Irrigation Performance Research Articles

A Real-Time Adaptive Control System for Border Irrigation

The shortage of water resources makes it urgent to increase agricultural irrigation efficiency. In response to this need, this study develops a real-time adaptive control irrigation (RACI) system for border irrigation. Avoiding the need for traditional real-time control systems to calculate soil infiltration properties in real-time, RACI adjusts the inflow rate based on the difference between the actual and expected advance time. Simulations of the collected data are used to evaluate and analyze the sensitivity of RACI to input parameters, and field experiments were carried out to further verify the irrigation performance and efficiency. The experimental results indicate that RACI delivers an average application efficiency, distribution uniformity, requirement efficiency, and deep percolation of 0.930, 0.884, 0.954, and 0.070, respectively. A sensitivity analysis of irrigation input parameters (infiltration parameter, roughness coefficient, inflow rate, and slope) shows that the irrigation performance of RACI remains satisfactory even when the parameters are varied. Given the satisfactory irrigation performance and robustness and the more facile operation than traditional real-time control systems, RACI has the potential to become widely used.

Evaluation and optimization of surge and alternate furrow irrigation performance in maize fields using the WinSRFR software

Low efficiency of irrigation is a major problem with surface irrigation methods, mainly due to poor management and improper design. The objective of this study was to evaluate and improve the performance of different surge and alternate furrow irrigation methods. A field experiment was conducted during the grain maize growing season in the Jayedar Plain of Poldokhtar City (southwest of Iran) in the years 2020 and 2021. Five different furrow irrigation methods including conventional furrow irrigation (CFI), surge irrigation with on/off cycle ratios of 1 and 0.5 (SFI1–1 and SFI1–2, respectively), fixed alternate irrigation (FFI) and variable alternate irrigation (AFI) were investigated. A total of 15 irrigation evaluations were performed at the initial, middle, and end of the growing season by measuring inflow rate, cutoff time, outflow rate, infiltration and advance time. The length and spacing of experimental furrows were 120 and 0.75 m, respectively, and the inflow rate of furrows and the flow cutoff times at the initial (3rd irrigation), middle (6th irrigation), and end (9th irrigation) of the season were 0.28 L/s and 240 min, 0.42 L/s and 360 min, 0.35 L/s and 300 min, respectively. The WinSRFR 3.1 software was calibrated and applied using field data based on the zero-inertia model. The results of the furrow irrigation sensitivity analysis with WinSRFR 3.1 software demonstrated that furrow irrigation in the studied area was most sensitive to the inflow rate, cutoff time and infiltration parameters, respectively. There were high correlations between the measured and simulated values of runoff, infiltration and advance time (coefficient of determination of 1.0, 0.94, and 0.97, respectively). The relative error values in estimating runoff, infiltration and advance time were 5.60 %, 5.09 %, and 2.14 %, respectively. Mean performance indices of different furrow irrigation methods under field experiments showed that the highest values of Application Efficiency (78.7 %), Potential Application Efficiency of the minimum (69.5 %), and Potential Application Efficiency of low-quarter (74.1 %) were observed under the AFI method. By optimizing the inflow rate and flow cutoff time, application efficiencies of 66.6–80.7 % were obtained for different irrigation methods. The results of this study show that AFI is a more suitable method for maize irrigation in the study area.

Shared centre pivot. An experience of smallholder irrigation in Midwest Brazil

Irrigation enables crop intensification and improves the smallholder’s household livelihood. Centre pivot irrigation, a system predominantly used in medium to large individual farms, has recently been promoted for smallholder collective irrigation in developing countries. The objective of this research was to assess the irrigation performance and evolution of shared centre pivot systems at the Itamarati Rural Settlement in the Midwest of Brazil, where around 1000 smallholders were organized in small groups between 2001 and 2004, to farm 85 centre pivots collectively. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected in a mixed-approach, and used to characterize the evolution and sustainability of the centre pivots shared. We collected information from published and unpublished reports, and we conducted our own surveys, interviewing twenty-five farm groups and forming focus groups in a 3-year phased process. Irrigation intensity (the ratio of irrigated area over the area equipped for irrigation) declined sharply from 0.75 in 2004/2005–0.12 in 2020. The immediate pressures triggering the abandonment process were: the farmers’ insufficient technical capability, low productivity of the irrigated crops, and high operational and maintenance costs. At the root of these drivers was the incapacity to exert the collective action required by the highly centralized shared centre pivot system. The progressive giving up of collective management and the concentration of land in larger farms seems to be inexorable. The Itamarati experience was a paradigm of a top-down project whose lessons are important for policymakers. We concluded that centralized collective systems are unsustainable unless the community that adopts them has a high sense of union and a capacity for collective action.

