By Clint Thompson
Georgia cotton growers are on the cusp of another planting season. The Georgia Cotton Commission and University of Georgia Extension Cotton Team implore growers to check now to ensure their irrigation equipment is operating at full capacity.
University of Georgia Precision Ag Specialist Wes Porter highlights what producers should check so there are no issues once plantings commence.
“Those irrigation systems are similar to all the other equipment where they’ve sat all year. I would start logistically, somewhere, at the pivot point probably, and work myself through that entire system. I would open the power box and make sure I’ve got power; make sure that system will walk appropriately,” Porter said. “Make sure all of your drive motors are working there. Check all of your tires and make sure they’re inflated. The last thing you want is to have to change a tire in the middle of the season.
“Check your water source, whether it’s well or surface water and start the pivot up. Make sure there’s no leaks. One thing we had this year that’s uncommon, we had all of that cold weather. If we did not do a good job in draining that system prior to that cold weather, I can guarantee you we’re going to have plastic parts on our pressure regulators and potentially our nozzle bodies and stuff like that, that have cracked.
Make Sure Power is Off Before Checking
“I would strongly encourage growers to start it up, walk it, check your safety stop and make sure it will stop and make sure it will go in reverse. You do have grease fittings on the pivot point of that system. Grease them really well. Make sure power is off to the system, but you can open behind your panel box and make sure no critters have built nests back in the back over the winter. Rats love to chew wires. We don’t want a wire in there that’s working right now but it’s going to short out in a few weeks or months on us.”