Drip Irrigation Technique Research Articles

Surface Salinization of Soil under Mulched Drip Irrigation

The mulched drip-irrigation technique has been widely employed in Xinjiang, China, however, it was found to result in the buildup of salt in the surface soil. To ascertain the effect of mulched drip irrigation on salinization, experiments were carried out during 2009–2010 in two fields of mulched soil drip irrigated for three and 13 years. The solute transportation in soil was simulated with the MATLAB system based on the Richards equations. Results showed that the soil mulched by plastic film did not accumulate salt, but the bare soil surface accumulated salt and the salinity distribution in bare soil was in the ‘Γ’ pattern. The soil layer below a depth of 20 cm in the bare area showed desalination because its salt content was 22% less than the surface. The salinity of bare surface soil including cultivated horizon was reduced by 17% after 13 years of drip irrigation. The simulation results indicated that the solutes of mulched soil were transported vertically to deep soil and transversely to the bare soil with drip irrigation. Thus, the salt accumulated on the surface of bare soil came from the soil mulched by plastic film, not from groundwater or saline irrigation water and did not cause secondary salinization.

Feasibility study of gravity drip irrigation for small scale farmers

Gravity fed drip irrigation techniques have been used in the small agricultural production as an advanced water saving irrigation method in recent times. However advantageous this method, there are still some difficulties in projecting the efficiency of such systems. Most especially, feasibility study of gravity drip irrigation for small scale farmers is very important in order to set up an efficient irrigation system. This study is focused to test the feasibility of the drip irrigation the experiment was run and Uniformity co-efficient and Distribution uniformity. In the study, the discharge of emitters at 1.0 m and 0.5 m emitter spacing and 1.0 m lateral spacing and for four irrigation durations (15 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes and 120 minutes) was measured. The results clearly indicates that the selected emitters of 4 LPH rated discharge and 2.0 kg/cm2 pressure when used under gravity drip irrigation and at about 0.5-0.8 kg/cm2 pressure, discharges between 1.8-2.5 LPH. 6. The gravity drip irrigation can meet the water requirement of vegetable crops with acceptable UC and DU and can be a better solution for small scale farmers of the region in order to save the scarce fresh water resources.

Integrating rainwater harvesting and drip irrigation for water use efficiency improvements in apple orchards of northwest China

Rainwater harvesting and drip irrigation are commonly used water saving techniques ensuring agricultural sustainability in drylands of northwest China. However, few studies have compared the advantages and shortcomings of these two techniques. A meta-analysis of 22 study cases across four provinces/regions in northwest China (i.e., Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu, and Xinjiang) was conducted. The effects of varied rainwater harvesting and drip irrigation techniques on apple yield, soil water storage, and water use efficiency were evaluated. Results showed that 38.5 % apples (by weight) are produced in northwest China currently. Drip irrigation could improve apple yield by 54.3 %, even more so than rainwater harvesting which offered a 19.1 % improvement. For rainwater harvesting, plastic film mulching was more effective for improving apple yield than grass mulching. Compared with control values, rainwater harvesting can increase 0–200 cm soil water storage by 13.7 %. Optimized drip irrigation methods, such as partial root-zone drying and infiltration enhancing pipe, can enhance water use efficiency by 17.2 %. This study highlights the importance of integrating rainwater harvesting and drip irrigation techniques for improving water productivity, preventing land degradation and desertification, as well as eradicating poverty in arid regions.

Sustainable management of a cropping system under salt stress conditions (Korba, Cap-Bon, Tunisia).

