GREENHOUSE IRRIGATION
Commercial greenhouse irrigation and fertigation systems
A commercial greenhouse irrigation system combines drip emitters, a fertigation (nutrient dosing) unit, filtration, water treatment, pumps and controls, and often drain-water recirculation. Size each package to your water analysis, crop, peak daily demand and greenhouse area, then have independent suppliers quote against one specification.
SeedMatchGroup helps buyers source greenhouse equipment, agricultural seeds, fertilizers, irrigation systems, pumps, solar systems, drones, cooling systems and complete agriculture project suppliers worldwide.
SeedMatchGroup is supplier-neutral and helps buyers compare greenhouse, seed, fertilizer, irrigation and agriculture project suppliers worldwide. It does not manufacture, distribute or sell equipment or inputs.
What does a greenhouse irrigation system include?
A commercial greenhouse irrigation system includes a water source and storage, a pump set sized to peak demand, filtration matched to water quality, a fertigation unit with EC and pH control, distribution mains and dripline or micro-sprinkler emitters, drain collection, and in recirculating systems, disinfection before reuse. Water analysis is the starting point: filtration, treatment and dosing cannot be specified without it.
Greenhouse irrigation and fertigation RFQ checklist
Irrigation and fertigation suppliers size pumps, filtration and dosing from the crop water demand and water quality. Without a water analysis and a peak-demand figure, offers are usually sized to different assumptions.
| Input | What suppliers need from you |
|---|---|
| Crop and growing system | Crop, plant density, soil or substrate, and whether drain water is recirculated. |
| Area and zones | Irrigated area, number of valves or zones, and planned expansion. |
| Climate and peak demand | Peak evapotranspiration (ETo) for the design month, or the peak daily litres per m² you plan for. |
| Automation | Manual, timer or climate-computer control; EC/pH dosing channels, sensors and data logging. |
| Water source and quality | Source, flow available, storage and a recent laboratory water analysis (EC, pH, bicarbonates, iron, sodium). |
| Certifications and standards | Electrical and pressure-equipment standards and any food-safety or export certification on the farm. |
| Budget | Budget band and whether the irrigation package is part of a wider greenhouse project from USD 250,000. |
| Destination and delivery terms | Delivery site, Incoterms, spare-parts expectations and who installs and commissions. |
How to compare irrigation and fertigation offers
- Check that each offer states the design flow (m³/h), pressure and number of dosing channels it was sized for.
- Compare filtration and water-treatment scope separately from the drip lines and emitters.
- Confirm which controls, sensors and software licences are included and which are optional.
- Compare spare-parts lists, warranty and service availability in your country.
Sourcing platform, manufacturer or contractor?
SeedMatchGroup is a buyer-first sourcing and RFQ platform, not a greenhouse manufacturer or contractor. Buyers use it free; managed projects start at USD 250,000. A sourcing specialist reviews each request before any supplier is contacted, and supplier identities stay private until a project is reviewed.
- SeedMatchGroup (sourcing and RFQ platform)
- Reviews your project brief, prepares a structured request, invites suitable independent suppliers privately and lines up their offers on the same scope.
- Does not manufacture, stock, install or operate equipment, and does not guarantee availability, prices, delivery dates or crop results.
- Greenhouse or equipment manufacturer
- Designs and produces its own structures, systems or inputs and quotes its own product range.
- Normally quotes only its own range, so it is not a neutral comparison of alternatives.
- Contractor or EPC / turnkey builder
- Takes contractual responsibility for engineering, construction and installation within the agreed scope.
- Scope, warranties and site responsibilities depend on the specific contract you sign with that contractor.
Plan before you request quotes
- Irrigation water and flow calculator — Daily volume and system flow from ETo × Kc
- Fertigation calculator — Dosing and stock-solution planning
- Pump sizing calculator — Flow and head before pump quotes
Calculator results are planning estimates, not supplier quotes.
