moisture
SMD

deficit (mm)

Half
-49 TAW

Wilting
-98 Point
31 30 29 29 28 28 27 26 28 27 27 26 26 25 24 24 23 23
Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Figure 3. A soil water balance explained

IRRIGATION ON HILLS | 5
IDENTIFYING AND EXPLAINING THE RISKS

Table 1: Intake curve and soil class.

Soil infiltration rates
Approx. intake 100
Soil class curve number 1.5

Tight clay 0.1

80
1.0

Infiltration rate (mm/h)

Clay/clay loam 0.1–0.2
Silt loam 0.2 –0.3 60
Intake curves
Sandy, stony silt loam 0.3 –0.5
0.5
Sandy loam and 0.5 –1.0 40
0.3
fine sand
0.2
Sand 1.0 – 1.5 20
0.1
Coarse sand 1.5
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Watering time (min)

Figure 4. Characteristic soil infiltration curves, showing decreasing infiltration rate with increasing
watering time.

SOIL INFILTRATION RATE

KEY CONCEPTS
• Highly variable on hilly terrain
• Soil structure is an important determinant of infiltration rate
• Important to know the most limiting infiltration rate in the soil profile
• Infiltration slows as the soil wets up

Soil infiltration rate is the speed that water can infiltrate into a soil, specified in mm/hr.
Infiltration rates can be highly variable on one hillslope depending on a number of factors.
1. Structure
2. Texture
3. Compaction
4. Water content
5. Organic matter.

Understanding and knowing the most limiting infiltration rate and where in the slope it is,
is important for managing irrigation.
The rate at which an irrigation system applies water is defined by an application
intensity (mm/hr).
Low soil infiltration rates relative to application intensities lead to ponding on level
ground and overland flow or runoff on sloping ground. The ponding is less critical as the
water does not leave the general target area but in the case of sloping ground where it
runs off it is. Therefore in hilly ground it is important the irrigation application intensities
are less than soil infiltration rates.

6 | IRRIGATION ON HILLS
 IDENTIFYING AND EXPLAINING THE RISKS

A complicating factor is that soil infiltration rates are not constant and decrease over
time as the soil wets up. During irrigation (of flat and sloping land), water applied to the
soil surface infiltrates into the macro- and micro-pores and then infiltrates laterally, via
capillary suction, into the remaining soil micro-pores. As the soil pores fill, the rate of
infiltration decreases to the infiltration rate of the most restrictive layer.
The depth of water applied and the initial soil water content will influence the depth to
which water penetrates.
Even though some irrigation systems have low application intensities (<5mm/hr) for
example K-Line, after a length of time it is still too fast for some soils to cope. The
initial fast infiltration rates do allow for some reasonably high instantaneous application
intensities, which some systems and management options can use to their advantage
by having higher application intensity than the long term infiltration rates. Figure 4 gives
some context of the time lines and infiltration rates for different soil types.

SOIL STRUCTURE

KEY CONCEPTS
• Careful management is important to maintain good soil structure

Different soils will have varying resilience to the impact of grazing and cultivation
processes. These management practices can reduce the infiltration rate and TAW of the
soil, due to processes such as compaction and destruction of soil structure.
High organic matter and plant root mass encourages good soil structure and a larger
proportion of macropores. This improves infiltration rates.
Several techniques to conserve and improve soil structure and moisture retention
can be applied.
• Reducing the physical effects of irrigation and farm machinery on soils – by
employing controlled traffic systems vehicle movements are limiting to designated
areas. Having low impact and wide or dual tyres reduces the impact pressure on soil
• Controlling stock movement and grazing intensity – aim to minimise the
compaction of the top soil layer to prevent capping
• Grazing at optimal soil moisture – grazing directly after an irrigation or rainfall
event when the topsoil is moist can pug and damage the top soil. Ideally introduce
animals to graze 24 hours after irrigation
• Cultivating soil at optimal soil moisture
• Conservation and minimum tillage – these techniques limit the damaging effect of
cultivation on soil structure and keep soil moisture from being lost
• Crop mulching – growing a crop that is mulched back into the soil. This is a long
term measure to improve soil structure and fertility
• Modifying soil properties – deep ripping or subsoiling will break pans, aerate the soil
and improve subsurface permeability
• Breaking soil crusts – using a roller with “spikes” to disturb the top layer can slow
the downslope flow and improve infiltration
• Crop rotations or pastures that include deep rooting or taproot plants
• Applying soil conditioning agents such as lime, gypsum or anionic
polyacrylamide (PAM)
• Encouraging worm activity.

