Cambridgeshire-based grower Muzzafar Ali, trading as Quality Farming Cambridge (QFC), has taken delivery of a bespoke Leader Trailed Irrigator developed by Team Sprayers, to help mitigate increasing irrigation challenges across 150 acres of onion crops previously out of reach of traditional watering systems.
Mr. Ali farms a total of 700 acres of onions for the catering industry in and around Yaxley. Of these, 150 acres typically relied on the resilience of the crop to tolerate drier conditions. However, in recent years, extended dry spells in spring and summer have begun to severely impact both germination and maturation in these fields.
Facing the possibility of taking this land out of production for onions, Mr. Ali approached Team Sprayers in April to explore a new approach to field irrigation. The result was the creation of a tailored solution: the Leader Trailed Irrigator, a 6000-litre sprayer built on Team’s proven Leader 4 chassis, fitted with a cost-effective and efficient 8-metre boom.
At QFC, the boom spans 7 beds in a single pass—each bed holding 8 rows of onions. While operating at a forward speed of just 2–3 km/h, the sprayer delivers approximately 160 litres of water per minute through XT nozzles, emptying the tank in around 35-40 minutes. Crucially, thanks to a 600L/minute pump, the refill time is a swift 10 minutes—minimizing downtime and maximizing output during critical dry periods.
The system was delivered in early July 2025 and has already been deployed in response to the latest hot and dry spell of weather.
“Our catering customers demand high quality, large onions,” said Mr. Ali. “We were struggling on one area of the farm to grow to the spec that our customers demand due to lack of irrigation. We were also having problems with the crop failing to set after planting due to the land capping.
We approached Danny at Team to discuss a possible solution. They delivered the Team Leader Trailed Irrigator, and instead of waiting for drilling we immediately started using it to support the lack of irrigation on the 150 acres where we don’t currently irrigate. We are really pleased with it, and it’s definitely doing a job that we could not do with the usual methods of irrigation.”
The Leader Trailed Irrigator is now helping to protect yields, preserve land productivity, and secure the high standards required by QFC’s catering clients.
For more information on the Leader Trailed Irrigator or to explore custom sprayer solutions, contact us.
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