Rhizobox Irrigation systems

Passive Irrigators for Soil Water Manipulation in Rhizoboxes, Pots and Rhizotrons

Rhizon Irrigator passive soil water manipulation

Rhizon-Irrigators are the perfect match to Rhizoboxes, RhizonBoxes for soil water extraction and portable Rhizotrons - allowing researchers to apply water, nutrients or contaminants (e.g. saline solutions, etc.) where and when it matters! Placing Irrigators at different depths allows you to either achieve the most uniform water supply throughout your root box, or to more realistically mimic droughts and the inherent loss of soil moisture from top to bottom, e.g. by gradually shifting the water supply to Rhizon-Irrigators placed deeper in your rhizoboxes/rhizotrons. In addition to irrigation, experiments can be conducted with fertilizers or polluted solutions to simulate the accumulation of excess salt concentrations that often occur with suboptimal irrigation. Passive irrigation can be achieved by placing storage containers (of water or other solutions) at the same height as the boxes. By changing the height difference between the storage container and the experimental root box, you can influence the suction. For example, if the male Luer of the RhizonIrrigator is connected to a water container and the water level is below the level of the RhizonIrrigator in the pot/rhizobox/rhizotron, this means that suction is present - allowing a variety of soil water conditions to be implemented. Since soil characteristics and plant water uptake vary widely, a pre-test is recommended to determine specific soil moisture levels. Get in contact and/or select RhizonIrrigators as accessories in the Rhizobox Config Form.

Rhizon Irrigators - features

Create unique water and solute conditions at different soil depths
Demand driven supply of water
Secure watering of your plants during weekends and holidays

Specifications	RhizonIrrigators	OPEN
Rhizon Irrigators have a porous part (10 or 15 cm) with a diameter of 2.5 mm. At one end of the porous part there is a 100 cm tube with male luer lock and at the other end is a 60 cm tube with a female luer lock and stopcock. The porous section is reinforced with nylon wire. Because of the luer locks, RhizonIrrigators cannot be installed using the normal 4.5 mm side holes in Rhizonboxes but are installed from the top during soil filling. Alternatively, larger holes could be forseen in side panels (on special request). Store in a dry, normally ventilated place away from sources of heat, ignition and direct sunlight. Store between 0 and 50°C - the membrane modules should not be exposed to freezing. All Rhizon-Irrigators are sold in sets of 10. Continue reading on the properties of the micro-membrane.

Models/Types

RhizonIrrigators

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RhizonIrrigators - Installation

Installation of RhizonIrrigators is straightforward. ... Continue reading

During soil filling, place the porous part of the Rhizon Irrigator in the Rhizobox / Rhizonbox at selected position.
Run the tubes to the soil surface on each side of the box (inside). Note:RhizonIrrigators do not exit through the 4.5 mm holes for Rhizon Samplers (ask for larger diameter holes in Rhizonboxes if needed).
Make sure there is good contact between the soil and the porous part of the Rhizon Irrigator. This can often be achieved with a few irrigation cycles.
Connect the male luer lock to a reservoir with water / nutrient solution / etc.
Connect a (relaxed) syringe to the stopcock (at the female Luer lock). Open the stopcock and pull the syringe plunger.
Close the stopcock when water/solution enters the syringe. Make sure there are no air bubbles in the Rhizon Irrigator tubing!
Remove the syringe.
For passive irrigation, set the water level of the reservoir to approximately the same height as the porous part (of the Rhizon Irrigator) - the solution will flow into the soil as it dries. Change the height of the reservoir (or its water level) to change the rate of soil rewetting.
IMPORTANT! The top end (blue female luer + stopcock) of the Rhizon Irrigator must be flushed periodically (steps 5 to 7) to remove air bubbles - which occur due to the subatmospheric pressure in the system. The air bubbles are easily seen in the "highest" part of the tubing!

For more localized manipulation, MicroRhizon and Rhizon Soil Water "Samplers" can be used for point injection of water and solutes into the rhizosphere.

Rhizon-Irrigators work with Water manipulation in Rhizoboxes and large, mobile Rhizotron Boxes for setting up unique experimental soil / rhizosphere moisture conditions.

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