IRRIGATION ON HILLS | 7
IDENTIFYING AND EXPLAINING THE RISKS

For intensively cropped soils, a return to a more traditional mixed cropping regime with
periods of pasture can restore structure. In pastoral settings plants that have ability to
penetrate and loosen subsoil such as Lucerne and /or have deeper tap roots and are able
to withstand periods of moisture stress are a useful addition to the farm system approach
There are some other ideas not considered mainstream that can be used.
• The construction of terraces to slow the downslope flow of water, and to reduce
erosion and increase infiltration. However, this can be expensive if large volumes of
soil need to be moved, and is only feasible if the soil is deep enough to withstand
the modifications.
• Tree belts to capture the runoff from a hillslope. The soil beneath the trees exhibit a
higher infiltration rate attributed to better soil structure due to the absence of stock
and to a cover of leaf litter over the soil surface. The leaf litter slows the downslope
flow of water, allowing more time for infiltration.
• Constructed wetlands to capture and treat runoff. This is an ambulance at
the bottom of the cliff approach, but could be part of an overall runoff
management strategy.

SOIL PERMEABILITY

KEY CONCEPTS
• Irrigation application intensity must equal or be less than the
slowest permeable layer in the soil profile

Permeability – is the speed of water movement through the soil layers. Stony soils
are typically very permeable, whereas dense silty soils are more slowly permeable,
for example Pallic soils. It is also measured in mm/hr. For instance, sands may have
permeability rates of 2000 mm/hr while some heavy clays may have rates near to zero.
The overall permeability of the soil is controlled by the slowest layer.
Water percolating through the soil profile tends to accumulate at the interface between
rapid and slowly permeable layers. On flat land, accumulated water may remain perched
in the soil profile. This has the effect of saturating that zone and this can restrict
root penetration and growth. However on sloping land there is greater tendency for
accumulated water to move laterally along the interface between soil layers.

When irrigating it is necessary to apply water at a rate less than, or equal to, the
most limiting infiltration rate of the slowest permeable layer. If it is not possible to
sufficiently reduce the intensity of the irrigation application then alternatively the
depth of water applied can be reduced to match the storage capacity of the soil
above the most limiting layer. This management action will avoid water reaching
the slowest permeable layer. It may also mean a trade-off of having to increase the
frequency of irrigation needed.

In relatively deep soils which are likely to occur at the bottom of a slope, the water
storage capacity is greater and will withstand greater depths of irrigation before
percolating to the slowly permeable horizon. This will not result in runoff in the same
way as the same depth of water being applied to the midslope region where the soil is
shallower. However the bottom of the slope is an area where any lateral water movement
from above will accumulate, which can result in seepage at this position. Figure 5
demonstrates this.

8 | IRRIGATION ON HILLS
 IDENTIFYING AND EXPLAINING THE RISKS

0.0m

0.3m

Infil
trati
0.6m on e
xces
s

Sat
ura
tion
exc
ess
Im
pe
rm runoff
ea
ble
lay
er
Zone of saturation

piezometer

Figure 5. Irrigation applied to a slope will run-off if application intensity exceeds infiltration rate. In addition a slowly permeable subsurface layer
will restrict downward movement of water, and result in movement of water laterally through the soil, accumulating at the bottom of the slope.

For instance, assume a soil has a water holding capacity of 80 mm over a 500 mm crop
root zone but there is a slowly permeable soil layer at 300–500 mm with an infiltration
rate of 10 mm/h. Irrigation is being applied at a intensity of 40 mm/h.
The water holding capacity above the slowly permeable layer is 48 mm
(i.e. 300 mm /500 mm x 80 mm = 48 mm). Allowing for 50% depletion, the effective
soil water storage for irrigation is only 24 mm. However, if a depth greater than 24 mm is
applied, water in excess of the 24 mm deficit will accumulate along the interface between
freely- to slowly- permeable soil layers at a rate of 30 mm/hr. (application intensity(40)
minus infiltration rate(10) = 30).
The volume of water that accumulates at the toeslope will be influenced by the distance
from the point of flow generation (i.e. slope length in relation to location of irrigation) as
well as irrigation depth.

The combination of water holding capacity, infiltration and permeability are the
main factors in the generation of runoff through either excess depth applied for
the soil water holding capacity or excess intensity for the most limiting infiltration
rate present.

