Las Cruces Pomegranate Farm Commission

By Don Salamon
For Dr. Abtahi for Intro to Solar Engineering

Abstract
Pomegranate is a citrus fruit that does well in arid environments, a study was commissioned to
determine the feasibility of planting crops in Las Cruces, New Mexico in 1500 hectares of land.
Additionally, the irrigation system was required to be solar powered.

Table of Contents
Title page

Abstract

Table of Contents

Introduction

Fruit

Climate

Water

Irrigation

Pumping System

12

Solar Solution

14

Conclusion

16

References

17

Introduction
The scope of this commission is to determine the appropriate size of a photovoltaic (PV) solar
power system to power pump that will be used to irrigate 1500 hectares of pomegranate trees and to
determine the number of trees that the land is capable of supporting. The location of the farm is roughly
20 miles northwest Las Cruces, New Mexico which offers a dry climate suited for the for the trees to grow.
The water requirements for the tree change as the lifecycle transitions from a seed to a fully grown tree,
as such great care was taken to account for these fluctuations, and a system was designed that could be
flexible in meeting those demands.

Figure 1: Rough approximation of the location of the farm. Courtesy Google Maps

Fruit
1.

The recommended number of pomegranate trees for this farm, references on your research should be provided.

Pomegranate is typically cultivated only in India, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. It is a
shrub or small tree growing from 6 to 10 feet, and is very long lived. Pomegranate grows well under semiarid conditions and can be grown up to an altitude of 500 m. above m.s.l.. It thrives well under hot, dry
summer and cold winter provided irrigation facilities are available. The tree requires hot and dry climates
during fruit development and ripening. The pomegranate tree is deciduous in areas of low winter
temperature and an evergreen or partially deciduous in tropical and sub-tropical conditions. It can tolerate
frost to a considerable extent in dormant stage, but is injured at temperature below - 11.0 C. Well drained,
sandy loan to deep loamy or alluvial soils is suitable for cultivation.(Ref 1)
It is recommended that Pomegranate plants
have a spacing of 5 x 5 meter or 15 square feet.
Adding a 1 meter path between each row that
makes each trees approximate footprint 30m2 or
323 ft2. Some farmers have spaced them as close
as 2.5 x 4.5 m for higher yield. However this
method is more prone to disease spread. (Ref 1)
Given the spacing discussed above the
approximate number of trees that can be fit on
1,500 hectares (or 162E6 ft2) of land is roughly
Figure 2: Layout with 323 ft2 footprint for each tree, the actual
quarter acre size will be 16284 ft2, this includes roads for
heavy machinery. The white lines indicate the 3 foot path for
access, and the black lines indicate drip irrigation routing.

500,000 trees. This is approximated in Figure 2.

Climate
Pomegranates can grow at elevations up to roughly 5900 ft which is far higher than the site which
is approximately at 4,000 ft. Pomegranates grows good in USDA 7-10 hardiness zones, and this portion
of north west New Mexico is roughly 8
hardiness. (Ref 3)
Thus, this area selected should provide
a good area to grow. Figures 3 and 4 show
the frosting period and the hardiness zone the
farm would be located in. Pomegranates grow
best in fertile, deep, loam soil that is rich with
Figure 3: Last Frost

humus this type of soil is good for many

types of fruit trees. The difference between
pomegranates and many other fruit trees is
the wide range of soils in which the
pomegranate will grow. From heavy clay,
black earth, lime rich soils, dry rocky
hillsides to sandy soil, the pomegranate

Figure 4: Hardiness level

will grow. The pH tolerance is wide,

from 4.5 8.2 (from moderately acid to

moderately alkaline) although the best growth is in the pH range of 5.5 to 7.2. Production is less on highly
sandy soils unless a fertilizer program is followed. Heavy clay soils tend to lighten fruit color but if the fruit
is for home use this should not be a problem. The pomegranate is considered a salt-tolerant plant, but
accumulation of salts in excess of 0.5% is harmful (this is way above what the average gardener will find.)
(Ref 5)

Water
2.

Using USGS or other sources, determine an estimate for the water table and best practices of water pumping in that
region. Online research with references should be provided.