Market pages
- United Kingdom — commercial glasshouse projects — Heating, LED and grid capacity planning
- South Africa — greenhouse modernisation — Energy, cooling and water efficiency
- United Arab Emirates — CEA greenhouses — Cooling, water reuse and automation
- South Africa — drip irrigation — Commercial drip projects
- Brasil — fertirrigação (Português) — Fertirrigação e fertilizantes especiais
How the request works
- 1. Plan the numbers
Use the planning tools for area, water, energy or seed quantity. Results are estimates, not quotes.
- 2. Send one brief
Complete the request form with the checklist inputs above. Nothing is sent to suppliers at this stage.
- 3. Specialist review
A sourcing specialist checks scope, completeness and fit, including the USD 250,000 minimum for managed projects.
- 4. Private supplier invitations
Where the project fits, suitable independent suppliers are invited privately to quote on the same specification.
- 5. Compare like for like
Offers are lined up on the same scope, exclusions, validity and delivery terms. Responses depend on project fit and supplier availability.
Reviewed by a sourcing specialist before suppliers are contacted. Free for buyers; managed projects start at USD 250,000.
Product and supplier categories
Drip & emitters
Pressure-compensating drippers, arrow drippers, dripline and micro-sprinklers.
Fertigation units
Injector or venturi dosing, EC/pH control, multi-channel recipes.
Filtration
Disc, screen, sand and automatic self-cleaning filters.
Water treatment
UV, ozone, slow sand filtration, chlorination and reverse osmosis.
Pumps & controls
Booster sets, variable-speed drives, pressure regulation and zone valves.
Storage & recirculation
Tanks, reservoirs, drain gutters, return lines and buffer capacity.
Who buys through this route
- Greenhouse growers on substrate or hydroponics
- Nursery and propagation operators
- EPC and irrigation engineering contractors
- Projects with brackish, saline or high-bicarbonate water
Typical use cases
- Full irrigation and fertigation package for a new greenhouse
- Retrofitting dosing control to reduce fertilizer waste
- Adding disinfection to move from drain-to-waste to recirculation
- Solving pressure or uniformity problems in an existing block
Regions served
- Sub-Saharan and North Africa — Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Morocco, Egypt
- Middle East and the Gulf — UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Jordan
- Central and South-East Asia — Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines
- Latin America — Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Brazil
- Mediterranean and Eastern Europe — Spain, Turkey, Greece, Romania, Azerbaijan
Why buyers use SeedMatchGroup
- Specification starts from your water analysis, not a catalogue.
- Offers normalised across filtration grade, dosing channels and pump duty.
- Planning tools available before the RFQ is issued.
- No commission-driven preference for any irrigation brand.
Buyer path
From water and crop details to an irrigation request
- 1 · Define
Crop and site details
Define the crop, country, area, water source and analysis, available flow, pressure and operating window.
- 2 · Calculate
Size the critical systems
Use the focused tools below. Results are planning estimates, not engineering designs or supplier quotations.
- 3 · Request
Create one reviewed brief
Add the figures to a private project request. A sourcing specialist reviews it before any relevant supplier is approached.
Recommended calculators
For commercial projects from USD 250K. Supplier participation and response timing depend on scope, country, availability and brief completeness; neither is guaranteed.
For consultants and advisors
Specifying a greenhouse for a client project?
Greenhouse consultants, horticultural engineers and agriculture EPC advisors use us to shortlist structure, climate-control and irrigation suppliers, prepare the RFQ pack and normalise the quotes that come back. You stay client-facing throughout.
Designing a greenhouse irrigation system
Irrigation design starts at the water source and finishes at the emitter. Every step between changes the pump, the filter and the dosing unit.
