Self Optimizing Drip Irrigation System Using Data Acquisition and Virtual Instrumentation to Enhance the Usage of Irrigation Water

Author(s):  
R. Raj Kumar ◽  
K. Sriram ◽  
I. Surya Narayanan
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
H. S. Jat ◽  
P. C. Sharma ◽  
Ashim Datta ◽  
Madhu Choudhary ◽  
S. K. Kakraliya ◽  
...  

AbstractA study was conducted to design productive, profitable, irrigation water¸ nitrogen and energy use efficient intensive cereal systems (rice-wheat; RW and maize-wheat; MW) in North-West India. Bundling of conservation agriculture (CA) with sub-surface drip irrigation termed as CA+ were compared with CA alone and conventional tillage based and flood irrigated RW rotation (farmer’s practice; ScI). In contrast to conventional till RW rotation which consumed 1889 mm ha−1 irrigation water (2-yr mean), CA+ system saved 58.4 and 95.5% irrigation water in RW and MW rotations, respectively. CA+ practices saved 45.8 and 22.7% of irrigation water in rice and maize, respectively compared to CA with flood irrigation. On a system basis, CA+ practices saved 46.7 and 44.7% irrigation water under RW (ScV) and MW (ScVI) systems compared to their respective CA-based systems with flood irrigation (ScIII and ScIV). CA+ in RW system recorded 11.2% higher crop productivity and improved irrigation water productivity by 145% and profitability by 29.2% compared to farmers’ practice. Substitution of rice with maize (MW system; ScVI) recorded 19.7% higher productivity, saved 84.5% of irrigation water and increased net returns by 48.9% compared to farmer’s practice. CA+ RW and MW system improved energy productivity by 75 and 169% and partial factor productivity of N by 44.6 and 49.6%, respectively compared to ScI. The sub-surface drip irrigation system saved the fertilizer N by 20% under CA systems. CA+ in RW and MW systems recorded ~13 and 5% (2-yr mean) higher profitability with 80% subsidy on installing sub-surface drip irrigation system and similar profitability without subsidy scenario compared with their respective flood irrigated CA-based systems.


Author(s):  
Kasa Mekonen Tiku ◽  
Shushay Hagoes ◽  
Berhane Yohanes

The study was carried out at the effect of drip and surface irrigation (Furrow irrigation) methods on onion and sesame crops from December 2011 to May 2012 in the Tigray region of Northwest Ethiopia. The objective was to evaluate the family drip irrigation system in comparison with furrow irrigation system in terms of irrigation water productivity (using 100% ETc for both commodities). The water saved in drip irrigation over furrow irrigation was found to be 33% for onion and sesame crops. The irrigation water productivity of onion was 0.9 kg/m3 and 0.55 kg/m3 under drip and furrow irrigation methods respectively. The irrigation water productivity of sesame was 0.14 kg/m3 and 0.045 kg/m3 under drip and furrow irrigation methods respectively.


Author(s):  
Wan Fazilah Fazlil Ilahi

Fertigation is one of the most important application of irrigation that are being used in commercial farming. This aplication help farmers to timely supply the water through drip irrigation coupled with accurate amout of water, rate of fertilizer application, and at the same time improving the nutrient uptake and water use efficiency (WUE) by the plant. The water supply through surface and subsurface drip irrigation system is the most efficient irrigation practice compared to others.Water supply from subsurface drip irrigation system is directly into the root zone, while for surface drip irrigation, water is supplied above the root zone. However, the use of surface drip irrigation system can cause the irrigation water easily evaporate to environment and reduce the WUE by plant. Rockmelon (cucumis melo) was selected as plant material in this study. Rockmelon is one of the plant that contain sweet and juicy along with other nutritional value. It also has commercial interest in a number of countries, including Europe, the United States, Mediterranean and Asia. The objectives of the study were to observe the different growth rate of rockmelon between surface and subsurface drip irrigation as well as to observe the efficiency of irrigation. This study was conducted under the rain shelter at Unit Fertigasi Projek Keusahawanan Ladang 10, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). There were two treatments of irrigation tested, surface drip irrigation and subsurface drip irrigation. Data collection include leaf diameter, leaf length and fruit circumferences. The effect of irrigation on growth performance of rockmelon were observe during week one and week six and was analyzed with Statistically Analysis System (SAS). The result of this study showed that, the growth for surface drip irrigation is higher compared to subsurface drip irrigation and both of the treatments achieved 25% of irrigation application efficiency.