IRRIGATION ON HILLS | 9
IDENTIFYING AND EXPLAINING THE RISKS

SOIL DEPTH

KEY CONCEPTS
• Best way to determine soil depth is with a spade and ruler!
• Depth is very variable on hill sides
• The depth helps determine the water holding capacity of the soil

Position on the slope affects soil depth. A typical hill country slope configuration is
outlined below:
• Summit – the area at the top of the slope. Typically soil depth is shallow relative
to other slope positions. However, in some situations across different soil types,
for example where a mantle of volcanic ash occurs – summit soils could be
relatively deep. Therefore visual inspection and local knowledge of individual sites is
of paramount importance.
• Shoulder – Typically soil depth is shallow relative to other slope positions, and
needs to be assessed by visual inspection.
• Midslope – typically the steepest part of the slope, with an average soil depth
relative to other slope positions.
• Footslope – the area where slope begins to flatten out, and soils are
typically deeper.
• Toeslope – the area at the bottom, typically with deeper soils.
• Valley floor – flat land, typically with relatively deep soils.

In some landscapes, there may be complex sequences of these basic hillslope units on
any one slope.

Summit
Shoulder

Midslope

Footslope

Toeslope
Allu m
Collu vium Alluviu
vium

Figure 6. A schematic representation of a typical sequence of land units on a hill slope.

10 | IRRIGATION ON HILLS
 IDENTIFYING AND EXPLAINING THE RISKS

3. Irrigation system factors

KEY CONCEPTS
• Very important to know accurately what depth is being applied
and the intensity of application

The four main system factors to consider are listed below. They relate mostly to the
interaction with the soil properties discussed above.

INTENSITY OF WATER APPLICATION

Measured in mm/hour the relativity to the soil infiltration rate is the most important A simple calibration exercise will
relationship. Application intensity describes the difference between a gentle shower determine the depth applied
and application intensity of your
versus a heavy rainstorm event. There is no room for error when irrigating on slopes as any
irrigator.
excess intensity over infiltration will result in water moving away from the target area.

Table 2: Range of application intensities for irrigation system types. See the IrrigationNZ website:
[Link]
System type Average application Intensity ranges mm/hr
K-line 3–6 Dependent on sprinkler orifice size
Long lateral 5 – 15 Dependent on sprinkler orifice size
Gun 15 – 25 Dependent on sprinkler orifice size
Fixed sprinkler 5 – 30 Dependent on sprinkler orifice size
Travelling irrigator 15 – 30 Dependent on nozzle or sprinkler size
Rotorainer/fixed boom
Pivot 5 – 80 Ranges along a pivot. Typically for a 400 m pivot at
span 1, 5–8mm/hr & end span 60–80mm/hr
Linear 30 – 60 Dependent on orifice size and sprinkler type

DEPTH OF WATER APPLIED

Two aspects need to be considered:
1. the range of depths able to be applied
2. the length of time that the depth takes to be applied.
Firstly the range of depths has to match the water holding capacity of the soil being
irrigated and the length of time relates to the infiltration changes over time.

LOCATION
Location of irrigation on slope (summit, midslope, toeslope) – different locations will
require different depths and rates applied depending on soil properties.

ORIENTATION
Orientation of irrigation on slope – applying water simultaneously from top to bottom
of a slope will have greater potential for runoff or subsurface flow with the cumulative
effect of water moving downhill. This should be avoided wherever possible.

IRRIGATION ON HILLS | 11
IDENTIFYING AND EXPLAINING THE RISKS

4. Farm management factors

KEY CONCEPTS
• What you do can have a large effect on the efficiency of irrigation
• Soils are a form of water storage

The farm management factors are aimed at either managing your soils to maintain their
structure maximising water storage capacity and infiltration rates or optimising irrigation
scheduling to make the best use of the storage capacity the soils have.
Avoiding compaction and pugging from excessive traffic and animal movements on wet
ground will keep damage to a minimum. Some soils if damaged when too dry form an
impermeable crust that repels water reducing irrigation efficiency. Poor cultivation and
grazing practices tend to destabilise soils on slopes, cause compaction, reduce water
infiltration and increase the risk of erosion and downslope movement over time.
Timing of irrigation events taking into account current soil moisture status,
evapotranspiration rates and likelihood of rainfall in the near future allows the soil storage
to be maximised avoiding runoff and drainage.

12 | IRRIGATION ON HILLS
Managing the risk
1. Land management units
KEY CONCEPTS
• Define units using a combination of practical judgement and measurement
• When designing irrigation – match the capability of the irrigation
system to the resolution of LMU
• When retrofitting – match the resolution of the LMU to the capability
of the system.