Penilaian kinerja sistem irigasi berdasarkan pendekatan permen PUPR No.12/PRT/M/2015 dan metode MASSCOTE di daerah irigasi Reban Batu Sumbawa Barat

The Reban Batu irrigation area located in West Sumbawa Regency has experienced a decline in the performance of its irrigation system. Therefore, it is necessary to make efforts to improve the performance of the irrigation system by carrying out maintenance and rehabilitation, which is based on the results of the irrigation performance index assessment. The purpose of this study is to determine the irrigation system performance index in the Reban Batu irrigation area and the variables that affect irrigation performance. As for the irrigation system performance assessment, it can be based on the decree of PUPR No. 12/PRT/M/2015 and the MASSCOTE Method. The irrigation system performance assessment was carried out by direct surveys of the location and interviews with Water User Association (WUA) Farmers as beneficiaries and operational and maintenance (OM) officers as managers, resulting in a performance index based on the decree of PUPR 68.26% which was included in the category of underperforming and requiring attention. Meanwhile, based on the MASSCOTE method, the score is 2.69 or the level of service is in the poor category. Based on path analysis, the indicator variables of Irrigation Service (X1), WUA (X2), Human Resources of OM Officers (X3), and the Modernization of OM (X4)together have a significant effect on the irrigation performance variable (Y) of 0.931 or 93.1%.

CFD simulation and experimental study of the irrigation performance of new ebb-and-flow soilless cultivation troughs

Irrigation water savings constitute an important incentive for sustainable agricultural development. Ebb-and-flow irrigation provides prominent water-saving advantages in regard to the irrigation of horticultural crops. In this study, two new ebb-and-flow soilless cultivation troughs, i.e., T- and U-type troughs, were designed based on available ebb-and-flow cultivation troughs to further improve the water use efficiency. They could be divided into substrate and water supply areas by convex separating plates. The long walls of the troughs were inclined and curved. To study the performance of these new troughs, water supply and water retention processes were analyzed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models. A trough with an inverted triangular profile configuration was used as the control group (CK). It was found that the water supply time consumption of the U-type troughs was the lowest, accounting for 34.48% of that of the CK troughs, and the rate of the T-type troughs was the second lowest, accounting for 55.7% of that of the CK troughs; the variation in the water retention process was negligible, at<0.5%. In addition, field experiments indicated that the U-type troughs supplied water at the highest rate and exhibited a high substrate water content, and it was determined that the U-type troughs achieved the highest irrigation efficiency, which was 1.38–1.60 times higher than that of the CK troughs, and the lowest energy consumption, accounting for 18.57%-20.28% of that of the CK troughs. Moreover, cultivation trials demonstrated that the two newly designed cultivation troughs were better than the CK trough. Consequently, the U-type cultivation trough was found to be the best choice. This study provides a theoretical basis for the ebb-and-flow soilless cultivation of horticultural crops and introduces new products to improve the irrigation water use efficiency and reduce energy consumption.

