Plant Root Templated Irrigation

Abstract

AbstractA new method is explored for subsurface irrigation where the plant root structure is used as the subsurface water distribution system. Plants are severed at the stem and the stem stump is attached to a pressurized water source such that water may permeate into surrounding soil through the existing buried root system. This pressurized root system serves as a well‐ distributed buried irrigation water source to the other nearby growing plants taking up water. The feasibility of using an existing root structure in this manner to supply water at rates necessary to satisfy other growing plants was determined by conducting laboratory water hydraulic conductance studies. Laboratory growth studies were used to directly test the proposed root templated irrigation (RTI) approach. Modelling simulations were also utilized to extend laboratory findings to other scenarios and compare expected water use efficiency benefits associated with this proposed irrigation method with surface irrigation (SI) and subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) practices. Irrigation study measurements showed that RTI provides more efficient water use as compared to SI. Modelling calculations were in qualitative agreement with the experimental studies, indicating that RTI yields improvement in root water uptake over the SI and also SDI unless SDI source spacing is narrow. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.