Land management units (LMU) are a tool that sorts areas according to the features and
conditions present. Once identified LMU’s allow farm and irrigation management of these
areas to be tailored to best match the conditions.
Before investing in new irrigation development LMU identification allows the
characteristics of each LMU to determine the level of flexibility needed to be built into
the capability of the system.
It is important to identify LMU’s using practical judgement and on-farm knowledge,
matching their resolution and detail to the ability of the irrigation system to apply water
to them. The more flexible the system, the more refined the LMU’s can be. For instance,
a slope could be divided lengthways into areas at least as wide as the throw of a K-line.
Pivots fitted with variable rate irrigation (VRI) sprinklers can have a high level of detail in
the LMU’s.
Some LMU’s may cover very small areas and will not be worth treating separately. If runoff
is generated from small but highly sensitive areas, there may be a LMU identified at the
bottom that may be able to accommodate the runoff without causing adverse effects.
Runoff may move into areas that may not need irrigation.

When applying LMU to an existing system in many instances the irrigation system
and infrastructure may not have the required flexibility to change management to
account for the critical factors. In these cases some physical changes to irrigation
systems may need to be made.

For example in a situation where a LMU is characterised by shallow topsoil with low
infiltration rate, and/or slow permeability through subsequent layers, irrigators will have two
options. They can lower the intensity of irrigation to be less than surface infiltration rate or
permeability of the slowest subsurface soil layer, or avoid the slowest layer completely by
reducing the depth of irrigation applied to the appropriate amount. Reducing the depth will
have an effect on the return period and the system capacity to achieve this must match.

RISK ASSESSMENT FOR LMU’S

For hill country categorising irrigated areas into low, medium and high risk of runoff and
low irrigation application efficiency is recommended. Topographical, hydrological, soil
factors and other criteria can be used.
The two key issues that LMU’s need to account for are:
1. Applying water at the correct intensity to match the limiting factor,
i.e. infiltration rate at the soil surface or permeability of layers in the soil profile.
2. Applying the correct depth of water at an appropriate return interval, maintaining
soil moisture between field capacity and the stress point.

IRRIGATION ON HILLS | 13
MANAGING THE RISK

As a guide to working out a practical set of LMU’s for hill country irrigation, the matrix in
Table 3 uses suggested categories according to the risk of runoff.

It features the critical elements of:

• slope
• infiltration
• depth of soil or depth of soil to a limiting layer represented by the
Total Available Water (TAW).

Table 3: Runoff risk matrix

Infiltration Slope angle

TAW (mm) rate mm/hr 0 – 2˚ 3 – 8˚ > 9˚

< 50 0 – 10 High High High

> 10 Medium Medium High

50 – 120 0 – 10 Medium Medium High

> 10 Low Low Medium

> 120 0 – 10 Low Medium High

> 10 Low Low Medium

When deciding on LMU’s risk profile, an overriding determinant may be necessary.

For example, in the table above, the infiltration category of 0–10 mm/hr may become the
determinant so that regardless of where it occurs all LMU’s with that characteristic would
fall into the high risk category and management would change accordingly.
To build this table or something similar for a property, in situ investigations are essential
to define the key characteristics and determinants.
Once the LMUs have been decided by topography and soil characteristics, it is necessary
to overlay the irrigation system capabilities. Table 3 gives a risk profile according to the
irrigation system capability.
If, for instance, you have a high risk LMU identified as midslope over 9˚ and a clay soil with
infiltration rate of less than 5 mm/hr, you will not be able to use an irrigation system with
a medium or high risk. You should use an irrigation system with low risk (see Table 4).

Table 4: Suggested Irrigation system Categories for Low, Medium and High Risk

Application intensity Min application depth (mm)

mm/hr <5 5–25 > 25

<5 Low Low Medium

5–25 Low Medium High

> 25 Medium High High

14 | IRRIGATION ON HILLS
 MANAGING THE RISK

2. Irrigation infrastructure options

KEY CONCEPTS
• Any change to your system has an effect on application depths
and intensity of application
• Make sure your system is operating as it was designed first –
calibrate and monitor

Before considering making changes to any irrigation system, two items should
be addressed:
• The irrigation system must be operating to specification – carry out a system
calibration or evaluation. This will measure application depths, uniformity
and intensity. Irrigation New Zealand provides guidelines and holds a list of
registered evaluators.
• An irrigation management plan (using soil moisture monitoring or water balances)
must be in place.
There is little point in modifying a system that is not able to be operated correctly. All
irrigation operators should be estimating or measuring soil water content, or carrying out
water budgets to determine soil water deficits to know how much water should be applied.

