okpanhandle - 4/26/2013 07:15

I'd stick with either LDNs or Nelson D-3000s. A neighbor put up a new pivot recently with i-Wobs on 5ft spacing that look to be 24-30in above the ground, and it looks okay, but when the wind is blowing there is still a lot more drift than with LDNs. A lot of pivots here got the i-Wob treatment in the last few years, but they're all 5ft above the ground on 10ft spacing. That might work if you have 1500gpm on a quarter-miler, but for 500-600gpm it's nearly impossible to get a good soak under them. Throwing them over the truss rods just makes the problem worse. I just hate seeing the water blow away from the pivot.

You mentioned bubbler pads. We tried that last year in corn and milo and really liked the concept. Ours are on 5ft spacing, though, and I can tell you that won't work for solid seeded crops. 30in spacing might be okay, but I think you would have to leave the inside two spans on 5s with splash pads. We tried the Senninger reversible pads (black splash pad on top, bubbler pad on the bottom), but weren't too happy with the performance. They made a single stream of water that started to cut a little furrow after a few revolutions. What we did instead was put the old pads back on, but just turned them upside down (if you have a chemigation insert in there, it needs to come out). It will then make three or four smaller streams. I've got a bunch of pics on my phone, I'll see if I can't get a few posted today.