A novel irrigation canal scheduling model adaptable to the spatial-temporal variability of water conveyance loss

The water conveyance loss of irrigation canals shows significant spatial-temporal variability both along the canal reach and over time. An accurate representation of these variances in irrigation canal scheduling is essential to reduce water conveyance loss. However, the existing optimal irrigation scheduling models (OISMs) still have deficiencies in dealing with spatial-temporal variability of water conveyance losses, which seriously limits the model performance in many irrigation areas with high spatial-temporal variability. Borrowing a concept from hydrology, we propose a Dynamic Calculation Method of canal water conveyance loss (DMWCL), in which antecedent water conveyance index (AWCI) is defined to represent the effects of antecedent soil water content upon infiltration losses, and the integral-flow balance method is adopted to describe the characteristics of canal discharge decreasing along the canal reach. Based on the DMWCL, we present a novel canal scheduling model with the potential to adapt to spatial-temporal variability (DMWCL-CS). The new model is applied to the Hetao Irrigation District, Inner Mongolia, a typical agricultural watershed in China. Our results across the case studies show that the canal water delivery schedule derived by the DMWCL-CS model reduces water conveyance loss and improves irrigation performance, ranging from 2.49 million m3 to 10.60 million m3 in 2014 and from 0.60 million m3 to 6.17 million m3 in 2016, respectively, compared to that of three additional models. Interestingly, we find that the water delivery schedule of the DMWCL-CS model accelerates the wetting process of the canal bed soil to reduce the water conveyance loss and increases the discharge to adapt to the characteristics that the discharge decreases along the canal reach. The DMWCL-CS model provides essential insights for irrigation managers to formulate a canal water delivery schedule that adapts to spatial-temporal variability. The proposed framework is generic and can be integrated into any OISM.

Water–Pesticide Integrated Micro-Sprinkler Design and Influence of Key Structural Parameters on Performance

The use of pergola trellis crops has led to a need for irrigation and the spraying of pesticides. Thus, a new integrated micro-nozzle was designed to provide water and pesticides. The structural parameters that affect the irrigation performance were selected based on the working principle of the sprinkler. They included the outlet diameter, refractive surface angle, and the distance from the outlet plane to the refractive surface (cone hole distance). The structural parameters that affect the performance of spraying pesticide included the number of diversion chutes, nozzle diameter, and nozzle outer cone angle. The structural optimization of the water–pesticide integrated sprinkler was determined by a single-factor and a three-factors four-levels orthogonal tests. The indices used to evaluate the performance of the sprinkler were irrigation flow rate, wetted radius, and uniformity coefficient. Those used to evaluate the performance at spraying pesticides included the flow rate of spraying pesticides, spray cone angle, and relative size range of the droplets. The entropy weight and the extreme difference analytical methods were used to process the test data. The main order of the influence of key structural parameters on the irrigation performance was obtained as follows: outlet diameter, refractive surface angle, and cone hole distance. The primary and secondary order of the influence on the performance of spraying pesticide was as follows: the number of diversion chutes, angle of the outer cone of the nozzle, and nozzle diameter. The optimal combination of parameters for this water–pesticide integrated micro sprinkler was obtained as follows: outlet diameter 2.0 mm, refractive surface angle 30°, cone hole distance 1.0 d, nozzle diameter 3.0 mm, two diversion chutes, and nozzle outer cone angle 90°. The performance indices included the irrigation water flow rate 0.284 m3/h, wetted radius 4.26 m, uniformity coefficient 91.07%, flow rate of pesticides spread 0.097 m3/h, spray cone angle 121.25°, and average relative distribution span of droplets 1.18. The results provide an important theoretical basis for the practical application of sprinklers.

Root canal irrigation system using remotely generated high-power ultrasound

Root canal treatment is performed to remove the bacteria proliferating in the root canals of a tooth. Many conventional root canal irrigation methods use an instrument inserted into the root canals. However, bacteria removal is often incomplete in the apical region of the root canal, and the treatment carries clinical risks, such as instrument fracture and extrusion of irrigation liquid through the canal apex. We here suggest a novel, remotely generated high-intensity ultrasound irrigation system that exhibits better irrigation performance and a reduced clinical risk. Our device employs powerful ultrasonic waves generated by a transducer placed outside a target tooth. The generated ultrasonic waves are guided to travel into the root canals. In the root canals of the target tooth, acoustic cavitation occurs, and vapor bubbles are created. The dynamic motions of vapor bubbles create remarkable cleaning effects. Using root canal models, we tested the cleaning performance of the proposed system and compared it with other conventional irrigation methods. The results revealed that biofilm in the apical region of the root canal models can be removed exclusively using the proposed system, thus demonstrating an improvement in cleaning performance. We also measured pressure at the apex of the root canals of an extracted tooth while operating the proposed system. Our system exhibited a smaller pressure compared to the syringe irrigation method, thus suggesting a reduced risk of apical extrusion of the irrigation liquid. Since the proposed system operates without inserting instruments into the root canal, it can clean multiple root canals in a tooth simultaneously with a single treatment. The proposed device would be a breakthrough in root canal treatment in terms of irrigation performance, clinical safety, and ease of treatment.