Author(s):  
Tasisa Temesgen Tolossa

The increasing scarcity and competition for irrigation water entails adoption of innovative practices that increase efficient water use. The objective of this research was to compare different mulching techniques and investigated the combined effect of irrigation levels under drip irrigation system based on the parametric evaluation system in western part of Ethiopia during the 2018 dry season. A factorial combination of five levels of water (namely 100%, 80% and 70%, 60% and 50%ETc) combined with three mulch treatments (namely, Normal Mulch (NM), Straw Mulch (SM) and Plastic Mulch (PM)) with three replications. The analysis of variance showed that, days to 50% maturity, leaf number per plant, mean leaf length, plant height and leaf area were significantly affected by the main effects of deficit irrigation levels and mulching materials. The interaction effects of deficit irrigation levels and mulching materials significantly influenced plant height, number of leaf per plant, plant height, Leaf length and Leaf area of the onion. The present study suggests that, in water scarce area, farmers are advised to adopt deficit irrigation level with 80% ETc under plastic mulch. It is important even to undertake similar studies at different seasons with different varieties in consideration of their cost benefit analysis. However, if water is not a limiting factor, farmers are advised to apply full irrigation water application under plastic mulch.


Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tewodros Assefa ◽  
Manoj Jha ◽  
Manuel Reyes ◽  
Seifu Tilahun ◽  
Abeyou Worqlul

A field-scale experimental study was conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia and Ghana) to examine the effects of conservation agriculture (CA) with drip irrigation system on water productivity in vegetable home gardens. CA here refers to minimum soil disturbance (no-till), year-round organic mulch cover, and diverse cropping in the rotation. A total of 28 farmers (13 farmers in Ethiopia and 15 farmers in Ghana) participated in this experiment. The experimental setup was a paired ‘t’ design on a 100 m2 plot; where half of the plot was assigned to CA and the other half to conventional tillage (CT), both under drip irrigation system. Irrigation water use and crop yield were monitored for three seasons in Ethiopia and one season in Ghana for vegetable production including garlic, onion, cabbage, tomato, and sweet potato. Irrigation water use was substantially lower under CA, 18% to 45.6%, with a substantial increase in crop yields, 9% to about two-fold, when compared with CT practice for the various vegetables. Crop yields and irrigation water uses were combined into one metric, water productivity, for the statistical analysis on the effect of CA with drip irrigation system. One-tailed paired ‘t’ test statistical analysis was used to examine if the mean water productivity in CA is higher than that of CT. Water productivity was found to be significantly improved (α = 0.05) under the CA practice; 100%, 120%, 222%, 33%, and 49% for garlic, onion, tomato, cabbage, and sweet potato respectively. This could be due to the improvement of soil quality and structure due to CA practice, adding nutrients to the soil and sticking soil particles together (increase soil aggregates). Irrigation water productivity for tomato under CA (5.17 kg m−3 in CA as compared to 1.61 kg m−3 in CT) is found to be highest when compared to water productivity for the other vegetables. The mulch cover provided protection for the tomatoes from direct contact with the soil and minimized the chances of soil-borne diseases. Adapting to CA practices with drip irrigation in vegetable home gardens is, therefore, a feasible strategy to improve water use efficiency, and to intensify crop yield, which directly contributes towards the sustainability of livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the region.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 184
Author(s):  
Junita Br. Nambela ◽  
Krisna Margaretta Malau ◽  
Michel Koibur

Water plays the important roles for plants. Besides maintaining the cell turgidity, it also functions as a nutrients solvent for photosythesis process, which affects plant growth. This study aimed to determine the effects of the source and volume of irrigation water with drip irrigation system on the growth of pepper plants in polybags. This research was conducted at the green house of Polbangtan Manokwari, Anday, West Papua from June to October 2020. This research was arranged in a factorial Completely Randomized Design consisting of two treatment factors, namely irrigation water source (PDAM water and ground water) and volume (150 mL per plant, 200 mL per plant, and 250 mL per plant). The results showed that PDAM water showed a better effect than groundwater, while the volume of irrigation water applied to pepper plants had no significant effect on plant height, number of leaves, and stem diameter. This situation is thought to be due to genetic factors from the pepper cultivars grown. PDAM water has a better effect because of its high pH and higher content of Nitrite as N content. Also, it has lower temperature, lower TDS, and lower iron contents. Meanwhile, irrigation water volume of 250 mL per plant per day has a minimal risk of plant drought compared to other treatments.


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