Korba is a coastal region and the main production area for strawberries, tomatoes, and peppers in Tunisia. Due to the use of saline groundwater in irrigation, soil salinization increases in the area. Farmers are therefore forced to reduce the salinity in the soil by adopting a suitable water management strategy "blended water," with the appropriate irrigation system "drip irrigation," and new farming techniques "crop combinations and crop rotations" to achieve sustainability. Based on the electrical conductivity (EC) of the groundwater (5.05dS/m) and freshwater (1.7dS/m), in our pilot plot, we determine that the blended water used in irrigation must contain 28.55% of groundwater with 71.45% freshwater to have a 50%strawberry yield potential because strawberry is the most salt-sensitive crop produced in the region. The strawberry-pepper's combination is a way to improve farmers' incomes with a 200% intensification rate, taking advantage of the rains and the availability of surface water during the wet season. However, the soil salinity used to increase under these crops from 1.28 dS/m in November 2018 to 3.04 dS/m of soil EC in September 2019. This is beyond the strawberry salt tolerance threshold (1 dS/m). Even after planting summer crops, tomatoes, and peppers, the rate of evolution of soil salinity exceeds 200% (~ 4.5dS/m) and 122% (~ 3dS/m), respectively. Therefore, the rotation becomes necessary to reduce the soil salinity and thus prepare the soil for the next planting of tomatoes, peppers, and strawberry-pepper's combination. The introduction of rainfed crops or fallow in the agricultural rotation system helped farmers to reduce soil salinity with about 56% and 67.2% for crop rotations including summer crops and the strawberry-pepper's combination, respectively, with a return period of 1year.

Uji Kinerja Emitter pada Sistem Irigasi Tetes

Drip irrigation can be used to meet crop water needs and save water on dry land in Indonesia which reaches 89 percent. However, the price for one emitter is still quite expensive. To overcome such problem, a study was conducted on the performance of drip type micro irrigation with local-made emitters. By knowing the performance of the drops studied, an efficient alternative drip irrigation technique can be obtained. Performance test using a prototype was carried out at the Hydraulics Laboratory of Balai Irigasi using the observation and the trial and error methods. The results showed the optimal drip uniformity values for the 5 minutes aerator faucet emitter was 76.56% and for 0.2 bar pressure was 72.42%; for the 5 minutes infusion clamp emitter was 87.07% and for 1 bar pressure was 71.01 %; the 5 minutes cable terminal emitter was 67.09% and for 0.2 bar pressure was 84.62%.

Mitigating Drought Impact in Corn Cultivation Using Different Drip Irrigation Techniaues

The excessive use of irrigation water led to thinking about creating new irrigation techniques to take full advantage of water input, whereby the agricultural drought will be reduced. For this purpose the current study was carried out to adopt modern irrigation techniques by manipulating traditional drip irrigation technique at depth 0, 5, 15, and 30 cm (DI, SDI5, SDI15, SDI30) and basket technique at depth 5, 15, and 30 cm (BT5, BT15, and BT30) for irrigating corn plant under two levels of irrigation for receiving 100% and 65% of depleted water (I1 and I2, respectively). The grain yield and the amount of consumed water were estimated to calculate irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) and yield response factor (Ky). The cumulative depth of irrigation with precipitation for I1 and I2 were 781 and 606 mm, respectively. The grain yield of corn has been significantly (p ≤ 0.05) influenced by level and technique of irrigation; the level I1 and the technique SDI15 showed the highest values. Also the maximum IWUE among all techniques in both irrigation levels was for SDI15, while the minimum IWUE was for DI. The yield response factor showed no significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) among all techniques except the DI which gave the highest value 1.381, while the lowest value of 1.093 recorded for BT5. In this study, Ky values in all drip irrigation techniques were bigger than one; In this case using degree of soil water stress (Ks) less than 0.74is not preferable and mitigating drought impact in corn cultivation is unsuccessful.

