Can shelterbelts improve sprinkler irrigation performance under windy semi arid conditions?

Abstract

Field experiments were performed to study the effect that wind shelterbelts has on irrigation uniformity of hand move sprinkler irrigation system located in northwest Kenya. Catch can tests were performed to evaluate the distribution of applied water using coefficient of uniformity and distribution uniformity for plots with shelterbelt and without shelterbelt scenarios. Three medium pressure twin nozzle sprinkler head types were tested to determine their water distribution uniformity at varying wind speed and working pressure and obtained results were statistically analysed. The analysis was used to ascertain the performance of the medium pressure sprinklers under varying wind conditions for the two scenarios. Results indicate that uniformity is improved by wind for wind speeds below 1.4 m/s. Analysis of data from sheltered and unsheltered plots showed a significant difference of uniformity parameters on sheltering with coefficient of uniformity for sheltered plots averaging 84 % compared to 74 % for unsheltered plots. Results indicate that the coefficient of uniformity values were higher than the distribution uniformity values although both had a strong linear relationship with a coefficient of determination above 0.96 in both scenarios. It is concluded that shelterbelts improve sprinkler irrigation performance under windy conditions.