SOME FACTS ABOUT SPRINKLERS

The type and size of sprinklers fitted to hill country irrigation systems is varied. If you
are considering changing sprinklers to solve an application depth or application intensity
problem, there are some general principles you need to know. Keep in mind that actual
performance is sprinkler specific and you must check to ensure these principles apply to
your sprinkler type.
1. For a given pressure, increasing nozzle size will increase application depth,
radius of throw and application intensity.
2. Conversely, for a given pressure, decreasing nozzle size will decrease application
depth, radius of throw and application intensity.
3. For a given nozzle size, increasing sprinkler operating pressure will increase
application depth and radius of throw.
4. For a given nozzle size, increasing sprinkler operating pressure will increase
application intensity for sprinklers that have nozzles smaller than about 10 mm,
not significantly change application intensity for sprinklers that have nozzles
between about 10 and 15 mm, and probably reduce application intensity for
sprinklers that have nozzles larger than about 15 mm.
Changing nozzle size and/or pressure will affect uniformity of application. Although
uniformity depends on how a system is set up in the first place, in general:
1. Increasing nozzle sizes and pressure, i.e. increasing sprinkler radius of throw, will
improve uniformity.
2. Decreasing nozzle sizes and pressure, i.e. decreasing sprinkler radius of throw,
will worsen uniformity.
If you are having application depth and intensity problems, you should consider reducing
both nozzle sizes and pressures for nozzles smaller than about 15 mm, subject to
uniformity of application not being sufficiently reduced.
For guns or sprinklers with nozzles greater than about 15 mm, you should consider
reducing nozzle sizes and also increasing pressure. This will increase radius of throw,
decrease application intensity and potentially improve uniformity.

IRRIGATION ON HILLS | 15
MANAGING THE RISK

SPECIFIC SYSTEM OPTIONS

Table 5 details the actions that could help reduce both application intensity and depth applied for towable and fixed sprinkler
systems. In each case trial and error may be required to see if the problem can be solved.

Table 5

Reducing nozzle
sizes or change to
ACTION

a sprinkler with a
Running the Targeting greater radius of Orientating Turning
system for Shifting irrigation Pulsing the throw (decreasing lines across individual Not watering
less time more often to LMU’s applications intensity) slopes sprinklers off some areas

Effectively Little and often Match the Gives time for Be aware that Avoiding Where there Areas that
decreasing to decrease the application water applied this will affect irrigating up is potential act as catch
COMMENTS

the applied depth applied depth and to soak into the uniformity and and down problems of runoff or
depth per and increase the intensities soil and takes possibly require slopes drainage may
irrigation event return period to the LMU advantage of the a higher standard not need extra
conditions higher infiltration of filtration and irrigation
rates before the higher operating
soil gets too wet pressure

The above options may require changes to the system to increase the
capacity and may require some automation of the system (re: pulsing).
SPRAYLINES – KLINE
TOWABLE

* * * * * * * *
LONG LATERAL
SPRINKLERS

— —
* * * * * *
FIXED SPRINKLERS
(SOLID SET)

— —

*NB: Most towable spraylines have low to moderate application intensities. It is unlikely that irrigation application intensities will be
significantly higher than soil infiltration rates. If ponding and runoff occurs, it is most likely to be from excessive application depth.

Fixed sprinkler systems are configured in one of two ways:

1. Block systems – a group of sprinklers operating together
2. Individually operated – each sprinkler can be operated independently of any others.
Both types of system can be set up to operate manually by opening and closing valves, or automatically using automatic control
valves and electronic controllers. Sprinkler types vary from small (such as Nelson Rotators) through to big guns. Once installed, they
are difficult and costly to reconfigure, so it is critical that the design is right from the beginning. Well-designed systems should be
able to apply water efficiently without causing deep drainage or runoff.

16 | IRRIGATION ON HILLS
 MANAGING THE RISK

Table 6 details the actions that could help reduce both application intensity and depth
applied for gun, rotary and linear boom systems. In each case trial and error may be
required to see if the problem can be solved.

Table 6

Fit boombacks
Reducing nozzle or alternate
ACTION

sizes or change sprinklers Fitting

Running to a sprinkler Targeting front then individual
at a higher More frequent with a greater irrigation Not watering Install spreaders back over truss sprinkler
travel speed shifts radius of throw to LMU’s some areas on drive nozzles rods (pivots) control

Reduces depth Less water more Reduces Match the Areas that Reduces Reduces Fitting individual
applied often reduces application application depth act as catch application intensity sprinkler control
COMMENTS

applied depth depth (size) and intensities of runoff or intensity by reducing may require
and intensity to the LMU drainage may irrigation infrastructural
(throw) conditions not need footprint changes to
extra irrigation pumping
systems, such as
fitting variable
The above options may require changes to speed drives
the system to increase the capacity. on motors.
GUN (HARD OR
SOFT HOSE)

Some gun models

are able to be
programmed to vary — — —
gun travel speed
on a run to better
match specific needs
along the run.
(E.G. ROTO-RAINERS)
ROTARY BOOMS

May have
implications for
— — efficient operation, — —
such as slowing
down in the wind or
insufficient power to
maintain constant
travel speed.