A Case Study on Settling Process in Inclined-Tube Gravity Sedimentation Tank for Drip Irrigation with the Yellow River Water

A sedimentation tank which can remove fine sediment with low cost and high efficiency is of great significance for the wide application of drip irrigation techniques with the Yellow River water. In this study, the settling process of an inclined-tube gravity sedimentation tank which has high removal efficiency for fine particles in practice was thoroughly investigated. The sediment concentration distribution in the tank was measured by an optical back-scattering turbidimeter. The sediment thickness at the tank bottom was also measured. In addition, the size grading of sediment deposited at different positions on the tank bottom and at different heights in the inclined tubes was also measured by a laser particle size analyzer. It was found that the removal efficiency of fine sediment was 64.7–69.7% in the inclined-tube gravity sedimentation tank, which was higher than that of the sedimentation tank without inclined tubes (with a sediment removal rate of 20.7–32%). The sediment was mainly deposited in the flow adjustment area and settlement area with inclined tubes. A suitable height for the inclined tubes was 70–90 cm. In addition, the water inlet, baffle, and overflow weir in the tank negatively affected the fine sediment settling in two experiment cases. The experimental results enhance our understanding of the sedimentation characteristics in the tank, and indicate the direction for the subsequent structural optimization of the tank.

Assessing governance of irrigation systems: A view from below

Attempts at irrigation development in Ghana, as in many other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, have been characterized by governance challenges at various levels. This paper aims to provide an empirical assessment of irrigation governance in 37 small-scale irrigation schemes in northern Ghana, derived from the perceptions of their users. We first distinguish six dimensions of governance based on the available literature to include participation, accountability, conflict management, transparency and cooperation, equity and fairness, and sustainable use. Next, we measure these irrigation governance dimensions using ratings provided by local water users. We then examine the relationship between these governance measures and some objective factors that possibly drive the assessments of users. The results indicate an overall good governance in the sampled schemes. Relatively, sustainable use had the lowest score and conflict management had the highest score. We further find that in schemes located in areas with relatively high annual precipitations, users report better irrigation governance. Within schemes, both users with plots at the head end and users with plots at the tail end are more critical about irrigation governance than other users. Remarkably, the number of users of a scheme has no significant effect on their overall assessment of its governance, although users in larger schemes are more positive on opportunities to participate in governance bodies and to keep these bodies accountable. To improve their sustainability, small-scale irrigation schemes (dams) may be better maintained for domestic and livestock watering. Promoting water-conserving irrigation techniques such as drip irrigation and ground water techniques is essential.

Assessing adaptation measures on agricultural water productivity under climate change: A case study of Huai River Basin, China

This study explored an integrated framework to assess the effectiveness of adaptation measures on the water productivity (WP) of the agricultural water management (AWM) system in the Huai river basin of China considering climate change impact. The adaptation measures include optimization of cropping pattern (OCP) and upgradation of irrigation techniques (UIT). The delta change method was used to downscale the climate variables from RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 of general circulation models (GCMs) during 2021–2050, the water footprint theory was used to estimate the spatial distribution of blue water to calculate the WP, and the nonlinear optimization model was used to seek optimal cropping pattern aiming at maximizing the system's WP. The changes in WP due to climate change and adaptation measures (e.g. combinations of OCP and UIT) were compared. Results indicated that WP under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 would be 4.56% and 6.51% lower than those under the benchmark scenario, respectively. The mitigation rates to the negative impact of climate change on WP under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 would be (1) 3.05% and 3.37% for the combination of spay irrigation technique and OCP, and (2) 4.34% and 4.59% for the combination of drip irrigation technique and OCP, respectively. It was revealed that the combination of drip irrigation and cropping pattern optimization could largely offset the adverse effect from climate change on WP under RCP4.5. Under such a scenario, the total plant areas of wheat and maize would reduce over the basin and so would the net export of crops in the basin; this would lead to a decrease in the crop trade benefit of 7.07 × 109 $ and a relief of 7.50 × 109 m3 of blue water loss. This study results could offer strategic decision support for long-term sustainable AWM of Huai river basin in a changing environment.

