Abstract
Mobile drip irrigation (MDI) technology adapts driplines to the drop hoses of moving sprinkler systems to apply water as the drip lines are pulled across the field. There is interest in this technology among farmers in the Texas High Plains region to help sustain irrigated agriculture. However, information on the performance of this system and its benefits relative to common sprinkler application technologies in the region are limited. A two-year study was conducted in 2015 and 2016 to compare grain yields, crop water use (ETc) and water use efficiency (WUE) of corn (Zea Mays L.) irrigated with MDI, low elevation spray application (LESA) and low energy precision application (LEPA) methods. Irrigation amounts for each application method were based on weekly neutron probe readings. In both years, grain yield and yield components were similar among application treatment methods. Although WUE was similar for the MDI treatment plots compared with LEPA and LESA during the wet growing season (2015), MDI demonstrated improved WUE during the drier year of 2016. Additional studies using crops with less than full canopy cover at maturity (sorghum and cotton) are needed to document the performance of MDI in the Texas High Plains region.
Highlights
A mobile drip irrigation (MDI) system adapts drip lines to drop hoses on a moving sprinkler system, applying water directly to the soil surface as the drip lines are pulled across the field.Early forms of traveling trickle irrigation (TTI) technology, referred to as MDI, were developed in the mid-1970s and mid-1980s [1,2,3]
This study indicates that crop water use efficiency (WUE) for MDI systems is similar compared with
The results of this study suggest that in a wet year (2015), the MDI application method performs in a manner similar to low elevation spray application (LESA) and low energy precision application (LEPA) with no significant differences in grain yield, grain yield components or WUE
Summary
A mobile drip irrigation (MDI) system adapts drip lines to drop hoses on a moving sprinkler system, applying water directly to the soil surface as the drip lines are pulled across the field.Early forms of traveling trickle irrigation (TTI) technology, referred to as MDI, were developed in the mid-1970s and mid-1980s [1,2,3]. A mobile drip irrigation (MDI) system adapts drip lines to drop hoses on a moving sprinkler system, applying water directly to the soil surface as the drip lines are pulled across the field. The technology was developed with the intent to convert linear move systems to TTI systems and combine the advantages of center pivot sprinklers and subsurface drip irrigation systems. Another TTI technology, LEPA, was developed during the same timeframe [4]. Double-ended LEPA drag socks are made of canvas, 12 cm wide and 61 cm long, open at both ends, wire-tied to each drop hose. A more detailed description of the design impetus behind MDI systems is given by Kisekka et al [5]
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