Irrigation & Fertilizer Sizing Calculator.
Size peak water demand, system flow, zone count, storage volume and season fertilizer quantities with an indicative fertigation injection rate. Planning output only — built to make an irrigation and fertilizer RFQ comparable.
How do you size an irrigation system and season fertilizer quantity?
Peak daily demand (m³/day) = hectares × peak crop water use (mm/day) × 10 ÷ system efficiency, and required flow (m³/h) = daily demand ÷ available irrigation hours. Season fertilizer quantity is the target N, P₂O₅ and K₂O rate per hectare × area, divided by assumed nutrient use efficiency.
- 1 mm of water over 1 ha = 10 m³.
- Planning efficiency: drip 85–92%, sprinkler 70–85%, surface 50–65%.
- Zone count = required flow ÷ maximum flow per zone, rounded up.
- Injection rate (L/h) = daily nutrient mass ÷ stock concentration ÷ irrigation hours.
- Indicative sizing only — not an agronomic or hydraulic design.
Estimate only — not a quotation. Outputs are indicative planning ranges based on the values you enter and typical commercial benchmarks. Real pricing, specifications and lead times vary by country, site conditions and supplier, and are confirmed only in written offers collected through a private RFQ.
Irrigation inputs
ETc at the highest-demand growth stage
Fertilizer inputs
Indicative only. Excludes hydraulic pipe sizing, emitter selection, water quality treatment, filtration grade and soil-test-based agronomy. Season water applies a peak-to-season derate and should be replaced by monthly ETc data at design stage.
Turn this estimate into a project brief
Send these figures to the greenhouse RFQ form. Your inputs and results are attached to the brief, a sourcing specialist reviews it, and only then are suitable suppliers or project partners approached.
Buying more than once? Save these project details to your buyer profile so your site, crop, budget and timeline are pre-filled on every future request.
Indicative only. Not financial advice, not agronomic advice, not engineering design. Final numbers require supplier, agronomist, engineer and local regulatory review.
Turn this estimate into a qualified project
SeedMatchGroup is a supplier-neutral, human-led platform. We do not manufacture or resell equipment — we help buyers specify the project, review relevant suppliers privately and compare the written offers received. Supplier participation and timing are not guaranteed.
Frequently asked questions
Peak daily water demand (m³/day) = area (ha) × peak crop water use (mm/day) × 10 ÷ system efficiency. Required system flow (m³/h) = daily demand ÷ available irrigation hours per day. Drip systems plan at roughly 85–92% efficiency, sprinkler at 70–85% and surface at 50–65%.
Zones divide the field so that no zone exceeds the available flow. Zone count = total emitter flow demand ÷ available system flow, rounded up. Fewer, larger zones need a bigger pump and mainline; more, smaller zones need longer daily operating hours. The trade-off is a CAPEX-versus-operating-window decision made at design stage.
Season nutrient requirement (kg) = target rate per hectare for N, P₂O₅ and K₂O × hectares, divided by the assumed nutrient use efficiency. Product quantity depends on the grades selected. This calculator returns indicative elemental quantities to scope volumes for a supply RFQ — it is not an agronomic fertilizer recommendation.
Injection rate (L/h) = nutrient mass required per irrigation event ÷ stock solution concentration ÷ event duration. Practically, injector capacity is sized against the highest-demand growth stage, then checked against the dosing accuracy and back-flow prevention requirements of the destination market.
Filtration duty is sized on total system flow and water source. Surface water and reservoirs generally need media/sand filtration plus disc or screen backup; borehole water with sand content needs hydrocyclone pre-separation; drip emitters set the target filtration grade. Undersized filtration is a leading cause of emitter blockage and yield loss.
No. It is an indicative early-stage screener for scoping and budgeting only. Hydraulic design, emitter selection, pipe sizing, agronomic nutrient programmes and water quality treatment require qualified engineering and agronomy input. SeedMatchGroup converts the output into a supplier-neutral RFQ to qualified irrigation and fertilizer suppliers.
How should energy and financing volatility change my plan?
Size the system on engineering loads first, then test running costs and financing against price swings. Use one shared stress case across tools: energy +24% and fertilizer +31% (World Bank 2026 vs 2025 index outlook, 28 April 2026), with water unchanged unless your utility confirms a change. These are index movements, not local prices or forecasts for your site.
- Ask bidders to quote energy use (kWh, m³ gas) and nutrient quantities, not just equipment price, so you can reprice them locally.
- Lenders usually review cash flow under higher costs; prepare the stressed case before applying. Financing is never guaranteed.
- If costs are the main pressure, compare retrofitting existing houses with expanding or building new before committing capital.
Turning this estimate into a request? The irrigation and fertigation request builder lists what changes a quote — system type, filtration, dosing and drain-water scope — and opens a pre-filled request that our team reviews before any supplier is contacted.
Understanding the values
What each choice in this calculator means, and how the options differ in practice.
- Water analysis first
- Every dosing calculation starts from source-water quality. Without a laboratory test the recipe is a guess.
- Crop stage
- Nutrient demand rises from establishment to harvest. Run the calculation per growth stage, not once per season.
Illustrative project summary
1 ha multi-span tomato house
A new commercial entrant builds a first multi-span block with fertigation, insect screens and a basic climate computer.
1 ha · Multi-span polyhouse · Tomatoes
Indicative full greenhouse project CAPEX
USD 575K – USD 1.56M
Illustration only, not a real project or quotation. This is the structure, equipment and site-works budget for the example greenhouse, not the price of this calculator’s individual system, seeds or inputs, and not a result calculated from your entries. Excludes land, permits, packhouse, financing costs and working capital.