Chili cultivation on tin mined land at Bangka Island: prospects and constraints

Chili (Capsicum sp.) is one of most valuable crop in some part of Indonesia due to high price and profitability compared to another crop. However, growing chili needs high capital and special expertize due its growth requirements. All chili cultivar needs good drainage land and good soil nutrients status for their optimum growth. Meanwhile, tin mined land is very degraded land and the tailing dominated by quartz sand. Poor soil physical properties and poor nutrient status cause this land unsuitable for most crops including chili. However, high demand and high price, promises profitable chili cultivation on such land. Advanced technologies in fertilizer and water management have been assessed at Bukit Kijang Village, Bangka Island and showed very promising results for expansion. Amending soil with mixture of manure and biochar increased water holding capacity and cation exchange capacity and hence, increased yield. Although attained yield of chili was 5.7 t ha−1, which is about 23.7 % from the average of agronomic potential yield, the net profit ranged from IDR 51.8 to 92.9 million per year after taking into account the investment for fertigation installation. The main constraints identified included low water holding capacity due to sandy texture. However, this constraints could be solved by drip irrigation technique and fertigation system. Pest and diseases were another contraints that also contributed significantly to decreased chili yield.

Soil water status and growth of tomato with partial root-zone drying and deficit drip irrigation techniques

This study addresses water-saving irrigation strategies, including deficit irrigation (DI) at 70% and 50% crop evapotranspiration, ETc (DI70 and DI50, respectively), and partial root-zone drying (PRD) at 70% and 50% ETc (PRD 70 and PRD 50, respectively) to investigate the response of the tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) using a surface drip system in the field on a sandy loam soil during years 2017 and 2018. Full irrigation (FI) at 100% ETc was used as the control treatment. Results revealed that the soil water content values for the DI and PRD treatments were lower than those in the FI treatment. The net photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate decreased with decreasing irrigation water, whereas the xylem abscisic acid content increased. A significant decrease in fresh and dry vegetative parts for DI and PRD treatments was detected compared to the FI treatment in 2017, whereas there were no significant differences in 2018. Both DI70 and PRD70 treatments had fresh and dry tomato yields similar to the ones in the FI treatment, whereas the corresponding yields were significantly lower under DI50 and PRD50 treatments. This resulted in a water productivity increase by, on average, 28.15% and 38.24%, for DI70 and PRD70 treatments, respectively, compared to the FI treatment. The DI and PRD treatments significantly affected the tomato fruit quality. Fruits under DI and PRD treatments accumulated higher amounts of total soluble solids, vitamin C, and titratable acidity compared to FI Fruits. Therefore, the use of water-saving practices is feasible for tomato production in areas where water supply is limited.

Response of deficit drip irrigation on production and growth parameters of capsicum (capsicum annuum) inside naturally ventilated polyhouse

A field experiment was conducted during March-August 2017 at Plasticulture farm College of Technology & Engineering, Udaipur. Randomized block design (RBD) was adopted for conducting field trial with six levels of irrigation viz., 100, 90, 80, 70, 60 and 100% (control without mulch) of crop evapotranspiration and 4 replication. Capsicum (shimla mirch locally known in Udaipur) cv Indra was irrigated with drip irrigation (also known as trickle irrigation) technique. Measurements of crop biometric parameters namely plant height, number of leaves and individual fruit weight was done at pre scheduled time throughout the crop season. Results revealed that biometric parameters found maximum in case of 80% irrigation level whiles minimum in 60% irrigation level treatment. The highest yields (42.64 t/ha) was also recorded in the same treatment. Therefore, it can conclude that by scheduling irrigation to meet 80% of crop ET will result in optimum crop yields and enhances crop water use efficiency of capsicum grown inside naturally ventilation polyhouse (NVPH).

