How to Choose the Right Irrigation Controller for Your Farm

A Practical Guide for 5–10 Hectare Irrigation Systems

When planning an irrigation system for a 5–10 hectare farm (approximately 50,000–100,000 m²), many growers and project owners ask a simple question:

“What coverage area should the irrigation controller have?”

In practice, irrigation controllers are not selected based on coverage area, but on system structure and irrigation logic.

1. Area Is Not the Key Factor in Controller Selection

An irrigation controller does not irrigate the land directly.
Instead, it controls:

  • Solenoid valves
  • Water pumps
  • Irrigation schedules and logic

What really matters when selecting a controller includes:

  • How many irrigation zones the field is divided into
  • The irrigation method used (drip or sprinkler)
  • Pump flow rate and water pressure
  • Pipe layout and zoning strategy

For a 5–10 hectare irrigation project, the field is almost always divided into multiple zones and irrigated sequentially.

2. Typical Zoning Logic for a 5–10 Hectare Project

In real agricultural applications:

  • One irrigation zone usually covers 0.3–1 hectare
  • A 10-hectare farm is typically divided into 10–30 irrigation zones
  • Each zone is controlled by a dedicated solenoid valve
  • The controller opens zones one by one to maintain stable pressure

This design approach:

  • Protects the water pump
  • Ensures uniform irrigation
  • Reduces water and energy waste

3. Choosing the Right Irrigation Controller

For medium-scale agricultural irrigation projects, the controller should:

  • Support multiple irrigation zones
  • Allow flexible and programmable irrigation schedules
  • Control both valves and pumps
  • Be expandable as the project grows

Controllers such as PKYDrip multi-zone irrigation controllers are designed specifically for these applications.
They are built around zone-based system architecture, rather than fixed area limitations.

4. Key Information Needed Before Final Selection

To confirm the correct controller configuration, the following information is typically required:

  1. Total irrigation area
  2. Irrigation method (drip or sprinkler)
  3. Number of irrigation zones
  4. Pump power and water source

With this information, the irrigation system can be designed accurately and efficiently.

Conclusion

For a 5–10 hectare irrigation system, the key question is not
“How many square meters can the controller cover?”
but how effectively it manages irrigation zones, valves, pumps, and control logic.

A well-designed, zone-based irrigation system will always outperform a system selected by area alone.

PKYDrip irrigation controllers are designed from the beginning for agricultural and scalable applications.
By using RS485 bus architecture, they can easily integrate multiple sensors such as pressure sensors, flow meters, soil temperature and moisture sensors, and rain sensors.
Irrigation schedules can also be customized to match real farming needs.

For more details or project-specific recommendations, please feel free to contact us.