Based on the published commercial greenhouse cost benchmark. Written offers require a private project review; commercial projects start from USD 250K.
What can change the result?
This is a preliminary planning estimate based on the values you entered. The variables below usually move the outcome most, and should be confirmed with an agronomist, engineer and supplier offers before final design.
- Crop and cultivar — water, climate and support requirements differ per crop
- Growing area and layout — hectares alone are not a greenhouse specification
- Irrigation design, emitter spacing and application efficiency
- Fertigation strategy, dosing accuracy and drain recirculation
- Water quality and treatment needs (EC, pH, iron, hardness, pathogens)
Questions this calculator answers
Typical buyer and investor searches this tool is built for, including the markets where we run the most commercial projects.
- fertigation head station sizing and cost per hectare for a commercial project
- fertigation head station sizing and cost for a 2-hectare project — India
- fertigation head station sizing and cost: indicative planning ranges — Kenya
- fertigation head station sizing and cost benchmarks for investors — Saudi Arabia
- fertigation head station sizing and cost under local market conditions — Mexico
- fertigation head station sizing and cost — what to specify in a supplier RFQ
Method and decision path
How to use this result in a commercial project
Use the result to test scope and compare scenarios. It is not a design, agronomic prescription, financing offer or supplier quotation.
1. Enter site evidence
Replace defaults with measured area, climate, water, energy, crop and commercial assumptions.
2. Test scenarios
Change one assumption at a time and record the effect on capacity, cost, demand or return.
3. Validate the duty
Ask the relevant agronomist, engineer or financial adviser to check the inputs and constraints.
4. Prepare a private RFQ
Carry the confirmed scope into a human-reviewed brief so written offers can be compared on the same basis.
Final specifications, performance, prices, supplier participation and timing depend on the site and written supplier responses; none is guaranteed by this calculator.
Tell us five things and we route your brief
These fields decide which specialist and which suppliers see your request. Nothing is submitted here — your answers are carried into the private RFQ.
The USD 250K project threshold applies to capital projects. Recurring fertilizer programmes are reviewed by shipment size, annual volume and sourcing fit.
A sourcing specialist shortlists reviewed providers for your scope and returns comparable offers. Supplier details stay with us — all communication runs through SeedMatchGroup.
Estimate only: these figures are indicative planning numbers, not a quotation. Final pricing, specifications and lead times come from supplier offers after your brief is reviewed.
Plan the project around the numbers
A calculator output is a starting point. Pair it with the planning guides below to align timeline, irrigation, budget and risk before you launch an RFQ.
One private brief, specialist review, private supplier research and a like-for-like comparison.
Spec gaps, MOQ, delivery, Incoterms and evidence labels for seeds, greenhouses, irrigation, fertilizers and produce.
Month-by-month schedule from concept to first harvest across 9 stages.
Design principles for drip, pivot, fertigation and filtration on commercial projects.
How CAPEX, working capital and operating cost drive the project business case.
The ten most expensive planning and procurement pitfalls — and how to avoid them.
Procurement answers behind these numbers
A model output only holds if the scope, contract route and delivery terms match the assumptions. These reference answers cover the commercial decisions that move the figure.
- Turnkey EPC vs separate equipment packages
- What belongs in a greenhouse equipment specification
- Normal payment milestones in equipment contracts
- Which Incoterms to use for greenhouse and irrigation equipment
- How long a commercial greenhouse takes from order to handover
- What is normally the owner's scope on a greenhouse project
Move irrigation & fertilizer sizing calculator into a structured RFQ
Editorial · not a sales pitchCalculator outputs are indicative. When your numbers stabilise, a supplier-neutral RFQ turns those estimates into a consistent brief for comparing the written offers that participating suppliers provide.
The facts a complete, supplier-neutral request on this topic includes. Use it as a checklist before submitting.
- Irrigated area, block layout and topography/elevation change
- Crop, spacing and peak daily water requirement (mm/day or m³/day)
- Water source (borehole, canal, reservoir, municipal) with yield and analysis
- System type: drip, sprinkler, pivot, micro-sprinkler, fertigation
- Required flow (m³/h), pressure and number of zones/shifts
- Power availability: grid, generator or solar pumping
- Automation and control level required
- Water analysis report and borehole test results
- Field/plot map with dimensions and elevation
Opens the RFQ Builder scoped as an irrigation package so suppliers quote hydraulics, filtration and dosing consistently. You stay in control — nothing is submitted until you review and confirm.
Free to submit · supplier-neutral · reviewed by a specialist before any supplier is contacted.
Running these numbers for a client project?
Agronomists, greenhouse and irrigation consultants use this calculator for feasibility, then hand the project to us for supplier shortlisting, RFQ preparation and quote comparison. You stay client-facing and we work through you.
Your client relationship stays with you — we work through you and never contact your client unless you ask.
Indicative only
- This tool is indicative only.
- It is not financial advice.
- It is not agronomic advice.
- It is not engineering design.
- Final numbers require supplier, agronomist, engineer and local regulatory review.
SeedMatch Group is an independent agricultural project sourcing and RFQ platform. We are not a farm, seed producer, fertilizer manufacturer, irrigation manufacturer, greenhouse builder, EPC contractor, lender or financial advisor. Supplier and project partner outreach is handled only after a commercial project brief is reviewed.
Supplier and manufacturer content is provided for research, transparency and discovery only. Buyers submit one project or RFQ to SeedMatch Group; our team validates and organises it, manages any suitable supplier or manufacturer outreach, and presents the responses through SeedMatch. There is no public directory of company identities, automatic matching, direct messaging or direct buyer-supplier contact.