Effluent in Trickle Irrigation of Cotton in Arid Zones

Abstract

A trickle system was installed in a cotton field to study the effects of effluent quality, emitter discharge and irrigation regime on the yield of cotton. The experiments were conducted in a typical arid zone and the cotton was grown on loess soil. The results show that a high cotton hield of more than 6000 kg/hectare can be obtained with the use of a high frequency (every 2 days) trickle irrigation system. A total of approximately 5900 m³ of effluent per hectare was applied, with no additional fertilization required. With proper screen filtration no emitter clogging was observed.