The area is currently under drought conditions, but this hasnt severely impacted the aquifer
levels. In the lower Rio Grande Valley near Las Cruces, N. Mex., infiltration of
irrigation water has produced a slightly saline zone (1,000-3,000 milligrams per liter
dissolved solids) that is about 100 to 150 feet thick at the top of the aquifer. A
transition zone of intermediate salinity (500-1,000 milligrams per liter dissolved
solids) that is 50 to 100 feet thick separates the slightly saline zone from the
underlying freshwater zone (300-500 milligrams per liter dissolved solids) that
extends to depths of 1,000 to 1,500 feet. A second transition zone separates the
freshwater zone from the deep saline zone where dissolved-solids concentrations
can exceed 3,000 milligrams per liter. (Ref 4)

Figure 5: For the farm the Total Crop Water Needs will be equal to be at least 15185 acre feet which translates to
roughly 4.9E9 gallons of water yearly. (Ref 7)

Pomegranates trees can withstand drought periods but the fruit suffers and either falls off or is small.
Water requirement for the pomegranate is variable depending on when and how much rainfall occurs. On
average pomegranates need about 45 inches of water per year [via normal irrigation]; this is not an

absolute figure as it again depends when precipitation occurs. If you receive most of your rain in the
spring and early summer, then the need for irrigation is lessened, but some will still be needed if you have
very dry weather in the middle of the summer. (Ref 5)

Figure 6: Drill depths to reach mean water levels.

This well site is also located in the Mesilla Basin of the Rio Grande aquifer system, and have
shown to yield up to 3,000 gallons per minute (Ref 4).

Irrigation system
3.

Your recommendation on the best irrigation method, given the dry climate of Southern New Mexico. The specific
irrigation components should be included and specified

Drip irrigation is a technique used in watering plants that allow for the
conservation of water and fertilizer by allowing water to slowly leak onto the
roots of plants. The average annual water requirement through drip irrigation
is 40 inches. Drip irrigation helps to save 44% on irrigation and 64% when
Figure 7: Drip irrigation

sugarcane trash mulch is used. It also helps to increase the yield by

30-35%.(Ref 1). However, this number does not account for the initial period

where more water is required. This number sits around 45 inches per year during the early life cycle.

Figure 8: Typical drip irrigation system. Courtesy of Wikimages.

Figure 9: Breakdown of water requirement in gallons from a site with a comparable climate. (Ref 7)

For this climate the best irrigation technique is drip irrigation despite the initial start costs. One

inch of rain falling on 1 acre of ground is equal to about 27,154 gallons and weighs about 113 tons. Thus
the total requirement at 45 inches per plant is at least 4.9E9 gallons per year of water. This is also the
sizing for the maximum amount of water that is consumed by the plant in June, which is the highest

Pump (gallons of water)

Total

13500000

Per zone

843750

Per hour

84375

per minute

1406.25

demand. This means that each well will need to supply 845 kilo gallons of water per day. This translates
for a 10 hour day into a pump requirement of 1406 gallons per minute with each tree receiving 0.045 gal/
min. The component breakdown is provided on the Drip Irrigation Table.
One consideration is that the location of the wells could influence each via a cone of depression
effect outlined in Figure 10. Occasionally, two or more wells have developed their cones of influence in
such a way that they interfere with one another. This situation requires that the wells be relatively close
and developed in the same aquifer. There is always a chance this will occur in any intensive development
of the same groundwater reservoir. Simply stated, the cone of influence of one well overlaps the cone of a
neighboring well. A part of the cone of influence that fed one well
must now satisfy another well also. The amount and areal extent of
the interference is directly related to the rate of pumping of each
well. Other factors of no less importance are the spacing between
the wells and the hydrologic characteristics of the groundwater
reservoir furnishing the water to the two wells. (Ref 7)
If more wells are developed in the same area, the chance for
interference increases. The cones of influence of the initial wells
Figure 10: Cone of depression

expand and deepen in order to satisfy their pumps with each

development of another well and its subsequent cone of influence.

The cones must always establish a hydraulic gradient just sufficient to supply the amount of water

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Drip Irrigation System

Component

Use

Amount

Pump

Extracts water

16

Water Filter

Cleans water supply

16

Backwash Controller

Prevents back flow into well

16

Pressure Control Valve

Pressure controller

16

Main line

Primary source

6670 feet

Control Valves

Flow control

16

Polytubes

Branch lines

46592 feet

Polyfittings

Makes connections to mainline

448

Emitting devices

Irrigates plants

2240

Storage

Water for extraneous needs

400 gal/site

required by the pumped well. If this water is not available in the area of the initial cone because some
groundwater is diverted into another cone, the initial cone simply enlarges to an outlying area where
sufficient replenishment can be derived. (Ref 7)

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Pumping System

Determine the number and the depth of water wells required. Specify the pumping equipment. You may chose large central pumps
or smaller localized pumps. State whether you are using submersible pumps, jack pumps, or other type of pumps

