Abstract
Sprinkler irrigation systems are widely used in medium and large scale farms in different forms. However less types are available to apply in small farms due to their high costs. The current study was done according to a novel cost effective design for a semi-permanent sprinkler irrigation system for small farm owners. The new layout known as Corner Pivot Lateral (CPL) was examined in irrigation test center at Lijian Scientific and Technological Demonstration Park, at Nanning city, China. CPL was implemented without a main/sub mainline pipe, by applying a single pivoting lateral at the corner of the plot that directly connected to the resource to convey water from the pump. The lateral moves around the corner using a rotating elbow in a quadrant pattern manually to cover the entire farm. A conventional semi-permanent system was applied for the same farm as reference. A cost analysis on the required components as well as annual operational costs was carried out for comparison and control. Results showed that a lower system component would be needed for the CPL method. Overall, more than a 15% capital cost reduction with 7% annual cost decrement was achieved for CPL in this experiment comparatively. The Catch can technique was applied to examine the CPL system’s efficiency and 79% water distribution uniformity around the sprinkler was obtained. This new method can encourage small estate holders to switch from traditional to pressurized systems which optimizes water application costs.
Highlights
Considering the importance of sustainable development, the growing population [1], the need for food [2], scant water resources [3] and low water application efficiency of traditional irrigation methods, the rapid growth of new irrigation systems is increasingly required
Almost 70% of our finite water resources are being used in the agriculture sector, mainly in not so efficacious traditional irrigation methods [4]
According to the outcomes Corner Pivot Lateral (CPL) layout needed 15% less initial investment and a 7% lower estimated annual cost than traditional split lateral
Summary
Considering the importance of sustainable development, the growing population [1], the need for food [2], scant water resources [3] and low water application efficiency of traditional irrigation methods, the rapid growth of new irrigation systems is increasingly required. Mobility of laterals with buried main/sub mainline in a semi-permanent system makes it a desirable alternative with lower capital cost requirement compared to a solid set layout, while portable system offers a totally mobile component (including the mainline) layout to reduce the expenses further [20]. A corner pivot lateral layout sprinkler irrigation system (CPL), is designed based on a quadrant movement of a center-pivot system, but it moves manually In this layout a considerable length of required pipe will be diminished (compared to traditional semi-permanent system) which will lower the capital and operational and annual expenses.
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