Influence of Micro-Furrow Depth and Bottom Width on Surface Water Flow and Irrigation Performance in the North China Plain

Improving traditional surface irrigation technology and vigorously promoting water-saving surface irrigation are important ways to improve the efficiency of water resource utilization. In our study, we propose a new technology of surface irrigation, micro-furrow irrigation, which combines the advantages of furrow irrigation and border irrigation. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of micro-furrow depth and bottom width on surface water flow and irrigation performance. Field experiments were conducted from 2019 to 2020 in Zhengzhou City, northern China. This work designed three bottom widths, BW1 (18 cm), BW2 (12 cm), and BW3 (6 cm), respectively, and three depths, D1 (15 cm), D2 (10 cm), and D3 (5 cm), respectively. Moreover, border irrigation was set as control treatment (CK). Additionally, field experiments were validated and simulated using the WinSRFR 5.1 model (Arid-Land Agricultural Research Center, USA). The results showed a significant negative correlation between depth and advance time and between depth and recession time. However, no significant correlation was found between bottom width and advance time, nor between bottom width and recession time. The advance times of micro-furrow irrigation were 1.23–4.77 min less than those of border irrigation. Concerning irrigation performance, compared to that of border irrigation, the application efficiency and distribution uniformity increased by 8–30% and −5–18%, respectively. However, the requirement efficiency decreased by 0–40%. Compared to that of border irrigation, the irrigation quota increased 21.61% under BW3D3 but decreased by 10.46–57.94% under other treatments. Therefore, micro-furrow irrigation can meet irrigation requirements despite low irrigation quota. Comprehensively considering the advance time, recession time, irrigation performance, and irrigation quota, we recommend a micro-furrow shape with a depth of 10 cm or 15 cm and bottom width of 6 cm.

Irrigation management zone strategies impact assessment on potential crop yield, water and energy savings

In irrigated agriculture, soil spatial variability is a primary factor for low irrigation efficiency. In regions such as the Brazilian Cerrado, where there is a continuous growth of irrigated agriculture and limited water supplies, it is important to seek alternatives to reach an efficient and sustainable irrigated agriculture. In this context, precision irrigation has great potential. Better strategies must be established, especially for center pivot irrigation conditions. Irrigation considering management zones is a promising option; however, criteria must be set to delimitate management zones and evaluate irrigation performance in such situations. This study aims to assess the impact of the use of management zones on irrigation performance. Therefore, two center pivots, PivoBHBV and PivoBHALPA, with distinct soil water physical traits, were evaluated. Two management zones strategies were considered to carry out the simulations. One of the strategies was based on regions in the format of square grids with areas of 25, 100 and 225 m2. In the other strategy, the unsupervised grouping algorithm Fuzzy C-Means was used to create management zones. The irrigation performed on those management zones was assessed by comparing their performance with the irrigation conducted in the grid areas. The irrigation management zones were delimited based on the interpolated maps of soil available water capacity (AWC), and the management was conducted individually for each zone. The simulations were made through a model developed with the Python language. The results indicate similarity between the irrigation with management zones and the grid irrigation, as it did not significantly increase water and energy demands or reduce soybean yield. Precision irrigation practiced management zones increased irrigation efficiency, reducing the effect of soil spatial variability. The total irrigation depth applied was, on average, 1.47 % lower than the irrigation by grids. Comparing the grid and the management zones irrigations, water and energy savings potential and the average yield increase potential were 1.85 %, 1.75 %, and 0.41 %.