This well site is also located in the Mesilla Basin of the Rio
Grande aquifer system, and have shown to yield up to 3,000
gallons per minute (Ref 4). This is much larger than the 1400
gallons per minute required, however the cone of depression
caused by one well in one of the 16 farming zones may
disrupt the water table in the other zones. To help to
minimize this each of the 16 pumps should be dug to a depth
of twice the depth to the aquifer itself. Therefore, the
pumping depth will be about 45 feet instead of the normal
Figure 11: Typical deep well pump

22.5 feet recommended. This translates to a minimum 45

foot head requirement on the pump however this will be

much larger due to the coverage needed and the losses associated with the lines and
equipment. Each zone will require 2912 feet of polytubing, along with 417 feet of mainline. This
means multi staging boost pumps will also have to be used to overcome the friction losses
induced. For the primary well pump the requirement
is 1400 rpm with a minimum of 45 feet of head. The
TACO model 2340 Single stage double suction
pump shown in Figure 12 was selected as the
primary pump. Its performance curve is shown in
Figure 13.
Figure 12: Model 2030 pump

12

Figure 13: Pump curve for Model 2030

13

Solar solution
Design a solar PV system to run the pump or pumps with no back-up. The design should include the type and number of panels, the
specification of inverters or pump controllers, and any required electrical components, including a one-line electrical diagram. The
design should also include a general description of the structures supporting the solar panels.

The peak power requirements will be identical for each zone, thus we consider only one zone for
the calculations. The total amount of power to the pump is 17.2 kW at peak. Considering that the pumps
would need to run a maximum of 10 hours per day as calculated the total comes to 172 kWh of energy
required per zone.
In order to satisfy these requirements a total of 16 solar panels at a power rate of 310 watts would
need to be used. This number was determined by using the online calculator located at
www.Wholesalesolar.com

Figure 14: Solar requirement calculator

14

Figure 15: Pumpstation layout

16 panels would be placed each along the larger breakout areas of the zones for a total of 64
panels (extra to account for losses). The type of panels that would be used are shown in Figure 16. These
are well suited for the environment, and the majority of hardware (charge controller and batteries) would
be located at the jumpstation Figure 15.

Figure 16: Solar panel and battery pack type

15

Due to the nature of the peak sun hours the battery pack is sized to provide 3 days of power at 10
hours of continuous operation, plus a 50% increase for battery standards. Figure 16 shows the type of
panel and battery pack that would be required at each of the 16 pumpstations. The inverter is rated at
20kW to handle the peak demand of 17270 watts of power. The charge controller, Figure 17, is specified
to handle a max of 80 amps, which is slightly lower than the max rated output, however the power is not
expected to reach that high.

Figure 17: Charge controller and inverter

The total price of this entire package comes to $31334 per zone, or $501344 total for the farm.
This does not include the support structures for the panels themselves, or the housing station for the
equipment.
The panels would be supported by a normal support structure capable of withstanding wind gusts
of up to 100 miles per hour. The average windspeed in Las Cruces, New Mexico is 18 miles an hour with
a maximum of 51 mph (Ref 9). Figure 18 describes the structures that will be used.

Figure 18: Solar panel mock up

16

Conclusion
The conclusion of the commission is that the farm is feasible given the location and
climate. The solar power requirement and drip irrigation provide for a steep startup cost that
may prove not to incentivize the investors. Dividing the plot into 16 zones independently
powered allows for discrete trouble shooting or control of irrigation if weather causes additional
water accumulation within areas.
These 16 zones each have a pump station with solar power equipment totaling a battery
storage rated at 61 kWh, with 64 panels providing a peak power output of 20.16 kW.

17

References
1) http://nhb.gov.in/report_files/pomegranate/POMEGRANATE.htm
2) http://shramajeeviimages.com/download/Free_Download/Agriculture/Agri._General/Irrigation/O/
3) http://www.plantmaps.com/88007
4) http://pubs.usgs.gov/ha/ha730/ch_c/C-text4.html
5) http://ucanr.edu/sites/Pomegranates/files/164443.pdf
6) https://www.researchgate.net/publication
264007889_Estimating_the_water_requirement_of_some_fruit_crops_according_to_plant_age_under_dri
p_irrigation_system_in_arid_zone
7) http://www.fao.org/docrep/x0490e/x0490e0a.htm
8) http://www.ngwa.org/fundamentals/hydrology/pages/unconfined-or-water-table-aquifers.aspx
9) http://www.wholesalesolar.com/solar-information/start-here/offgrid-calculator#systemSizeCalc

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