Water source and storage
- Borehole, surface water, municipal supply or harvested rainwater
- Peak daily demand per m² and 2–3 days of buffer storage
- Water analysis: EC, pH, bicarbonate, sodium, iron, manganese and pathogens
- Treatment train where analysis requires it — filtration, softening, acid dosing or reverse osmosis
Distribution and emitters
- Pressure-compensating drippers for uniform delivery across long rows
- Emitter flow rate and spacing set by crop and substrate volume
- Zoning by crop stage, compartment and solar orientation
- Target distribution uniformity above 90% and how it will be verified
Pumps, filtration and control
- Pump duty from peak zone flow and total head, with VFD control where flow varies
- Screen, disc or media filtration matched to the water quality
- Flow meters and pressure sensors per zone for fault detection
- Irrigation controller integrated with the climate computer and radiation-based start conditions
Drainage and recirculation
- Drain percentage target and drain measurement
- Collection gutters and return tanks for soilless systems
- Disinfection — UV, heat or slow sand filtration — before reuse
- Discharge compliance where drain water is not recirculated
What affects project cost
- Water quality and the treatment it forces
- Number of irrigation zones and control granularity
- Recirculation and disinfection scope
- Pump and storage sizing
- Automation level of the dosing and control system
Information needed to quote
- Crop, area and growing medium
- Water source and a laboratory analysis
- Peak daily water requirement or crop and climate data to derive it
- Number of compartments and desired zoning
- Available power at the pump station
- Whether drain water must be recirculated
What irrigation system is best for a greenhouse?
Pressure-compensating drip is the default for greenhouse production: it delivers a measured volume per plant, works with fertigation, and keeps foliage dry. Overhead and boom irrigation suit propagation and leafy benches; sub-irrigation and ebb-and-flow suit potted crops. Choice follows crop, growing medium and water quality, not price.
How much water does a commercial greenhouse need?
Planning-level demand is roughly 3–8 litres per m² per day for vine crops in a warm climate, and less for leafy greens or in temperate seasons, driven by radiation and ventilation. Size storage for two to three peak days and confirm the figure with a crop water requirement calculation for your site.
Frequently asked questions
Start with a water analysis and a peak-demand calculation for the crop and area, then define filtration grade, dosing channels, emitter type and whether drainage is recirculated. Issue those requirements as one RFQ; suppliers quoting the same hydraulic duty and water quality produce genuinely comparable offers.
Recirculation reduces water and fertilizer consumption substantially and is often required by permit in water-stressed regions, but it adds disinfection, buffer tanks and analytical discipline. Drain-to-waste is simpler and cheaper to build where water is abundant and discharge is permitted.
High bicarbonates, sodium and chloride, iron and manganese, suspended solids and biological load are the common ones. Each drives a different treatment step, so an analysis of the actual source is required before specifying.
Yes. It can be quoted as part of a turnkey package or as a separate lot. Separating it usually gives better price transparency; bundling it usually simplifies interface responsibility. The RFQ can request both.
SeedMatchGroup prepares the procurement specification and structures the comparison. Detailed hydraulic design and guarantees remain with the supplying or engineering company that signs the contract.
Source greenhouses suppliers with one structured request
Share scope, country, volume or capacity and timeline. A sourcing specialist reviews your brief before any supplier is contacted, and supplier identities stay private.
Irrigation & fertigation: what to decide first
A greenhouse irrigation system is chosen by crop water demand, growing system and water quality: drip or dripper stakes for substrate and soil crops, NFT or ebb-and-flow for some hydroponic crops, with a fertigation head that doses nutrients into the irrigation water. Cost depends mainly on area, number of valves and zones, filtration and the level of dosing automation.
What drives the decision and cost
- Peak daily water demand per crop and area
- Raw water analysis (EC, pH, sodium, bicarbonates, iron)
- Number of irrigation zones and valves
- Filtration and any water treatment needed
- Fertigation head: number of dosing channels, EC/pH control
- Drain collection and recirculation, if required
Include in your RFQ
- Water analysis report
- Zone layout and crop per zone
- Water storage and pump capacity on site
- Required automation level for dosing
How it works: you define the project, our team reviews and structures the RFQ, then contacts suitable independent suppliers and returns comparable responses. Buyers don't contact suppliers directly. Free for buyers; infrastructure projects from USD 250,000. No prices, yields or outcomes are guaranteed.
Start your RFQ