Common Irrigation Systems in Australian Agriculture

Understanding different irrigation systems can help you describe your images more accurately, making them easier for buyers to find and use.

If your photo includes irrigation, adding the correct system type (where known) can improve its value — especially for agriculture, education, and marketing use.

Centre Pivot
This is a big sprinkler system that rotates in a circle around a central point. It’s great for watering large, round fields and is often used to grow crops like grass for animals (fodder) and cereals.

Linear Irrigation or Lateral Move 
This system has sprinklers that move in straight lines across big, rectangular fields.

Set Sprinklers
These are sprinklers that stay in one spot and don’t move. They’re set up permanently to water the same area every time.

Travelling Irrigators
These are sprinklers that move across the field to water crops. They’re usually pulled by a hose reel.

Flood Irrigation
In this method, water is let out to flow over the whole field using gravity. It soaks into the soil to water the crops.

Furrow Irrigation
This method uses small channels, called furrows, to let water flow between the rows of crops and soak into the soil.

Border Check Irrigation
In this method, fields are split into sections called bays, with small embankments to help guide and control the flow of water.

Drip or Trickle Irrigation
This method gives plants water slowly, right at their roots, using small tubes with tiny holes. It helps save water.

Micro-spray Irrigation
This system sprays a light mist or tiny water droplets over plants. It’s great for crops that are planted close together, like cut flowers and vegetables.

Subsurface Drip Irrigation
Thin tubes are buried under the soil to drip water straight to the plant roots. This helps save water by stopping it from evaporating. It’s often used for crops planted in rows and in orchards with trees.

Floodplain Harvesting 
This unregulated system involves collecting and storing water that spreads across the land during floods in on-farm storages. Mainly practiced in the Murray-Darling Basin to grow cotton. May also be used in grain and fodder production.

Hydroponic Irrigation Systems
Used in horticulture, this system delivers water and nutrients through a special liquid growing mix. Commonly used in high-tech greenhouses, indoor farms, aquaponics, and vertical farming systems.

Manual Irrigation
This means watering plants by hand using a hose or watering can, used on small farms or in home gardens where bigger systems aren’t needed.

Tidal Irrigation
This method uses the natural rise and fall of ocean tides to water crops. It’s rare and mostly used in low-lying areas, like parts of northern Australia to cultivate pastures for grazing cattle. Sometimes used for rice paddies where freshwater availability is limited.