Water footprint assessment of surface and subsurface drip fertigated cotton-wheat cropping system – A case study under semi-arid environments of Indian Punjab

The advanced methods of irrigation and nutrient supply may save huge quantity of costly inputs over the prevalent practice of surface flood (SF) irrigation and fertilizer broadcasting in Indian Punjab. Surface drip fertigation (SDF) and subsurface drip fertigation (SSDF) enables the combined application of fertilizer and irrigation for improving the input use efficiency in Cotton-Wheat cropping system (CWCS) over the SF. Though, both SDF and SSDF perform better than SF, but their suitability in reducing the water footprint (WF) of CWCS has been least assessed. Therefore, a 2 yr field study at two distinct agro-climatic zones has been conducted to quantify and compare the WF of SDF and SSDF in comparison to SF for CWCS under semi-arid environments. Results revealed that under SSDF, cotton and wheat crops consumed 32 and 37% lower water than respective SF, indicative of huge water saving over the prevalent practice. Contribution of green, blue and grey components towards total WF under SF was 42, 48 and 10% respectively for cotton, and 24, 59 and 18% for wheat. SSDF application at 80% crop evapotranspiration (ETc) along with 100% recommended dose of nitrogen remarkably reduced the WF without any yield loss for CWCS. Higher total WF for CWCS under SF (5.30 m³ kg⁻1) revealed it to be inferior as compared to SDF (3.71 m³ kg⁻1) and SSDF (3.52 m³ kg⁻1). Cotton alone consumed 65–78% of WFtotal of the CWCS, while the remaining 22–35% was attributed to wheat. A lowered WFtotal for CWCS under SDF and SSDF over that of SF elucidated them to be immensely helpful to conserve limited water resources under semi arid climates. A cropping system based assessment was much reliable option to obtain a clear indicator about the annual WF as compared to single crop based estimation. These results could be utilized to access the performance of alternative irrigation and cultivation systems for developing the WF reduction approach over extended geographical scale.

Design of Tailwater Recovery Systems Accounting for Irrigation System Operation and Performance

Design of Tailwater Recovery Systems Accounting for Irrigation System Operation and Performance

Analysis of Irrigation Performance of a Solid-Set Sprinkler Irrigation System at Different Experimental Conditions

The complexity of assessing the irrigation performance of a solid-set sprinkler irrigation system implies analyzing factors of the sprinkler features, the spacing among sprinklers, the evaluation heights, the meteorological variables and the crop. In this research, a number of solid-set experiments with impact sprinklers were evaluated with different operating conditions and a number of models of irrigation uniformity (CUC) and losses due to drift and wind (WDEL) were assessed at different catch-can heights. Statistical analysis and predictive models were performed for each variable analyzed. The results showed that ND 5035 and SEN 4023 impact sprinklers that presented the lowest variability in water distributions patterns based on the standard deviations of the irrigation depth collected in the catch can (0.85 mm/h). These sprinklers had demonstrated the best CUC values (mean of 86%) with low WDEL averages (lower than 9%). Regarding the CUC analysis, there was a statistically significant difference in measuring the irrigation uniformity from 1 to 2 m catch-can height based on the analysis of 396 solid-set experiments of different research works. Future research could be focused on more experimental conditions analyzing the effects of the irrigation on the crop agronomic development and its yield.

Increasing Agricultural Resilience through Combined Supply and Demand Management (Case Study: Karaj Reservoir Dam, Iran)

Among the solutions to climate change’s harmful effects, AS (Adaptation Strategies) are more feasible. In this study, four AS, Changing Cultivation Dates (CCD), Deficit Irrigation (DI), Improving Irrigation Performance (IIP), and Optimizing the Crop Pattern (OCP), were investigated. The results showed that the WUE (Water Use Efficiency) was declined when the cultivation date was changed for all crops in the baseline and increased after the cultivation date was brought forward to 7, 14, 14, 28, 28 days for tomato, wheat, corn, barley and cucumber, respectively, in the future period. Deficit irrigation of 30% increased the WUE in all crops. A 48% increase in irrigation performance reduced demand by 10%. Following the OCP and diminishing the cultivation area by 30% increased farmers’ total profit and reduced the water consumption volume by 9% and 11%, respectively, in the baseline and future periods. To study the effect of these AS on crop yield and allocated volume, a combination of crop model programming and the MOEPO (Multi-Objective Emperor Penguin Optimizer) was employed to minimize Vulnerability and maximize Reliability Indexes (Performance Indexes). In the supply section, three scenarios were examined. The results showed that DI, IIP, CCD and OCP were classified from the most to the least option based on improving the Performance Indexes.