Rotary boom irrigators are not normally practical on hill country. However, they are used on gently rolling country.
FIXED BOOMS

— —
PIVOTS

— —
VRI VRI
LINEARS

— —
VRI VRI

NB: Correct operating pressures are critical for good stream breakup to lessen the intensity.

IRRIGATION ON HILLS | 17
MANAGING THE RISK

FIXED BOOM TRAVELLING IRRIGATORS

Most fixed booms are fitted with medium sized impact sprinklers or sprinklers similar to
those fitted to pivots and linears. However, some may be fitted with low pressure spray
nozzles, or perhaps large impact sprinklers or high pressure guns.
The average intensity at which they apply water depends on the type of sprinkler – low
pressure spray nozzles have the highest intensity. Guns are also high, and may have issues
with instantaneous application intensities. Small impacts and pivot type sprinklers (such
as Nelson Rotators or Senninger I-Wobs), have the lowest application intensities.
In most situations, average irrigation application intensities will be lower than soil
infiltration rates if small rotating type sprinklers are being used. In those circumstances,
if ponding and runoff is occurring, it is most likely to be caused by excessive application
depth, or soil infiltration rates are particularly low relative to the application intensity.

CENTRE-PIVOTS
Application intensity is a function of pivot design – primarily the type and size of
sprinklers fitted. If application intensity is a problem (water ponds and runs off relatively
quickly during irrigation), the wetted footprint of the sprinklers needs to be increased.
An option to remedy this issue is installing shorter pivots if ponding and runoff is evident
at the end of pivots.
Note that putting less water on by speeding up a pivot and running it on a very short
return interval (1 or 2 days) will decrease application efficiency because a higher
proportion of the applied water is evaporated from plants and the ground surface.
Also note that fitting VRI may require infrastructural changes to pumping systems, such as
fitting variable speed drives on motors.

LINEARS
In principle, linears are similar to fixed booms, although can be more suited to rolling
country than booms.
Most linears are fitted with sprinklers similar to those fitted to pivots, although nozzle
size and application depths tend to be higher.
The average intensity at which they apply water depends on the type and configuration of
sprinkler. Pivot type sprinklers, such as Nelson R3000 Rotators or Senninger I-Wobs, have
the lowest application intensities.
Generally, average irrigation application intensities will be lower than soil infiltration rates.
If ponding and runoff is occurring, it is most likely to be caused by excessive application
depth, as laterals tend to have longer return intervals than pivots. Problems can also occur
if soil infiltration rates are particularly low relative to the application intensity.

18 | IRRIGATION ON HILLS
 MANAGING THE RISK

3. Irrigation scheduling and application

KEY CONCEPTS
• Soil moisture measurement is a minimum requirement for irrigation
good management practice!
• Premium practice is measuring soil moisture in all LMU and
scheduling irrigation accordingly

Ideally all irrigation scheduling, i.e. deciding how much depth to apply in any single
event, should be guided by soil water monitoring combined with weather forecasts and a
detailed knowledge of soil water holding capacity.
In line with farm plans there are three levels of scheduling decision making.

1 BASIC – May be adequate for small blocks, low application rates, low water use; or border dyke on roster.
scheduling based on • Consideration of rain/weather forecast.
visual observations • Dig holes and check.
• Use a physical probe (e.g. electric fence standard or spade) to check soil water.

2 GOOD – Desirable minimum for spray irrigators.

scheduling based • Soil moisture measurement actively used
on soil moisture • Use basic checks (holes/fence standard) to check technology/calculations
monitoring data
• Rainfall is measured and recorded
• Consideration of weather forecast
• Soil temperature monitored

3 PREMIUM – Required to fully demonstrate efficient water use.

scheduling based • Farm-wide water balance modelling using local climate data and ground-truthed with soil
on soil moisture moisture monitoring in each soil type or LMU
monitoring of • Records of measurements and irrigation decisions kept to demonstrate how soil water
each LMU (or groups deficits are managed between field capacity and the stress point
of similar LMU) and
• Sensor records stored on computer or in notebook and reviewed regularly or provided by
weather forecasts
scheduling service.

