Design, development, and performance evaluation of a fertigation device for distributing solid fertilizer

Solid fertilizers, which have a low operating cost, are widely applied in Chinese crop fields. In order to distribute solid fertilizer through fertigation, an innovative device with a simple structure was designed, which can feed, dissolve, and distribute fertilizer simultaneously. The parameters of the outlet pipe and fertilizer-feeding component were designed, and a preliminary equation for calculating the fertilizer-feeding flowrate was established. Then experiments were conducted to optimize the established equation. Obtained results showed that the deviation between the measured and the calculated feeding flowrate through the optimized equation was about 5%. This ensured that the fertilizer-feeding flowrate can be adjusted accurately. Experiments were also conducted to explore the effect of the working parameters on the fertilization uniformity of the designed device. It was found that as the fertilization time and inlet water flowrate increases, the fertilization uniformity increases but fertilizer concentration decreases. Based on the obtained results, it is concluded that the designed fertigation device outperforms the conventional pressure differential tank that is normally applied to distribute solid fertilizers. © 2020 by the authors.