Land suitability assessment for grapevines via laser level in water-scarce regions of Uzbekistan (in the case of Kashkadarya province)

Abstract

The most suitable arable land for viticulture is mainly located in the rain-fed areas such as in the foothills and mountainous regions of Uzbekistan where vineyards reach the acme point of the yield productivity. Irrigating with rainwater in the vineyard has a great potential for obtaining stable yields at the low cost of irrigation water which is proven by experimental and theoretical studies. This paper aims at implementing and testing the advantage of sustainable irrigation methods in water-scarce regions of Uzbekistan by scrutinizing the hydraulic characteristics of irrigation water and slope of the study area. We considered the maximum evapotranspiration rate in general for all phases to calculate the amount of irrigation water required per one vine tree since considering the water scarcity in the maximum growing season is important. We firstly aimed at constructing the pool to store raindrops. To perform this, we used the laser level for checking land suitability and a standardized 20 Ø irrigation pipe to deliver rainwater from the pool to the furrows of the vineyard. The results of the geodetic survey showed that the average slope of the pilot area was equal to 0.022 and enabled to implement the rainwater irrigation.