DEFICIT IRRIGATION
Deficit irrigation is the practice of maintaining a soil moisture deficit, i.e. not filling up
the soil profile to field capacity and/or allowing the soil to dry out past the stress point.
This has the effect of leaving some room in the soil storage that can be used to soak
up any rainfall, avoid soil saturation and mitigate against drainage and run-off losses.
However, if soils are allowed to dry below the stress point, some production can be lost.
However, sometimes a controlled amount of deficit irrigation can improve the quality of
certain crops, e.g. horticultural and seed crops.
Deficit irrigation is used as a management tool in viticulture and horticulture crops to
manipulate the fruit quality or attributes. In a pastoral situation the effect of deficit
irrigation has the effect of “hardening” off the pasture and changing the physiology of the
plant towards reproduction phase.
Making the plant work harder for soil water also has the beneficial effect of making
the roots extend and search for water at greater soil depths. Production losses can be
avoided as long as the irrigation system has the capacity to have shorter return intervals
keeping the soil moisture above the stress point but not filling the soil completely to
field capacity.

IRRIGATION ON HILLS | 19
 Stylised soil moisture trace

Field capacity

Conventional
Soil irrigation management
moisture
trace

Stress point
Deficit
irrigation management

Time

Figure 7. Deficit irrigation maintains a soil moisture deficit, and can be employed to conserve
water, reduce runoff and drainage and enhance the quality of certain crops (e.g. seed crops).

VARIABLE RATE IRRIGATION

The natural variability of soil depth, drainage characteristics and TAW in hill country
environments means that it is seldom possible to irrigate the whole area uniformly to field
capacity. Where a uniform rate of irrigation is applied some areas will be under-watered
and other areas will be over-watered. Areas that are over-watered result in drainage or
run off.
Variable rate irrigation is a combination of detailed soil mapping to determine
LMU’s combined with computer control of individual sprinklers. It applies different depths
of water to different LMU at any one time. Variable rate irrigation provides flexibility and
control allowing high resolution variable application to meet specific soil moisture deficit
for an LMU, or different crops requirements under one system. It requires a high level of
automation capability and can be applied to pivots, linears, fixed sprinkler systems and
some guns.

RELIABILITY AND CAPABILITY

As with any irrigation, reliability of supply is critical to be able to manage irrigation
optimally. Having water available when and where it is needed allows a ‘just in time’
approach to watering and ability to schedule applications carefully taking into account
the soil conditions, plant water needs and weather forecast. An adequate water supply
also provides flexibility for the system to be able to catch up when falling behind or when
a rainfall event did not deliver all that it promised. If the capability is not built into the
design it is very difficult to retrofit. So the capability, mm/ha/day and an appropriate
return interval, needs to be a consideration when deciding on the system design.

MITIGATION METHODS FOR PRODUCTION LOSS ON HILLSLOPES

There are some possible mitigation measures to counter production loss occurring on
areas where irrigation cannot be applied because of a high risk that it would cause runoff.
These include:
• Growing crop or “stitching in” pasture varieties that are adapted to the local
conditions and have a higher tolerance to drought with deeper roots
• Growing varieties that produce useful production even if irrigation cannot be
applied for some periods.

20 | IRRIGATION ON HILLS
4. Tools for good irrigation management
There are a number of simple tools which will greatly assist good management of irrigated
hillslopes. These include:
1. A spade and tape measure
A spade is your most useful tool to carry out visual and tactile soil assessment
and measurement. This enables you to investigate what type of soils exist, their
horizon depths (topsoil, subsoil), their drainage characteristics (is there a slowly
permeable layer or very rapidly permeable soil), texture and structure to estimate
the TAW. This is the most critical information to have upfront.
2. Soil maps
Check out S-Map online or your local regional council website for soil
information. They give (where mapped) information on what soil types are likely
to be present on your farm, and the characteristics of these likely soil types .
These maps are produced for regional planning and are not farm-scale maps.
They provide useful information about the typical soils in your region, but you
will need to get some local understanding of the soils on your farm by visual
inspection combined perhaps with an EM survey. This site specific soil information
greatly assists irrigation design and management and allows effective management
of the soil variability. Hence the importance of the spade, farmer knowledge and
farm-scale soil maps!
3. Soil testing
Having decided on the different land units on your farm, you then need to
determine the relevant soil properties for each land unit. These are field
capacity and TAW. Consultants can assist you to make these measurements, and
IrrigationNZ can provide details of accredited consultants. In addition, properly
installed soil moisture monitoring equipment will provide you with site specific
information of field capacity and TAW over time.
4. Soil moisture measurement tools
The most accessible and useful tools available to help schedule and manage
irrigation application. There are three main types (permanent, semi permanent
or mobile) with a variety of brands and models. The type and model chosen
will depend on a number of factors. A guide is available from the IrrigationNZ
website – [Link]. Whatever is chosen, having easy access to, and
understanding the data is important. It is important to calibrate the moisture
measurement tool to your soils on farm.
5. Telemetered data
This is when data being pushed from moisture probes or water meters to a
computer for ease of reading or a service provider that manages and can give
feedback and advice. It is a very useful tool as it takes away the need to physically
download the data from a moisture probe in the paddock. It can be arranged
to show trends and provide alerts when certain conditions are imminent. This
capability is not limited to soil moisture. Data from water meters and electricity
meters can also be included. There are a number of providers who offer this
service already for advice and compliance and the capability and improvements
are getting better all the time. Current research is focusing on making this type of
information available to irrigation managers in “real-time”.