Effects of Irrigation Method and Water Flow Rate on Irrigation Performance, Soil Salinity, Yield, and Water Productivity of Cauliflower

Water scarcity is a major constraint for food production, particularly in arid and semi-arid environments. In this regard, selecting the best irrigation technique is crucial to overcome water scarcity and enhance water productivity (WP) with no significant yield loss. This study aimed to assess the impact of irrigation techniques of every furrow irrigation (EFI), alternate furrow irrigation (AFI), and drip irrigation (DI), as well as the flow rate, on irrigation system performance parameters, yield, water productivity of cauliflower crop and soil salinity during the two successive growing seasons of 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 under field conditions. The treatments comprised three different irrigation inflow rates: Q1 = 0.47 L/s, Q2 = 0.95 L/s, and Q3 = 1.43 L/s. For both investigated seasons, the AFI + Q3 treatment produced the best water distribution uniformity (DU) and water application efficiency (AE) of 85.10% and 72.73%, respectively, of the surface irrigation, and DI methods across the two growing seasons produced the highest DU of 95%. DI produced the highest cauliflower curd yield (18.12 Mg/fed), followed by EFI + Q3 (12.285 Mg/fed) and AFI + Q3 (11.905 Mg/fed). The maximum mean WP value of 10.6 kg/m3 was recorded with DI, followed by AFI + Q3 (6.24 kg/m3), across the two growing seasons. DI, AFI + Q3, AFI + Q2, AFI + Q1, EFI + Q3, and EFI + Q2 saved irrigation water by 32.63, 28.71, 21.22, 18.04, 10.48, and 3.18%, respectively, compared with EFI + Q1 across the two growing seasons. During both seasons, the average value using the drip irrigation system was 3.60 dS/m. Considering the annual leaching requirements of soil, climate change conditions, and fixed costs, we recommend the use of a drip irrigation system in clayey soil to produce cauliflower, followed by the use of the alternative furrow irrigation method to enable the aeration of the same soil for a lower cost.

Salinity threshold of desalinated saline water used for drip irrigating: The perspective of emitter clogging

High energy consumption of desalinated saline water (DSW) caused a bottleneck, hindering the application of DSW drip irrigation in agriculture. In fact, the appropriate salinity level for agriculture drip irrigation could be much higher than potable water. Therefore, new desalination technology (e.g. capacitive deionization, blended desalinated water), owing its low energy consumption and meet the target salinity threshold removal according to crop requirements, has attracted extensive attentions. However, the DSW target salinity threshold may drastically increase the risk of emitter clogging, and reduce the operational performance of drip irrigation systems. Thus, this study assessed the DSW salinity threshold from the perspective of emitter clogging. The results suggested that the DSW salinity threshold should be kept below 5 g/L to maintain the favorable anti-clogging performance of drip irrigation. Emitter clogging was increased gradually between the salinity 1–5 g/L, while, sharped increase was observed at salinity above 5 g/L. Compared with 5 g/L, the treatments 7–9 g/L, significantly increased calcium fouling (12.5–26.4 mg/cm−2) and silica fouling (5.3–11.9 mg/cm−2), which could be attributed to, the rapid increase of calcium sulfate and calcium phosphate, and the key water quality parameter i.e. Ca2+ and Mg2+ concentrations, which greatly enhance the flocculation between silica particles and accelerated the polymerization of silicon. Furthermore, 7–9 g/L treatments aggravated the synergistic interactions among calcium fouling and silica fouling. Overall, these findings would provide a new perspective for DSW salinity threshold selection, with potential implications for sustainable development of agriculture water desalination.

