Post on 01-Apr-2015
What is Capiphon?What is Capiphon?
Revolutionary Drainage Technology
Best Inventionof the Year 1999
International Exhibition on Ideas, Inventions
and Novelties Nuremberg
What is Capiphon?What is Capiphon?
• 20 cm wide belt of soft durable plastic • 2 mm thick• Ω (Greek Omega) shaped grooves on
under-side• 0.3 mm opening, 1 mm internal pore
What is Capiphon?What is Capiphon?
What is Capiphon?What is Capiphon?
What’s in a Name? What’s in a Name?
• Capiphon = capillary + siphon– Capillarity– Siphon – Surface Tension– Gravity
Continuous column of water in soil
How does it work? How does it work?
How does it work? How does it work?
Year 1 TrialYear 1 Trial
• Capiphon can be used to irrigate vineyards. • Only low head required < 30cm• Level of rise can be controlled by raising/lowering head• Wetting band 1-2 metres either side• Flow rate less than standard drippers.• Flow rate varies according to existing soil moisture.
Further Work IndicatedFurther Work Indicated
– Differing soil types/structures– Wetting patterns in detail– Optimal depth for differing species– Plant responses– Optimal scheduling– Low pressure water supply– Mechanical installation
This StudyCapiphon Belt vs Drip vs Nil
– Mark III system• Simpler to fabricate• Simpler to install• Robust
– Compare soil moisture responses at• Surface• 125 mm depth• 250 mm depth• 350 mm depth
– Fruit yield
2 replications * 3 rowsDrip irrigation disabled on rows either side of plot
Measuring Water Volumes
Water applied to trial site
20-S
ep-1
2
28-S
ep-1
2
06-O
ct-1
2
14-O
ct-1
2
22-O
ct-1
2
30-O
ct-1
2
07-N
ov-1
2
15-N
ov-1
2
23-N
ov-1
2
01-D
ec-1
2
09-D
ec-1
2
17-D
ec-1
2
25-D
ec-1
2
02-J
an-1
3
10-J
an-1
3
18-J
an-1
3
26-J
an-1
3
03-F
eb-1
3
11-F
eb-1
3
19-F
eb-1
3
27-F
eb-1
30
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Irrigation Events
Drip Capiphon
Vo
lum
e (L
itre
s)
Water applied to trial site
29-Aug-12 18-Oct-12 07-Dec-12 26-Jan-13 17-Mar-130
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000Accumulated Volume
Accumuiated Drip
Accumulated Capiphon
To
tal
Vo
lum
e (L
itre
s)
Measuring Soil MoistureProbes mid-way between vine and Irrigation Trench
Soil Factors
• Duplex• Variable – obviously shaped pre-planting• Clay depth varied 125mm to 300mm
0 10 20 30 40 50 600
5
10
15
20
25 Surface
drip 0 nil 0
Capiphon 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 600
5
10
15
20
25
125mm depth
drip 125 nil 125
Capiphon 125
0 10 20 30 40 50 600
5
10
15
20
25250mm depth
drip 250 Nil 250
Capiphon 250
0 10 20 30 40 50 600
5
10
15
20
25
30
350mm depth
Drip 350
Nill 350
Capiphon 350
Average Soil Moisture at Depth
0 125 250 350
Drip 5.6 8.6 11.2 12.6
Nil 4.3 5.9 9.4 13.6
Capiphon 3.6 9.5 13.4 14.3
Average Soil Moisture at Depth
Drip Nil Capiphon
0 5.6 4.3 3.6
125 8.6 5.9 9.5
250 11.2 9.4 13.4
350 12.6 13.6 14.3
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 4000.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
14.0
16.0
Soil Moisture at Depth
Drip
Nil
Capiphon
mm depth
So
il M
ois
ture
Moisture levels at root zone 1(00-300mm) higher under Capiphon irrigation than under Drip
Fruit Weight (Kg)
Sum No. Mean SD
Drip 266.2 57.0 4.67 2.12
Nil 57.6 23.0 2.50 1.46
Capiphon 112.8 27.0 4.18 1.49
Equivalent fruit yield
The Treatment effect is highly statistically significant, showing no evidence of a difference in Fruit weight between the Capiphon and Drip treatments, but a sizable reduction of 1.73 units (95% Confidence interval 0.80 - 2.66) between the nil and Capiphon treatments.
Drip
Nil
Capiphon
Drip
DripNil
Capiphon
Conclusions
Capiphon Irrigation • Delivered water to plant root zone in a vineyard• Used less water• No significant difference in fruit yield compared to Drip
Further Work
• Larger, more refined trials• Trials with less water• Other crops• Differing soil profiles• Differing slopes• Root spread • Infrastructure• Optimal operational procedures• Lots, lots more …
Acknowledgements
• Management and staff at Yalumba’s Jansz Parish Vineyard (formerly Frogmore Creek) for their assistance and advice, especially for allowing me to get in their way.
• Emeritus Prof Don McNeil for the statistical analysis of fruit yield.