IRRIGATION ON HILLS | 21
 Appendix
New Zealand Hillslope Classifications
The slope classes employed in the S-map and Land Resource Inventory manuals are field
descriptions of major slope classes and groups of slope classes which relate to visual soil
and topographic differences.

Table A1: Slope classes (used in LRI and S-map manuals)

Code Slope Example of slope

Single A 0–3˚ Flat to gently undulating slopes
slope
B 4–7˚ Undulating slopes
classes
C- 8–11˚ Easy rolling slopes
C+ 12–15˚ Moderately rolling slopes
C 8–15˚ Rolling slopes
D 16–20˚ Strongly rolling slopes
E 21–25˚ Moderately steep slopes
F 26–35˚ Steep slopes
G > 35˚ Very steep slopes
Combined W 0–15˚ Wheel-able slopes (wheeled-tractor territory: A–C slopes)
slope
H 16–25˚ Hilly (D and E slopes)
classes
S > 26˚ Steep and very steep (F and G slopes)

Table A2: An analysis of specific activities recognised to occur for the different slopes

Slope group Activities

A 0–3˚ Free ploughing and cultivation (1˚)

B 4–7˚ Soil erosion begins to be a problem (> 3˚)

Some heavy agricultural machinery restricted (6˚)
Difficulties with weeders, precision seeders and some root crop harvesters (3–7˚)
C 8–15˚ Additional front weights to compensate for drag and steering difficulties for
standard wheeled trailers (> 11˚)
Limit of two-way ploughing, depending of field configuration (12˚)
Limit of combine harvester operation, depending of field configuration (15˚)
Restricted loading and off loading of trailers (15˚)
D 16–20˚ Restricted crop rotations, higher cultivation costs, longer periods in pasture (>15˚)
Typical maximum limit for rubber-tyred skidders (18–20˚)
E 21–25˚ Difficult to plough, lime and fertilise, higher cultivation costs, normal rotations
impossible (> 20˚)
Occasional tillage for pasture improvement (20–25˚)
F 26–35˚ Soil movement and the formation of cross-slope stock tracks
Typical maximum limit for tracked skidders (26˚)
Specialised self-levelling tracked harvesting machines (26˚ up to 30˚)
G >35˚
(Modified from Bibby & Mackney 1969; McRae & Burnham 1981; MacDonald 1999; and Occupational Safety and
Health Service 1999).

22 | IRRIGATION ON HILLS
References
McKenzie, B. A., Kemp, P. D., Moot, D. J., Matthew, C. and Lucas, R. J. 1999. Environmental
effects on plant growth and development. In: J. White and J. Hodgson (eds). New Zealand
Pasture and Crop Science. Auckland: Oxford University Press, 29-44.
Gillingham, A. G. 1973. Influence of physical factors on pasture growth on hill country,
Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association, 35, 77-85.
Radcliffe, J. E. 1974. Seasonal distribution of pasture production in New Zealand.
New Zealand Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 2, 341-348.
Hedley C, Roudier P, Ekanayake J (2014). Hill Country Irrigation Project – Knowledge into
Practice. Landcare Research.
Powers J, (2013). A Review of Literature Relevant to Hill Country Irrigation in New Zealand.
Aqualinc Research Ltd, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Aqualinc Research Ltd, 2014. Hill Country Irrigation Programme – Irrigation intensity field
notes, Prepared for IrrigationNZ.
IrrigationNZ resource books 1–7.

IRRIGATION ON HILLS | 23
NOTES

24 | IRRIGATION ON HILLS
 NOTES

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