Abstract
Smart systems could be used to improve irrigation scheduling and save water under Saudi Arabia’s present water crisis scenario. This study investigated two types of evapotranspiration-based smart irrigation controllers, SmartLine and Hunter Pro-C2, as promising tools for scheduling irrigation and quantifying plants’ water requirements to achieve water savings. The effectiveness of these technologies in reducing the amount of irrigation water was compared with the conventional irrigation scheduling method as a control treatment. The two smart irrigation sensors were used for subsurface irrigation of a tomato crop (cv. Nema) in an arid region. The results showed that the smart controllers significantly reduced the amount of applied water and increased the crop yield. In general, the Hunter Pro-C2 system saved the highest amount of water and produced the highest crop yield, resulting in the highest water irrigation efficiency compared with the SmartLine controller and the traditional irrigation schedule. It can be concluded that the application of advanced scheduling irrigation techniques such as the Hunter controller under arid conditions can realise economic benefits by saving large amounts of irrigation water.
Highlights
This study investigated two types of evapotranspiration-based smart irrigation controllers, SmartLine and Hunter Pro-C2, as promising tools for scheduling irrigation and quantifying plants’ water requirements to achieve water savings
The Hunter Pro-C2 system saved the highest amount of water and produced the highest crop yield, resulting in the highest water irrigation efficiency compared with the SmartLine controller and the traditional irrigation schedule
The sustainability of agricultural production depends on the conservation, appropriate use and management of scarce water resources, especially in arid and semiarid areas where users compete over limited water resources (Provenzano et al, 2013) and irrigation is required for the production of food and cash crops (Douh & Boujelben, 2011)
Summary
The sustainability of agricultural production depends on the conservation, appropriate use and management of scarce water resources, especially in arid and semiarid areas where users compete over limited water resources (Provenzano et al, 2013) and irrigation is required for the production of food and cash crops (Douh & Boujelben, 2011). Various irrigation systems have been introduced to save agricultural water use and to increase water use efficiency (WUE). The installation of drip irrigation pipes below the soil surface potentially reduces water loss due to soil evaporation, increasing WUE (Ayars et al, 1999). SDI systems allow minimal water loss while maintaining high levels of crop production (Mailhol et al, 2011; Rallo et al, 2012; Cammalleri et al, 2013; Baiamonte et al, 2015). Elmaloglou et al (2010) found that SDI systems can increase WUE, they can only do so if they are designed to meet the soil and plant conditions. AlOmran et al (2010) concluded that SDI increased the yield and WUE of tomato crops and reduced the amount of irrigation water by improving the root-zone moisture distribution
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