Water Footprint of Crops on Rhodes Island

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the water footprints (WFs) of all the main crops on Rhodes island at a municipal unit (MU) scale, as well as for the area of the island as a whole. WF estimations are made with a distinction of rainfed and irrigated crops, using CROPWAT 8.0. Rainfed crops and the drip irrigation method are predominant in the study area, which faces water scarcity issues. Furthermore, a reduction factor in plant coefficients is introduced, to adapt to the drip irrigation technique. From the findings obtained, useful conclusions are drawn regarding the most water-demanding crops, but also the type of their WF component (blue/green/gray). In all categories of crops, there are large fluctuations across MUs, mainly due to the different yields. Higher WF values occur for rainfed and irrigated olives, which constitute the predominant crop, followed by hard and soft wheat. WF is a useful indicator identifying which crops require improvement or restructuring in a study area, and quantifies the exact volumes of water, which is a useful element in the formulation of agricultural policy in the context of sustainable water resources management.

Multi-criteria optimisation of a cane flexi-factory

The sugar cane industry is at stake due to the fall in prices of sugar. The industry has to re-engineer itself to a cane flexi-factory for its survival. A cane flexi-factory consists of a sugar mills, cogeneration power plant, bio-ethanol distillery, value-added sugars refinery and a bio-fertiliser manufacturing plant. Although one such refinery is in operation in Mauritius, the area of land area under sugar cultivation is decreasing. The outputs of the flexi-factory can be increased through implementation of higher pressure boiler; higher fibre cane; energy cane; cane tops and leaves; addition of a falling thin film evaporator and use drip irrigation technique. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the possible options to optimise the performance of a flexi-factory through the multi-criteria assessment approach. The outcome of the assessment will help policy makers to prioritise the implementation of these alternatives in the short, medium and long term.

Multi-criteria optimisation of a cane flexi-factory

The sugar cane industry is at stake due to the fall in prices of sugar. The industry has to re-engineer itself to a cane flexi-factory for its survival. A cane flexi-factory consists of a sugar mills, cogeneration power plant, bio-ethanol distillery, value-added sugars refinery and a bio-fertiliser manufacturing plant. Although one such refinery is in operation in Mauritius, the area of land area under sugar cultivation is decreasing. The outputs of the flexi-factory can be increased through implementation of higher pressure boiler; higher fibre cane; energy cane; cane tops and leaves; addition of a falling thin film evaporator and use drip irrigation technique. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the possible options to optimise the performance of a flexi-factory through the multi-criteria assessment approach. The outcome of the assessment will help policy makers to prioritise the implementation of these alternatives in the short, medium and long term.

POTENSI PERTUMBUHAN PURWOCENG DENGAN TEKNIK IRIGASI TETES, NUTRIENT FILM TECHNIQUE (NFT) DAN PENANAMAN DI LAHAN TERBUKA

The low yield and quality of purwoceng on conventional planting in open land can be overcome by the application of hydroponic technology in the greenhouse. Hydroponic technology in greenhouses allows controlled control of plants, more planned harvests and reduces pests and diseases. The results of a hydroponic purwoceng production study using drip and NFT irrigation techniques have been carried out separately. The results of the purwoceng production study using the hydroponic nutrient film technique (NFT) show that purwoceng is sensitive to circulating water. Withered purwoceng plants in the NFT system reach 40%. further studies are needed on the hydroponic technique of drip irrigation, NFT and in open land on the growth and development of purwoceng plants. The purpose of the research was to get the effect of drip irrigation, NFT and open land on the growth of plant height and the number of branches of purwoceng plants in the dry season. Experiment using a completely randomized design (CRD) with 3 replications. The micro-climate inside and outside the greenhouse observed includes air temperature and air humidity. Growth data were analyzed by F test and continued with DMRT test at 5% level. The growth variables observed included plant height and number of branches. Purwoceng production using drip irrigation systems, NFT systems and open land has different effects on purwoceng growth. Drip irrigation in the greenhouse produces the highest plant height and number of branches compared to the NFT technique and in open land. Purwoceng planting with drip irrigation shows the highest yield, which is 14 branches. The number of branches of purwoceng plants in open land reaches an average of 6.9. The NFT technique produces the lowest (3,9 branches).