Impacts of the policy on exemption of irrigation service fee on irrigation performance, a case study in the Red River Basin, Vietnam

AbstractThe policy on irrigation service fee had been adopted in irrigated agriculture in Vietnam for decades but has changed to exemption since 2008. This study surveyed irrigation systems in the Red River basin and found that the ratio of irrigated area to cultivation command area of irrigation system increased from 85% to 91% for a period 2008–2014 thanks to increased maintenance fund for upgrading irrigation systems. Using the Difference in Difference method, the study assessed impact of the policy on on‐farm irrigation performance, agricultural productivity, and household economy at sites across the 44,600 ha of the Cau Son Irrigation System. The analysis found that the exemption policy had a negative and significant impact (p &lt; 0.01) on on‐farm irrigation performance measured by flexibility, reliability, and equity indicators. We found the exemption caused no significant impact on agriculture productivity, cultivation labor, or rice yield in the study area. While net cultivation income of the sample households increased, total income and gross cultivation income of these households were not affected as irrigation service fee accounts for only 1–2% of the total annual household incomes. For improved irrigation performance, it is recommended to revise the current exemption policy and follow a cost recovery approach.

Effectiveness of hydrogen peroxide treatments in preventing biofilm clogging in drip irrigation systems applying treated wastewater

The application of treated wastewater (TWW) via pressurized drip irrigation (DI) systems, specifically micro-irrigation, is an effective solution to mitigate water scarcity. TWW contains a higher concentration of nutrients and microbial activity compared to fresh water (FW) and poses a larger danger of fouling and subsequent clogging to DI systems. The goal of this paper was to characterize the effectiveness of chemical treatments, specifically hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in preventing clogging in DI systems utilizing secondary (ST) and tertiary (TT)_TWW. A novel field model was employed to compare the flow rate (FR), fouling accumulation and composition in laterals and emitters of different treatments. Under ST_TWW irrigation, control treatment performance quickly declined while regular low concentration H2O2 treatments exhibited the lowest amounts of fouling and maintained nominal FR and coefficient of variation (CV). Shock treatments, defined as periodical applications of concentrated chemicals combined with lateral flushing, were ineffective in maintaining satisfactory irrigation performance.

Perancangan Sistem Pakar Untuk Menilai Kinerja Irigasi

Irrigation is a supporting infrastructure for water distribution in agriculture. Its role is vital, especially for agricultural areas which are not rain-fed, meaning that to irrigate agricultural areas the irrigation infrastructure is needed. It is important for all parties involved in agriculture and irrigation management institutions to find out and ensure the condition and performance of an irrigation network, whether its function is still as planned or even vice versa. So far, the performance evaluation of irrigation networks is still carried out conventionally and only reaches a form of Maintenance Operation report, not specific to its performance. So based on these conditions, this research will build an expert system that can be used to assess the performance of irrigation networks. The design begins by determining the logic of assessment that will be used as a way of thinking from the expert system that will be built. The indicators used by the system to assess irrigation performance are as stated in the regulation of the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing No. 12 of 2015. After designing the expert system, the next step is to simulate it using the data available in the operation and maintenance reports of some irrigation networks that are used as samples. Then the simulation results are analyzed so that it can be known whether the system can work as planned or not. The system simulation results show a mismatch between the two indicators namely the performance of infrastructure and water services. While other assessment indicators have logical results.

Performance of Automatic Ring Irrigation with Solar Panel Energy (ARISGY) to Pakcoy (Brassica Rapa L) Growth

One of the attempt in improving and maintaining the stability of land productivity is maintaining the water avaibility in dry season. It is necessary to study about the performance of the development ring irrigation technology innovation with the utilization of solar energy panels and soil moisture sensor as an automatization so the water flows in accordance with plant water needs. The aim of this study was to analyze the growth of pakcoy by the utilization of automatic ring irrigation with solar panel energy with several type of emitter. Parameters of this study were plants growth (weight, height, and amount of leaves), emission uniform (Eu), effisiency of water saving (Es), and effisiency of application (Ea). The result shown a good performance based on irrigation efficiency but it was not performed the optimal plants productivity. Besides the availability of water, environment condition was another indicator that has important role in growing plants.