Like many irrigators around Australia, father and son John and Mark Jenke had the problem of insufficient good quality irrigation water for their Barossa Valley vineyards. Rather than continuing to buy Barossa Infrastructure Limited scheme water, which was becoming very costly, they decided to utilise their bore water allocation as they had done in the past.
Neither John or Mark were using their bore water at the time as both bores had earlier shown the potential for large salt stress issues, and had previously caused significant dripper blockages due to the build-up of iron and calcium scale.
When searching for a solution, the Jenkes discovered Hydrosmart, an Adelaide-based company that manufactures a unique water treatment technology. They were advised that the Hydrosmart system would be a low-cost sustainable solution, and in June 2008 both growers installed Hydrosmart systems to their bore-fed irrigation lines.
“Cleaning drippers is a costly and time-consuming job, however, during the 2009 vintage, we had no need to get out in the heat to do this,” John and Mark said after using the system for one season.
“The Hydrosmart unit was installed directly after the pump and water meter treating the water just prior to

going through the irrigation pipes. The benefits have justified the purchase price and the system only costs about $A12 ($NZ14.60) a year to run.
“Our vines performed very well in the 2009 vintage. Despite three harsh summers and minimal winter rains, we were pleased with our yields. The health and vigour of our vines resulted in exceptional canopies, long canes and healthy leaves with no sign of salt stress.
“We believe that the Hydrosmart unit has helped break down the bonds of the salt minerals and calcium crystals in the bore water, keeping drippers flowing and the plants utilising all the water we give them.”
Hydrosmart's frequency approach targets the electron bonding ability of minerals such as calcium, iron, sodium chloride and other molecular ‘giants’, reducing them to a smaller non-bonding elemental state providing solutions to a wide range of water issues.
This means that for Hydrosmart customers like the Jenkes, the calcium and iron scale that was previously causing problems within the irrigation system is now a bio-available nutrient source in the soil.

For more information, visit www.hydrosmart.com.au or call 1300 138 223.