Response of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) to fertigation by irrigation scheduling in drip irrigation system

Drip irrigation technique has proved its superiority over other methods of irrigation due to direct application of water and nutrient in the vicinity of root zone. A field study was conducted to evaluate the effect of irrigation and fertigation scheduling through drip irrigation in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) during Rabi season of 2015-16 at Rajasthan College of Agriculture, MPUAT, Udaipur. There were three irrigation levels and five fertilization levels in split-plot design with three replications. Nutrient content in plant and fruit was found higher under the application of drip irrigation at 100 % PE (I1) and at 100 % RDF through fertigation (F1). Maximum nutrient uptake by tomato i.e. nitrogen (166.83 kg ha-1), phosphorus (41.59 kg ha-1) and potassium (183.08 kg ha-1) was recorded with treatment combination of drip irrigation at 75 % PE (I2) + 75 % RDF through fertigation + 2 foliar spray of 1 % urea phosphate (F3). Similarly, significantly maximum yield and growth attributes i.e. fruit yield (201.25 q ha-1), plant height (67.43 cm) and number of branches (12.33) were registered with treatment combination of drip irrigation at 75 % PE and 75 % RDF through fertigation + 2 foliar spray of 1 % urea phosphate. Drip fertigation method has proved to be very significant in improving nutrient uptake which finally resulting in enhancement of growth and yield of tomato crop.

Effects of Drip Irrigation on Growth, Physiological Parameters, and Yield in Hydroponically Cultivated Cucumis sativus

The effect of drip irrigation regimen on growth, physiological parameters, and crop yield in Cucumis sativus L. was investigated using a drip irrigation system. The experimental design comprised eight various water regimens (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 L·h−1). Plants received water five times a day, making a total of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 L per day. Growth and photosynthetic parameters were analyzed on a weekly base for a period of 8 weeks. Crop yield was measured at the end of the experiment. In general, photosynthetic rate (A), intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), stomatal conductance (gS) and the transpiration rate (E) of the cucumber plants were enhanced by increasing water quantities compared with the control. Overall, the total chlorophyll content was significantly enhanced between week 7 and 8 in plants treated with high irrigation volume. Significant improvements were recorded in plant height and number of leave from week 3 to 8 in plants supplied with high irrigation volume. The observed increase in photosynthetic parameters, chlorophyll contents, and plant growths perhaps accounted for the significant increase in the number of marketable fruits in cucumber grown in higher water regimen. The optimal yield of cucumber in the present study was attained in plants irrigated with water regimen ranging from 40 to 80 L per day. The results of this study present valuable information that cucumber growers in South Africa should adopt the use of drip irrigation technique to save water considering the high drought condition in the country.

Analysis of the situation of the Euphrates-Tigris-Shatt Al Arab river system and possible solutions of the devastation of the ecosystem [abstract

Analysis of the situation of the Euphrates-Tigris-Shatt Al Arab river system and possible solutions of the devastation of the ecosystem [abstract

Research on Infiltration Spread in Soil of Drip Irrigation Technique for Grape Leaves at the Water Scarce Region of Vietnam

The technique of drip irrigation is a solution of water saving for crops in the scarce region. Water is supplied on the soil surface directly, continuously and regularly by drippers and then it infiltrates into the cultivated soil layer to ensure that plants will grow and develop well. During the experimental process of researching on soil moisture of drip irrigation technique to determine the suitable irrigation schedule for Grape Leaves at the water scarce region, the authors carried out the experiment and observed infiltration spread. Based on calculated and observed results, the authors have proposed correlation of parameters as follows: infiltration depth, average radius of wetting front on horizontal direction, irrigation water amount versus time, velocity of horizontal (vr) and vertical (vz) permeability of drip irrigation technique. The correlation coefficients of parameters are high (R2 from 0.906 to 0.9899) and conformable to research on soil moisture dynamic in order to determine the suitable irrigation schedule for Grape leaves in particular and for terrestrial plants (with short roots) in general at the water scarce region of the South Central region of Vietnam.