Spray irrigation on dairy pastures - efficient or not?

2006 ◽  
pp. 177-181
Author(s):  
S.M. Thomas ◽  
D. Bloomer ◽  
R.J. Martin ◽  
A. Horrocks
Keyword(s):  
Irrigation System ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Dairy Farmers ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Irrigation Application ◽  
Irrigation Uniformity ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Spray Irrigation ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Distribution Uniformity

Applying water efficiently is increasingly important for dairy farmers and other users of surface and groundwater resources to maintain sustainable production. However, irrigation is rarely monitored. We used a questionnaire survey and measurements of five spray irrigation systems working in normal farm conditions to make observations on how efficiently irrigation is being managed. Survey results from 93 dairy farmers showed that, although the farmers believe they know how much water is being applied during irrigation, only 60% make measurements, and about 18% measure irrigation uniformity. Catch-can measurement of irrigation application depth for the different spray systems indicated large variability in application depths during irrigation, and field distribution uniformity ranged greatly between the different systems, decreasing in the order of centre pivots >travelling irrigators> K-line. Changes in irrigation system settings were sometimes made without considering application depths or uniformity. If our five case studies are typical, they may explain the large range of seasonal irrigation amounts recorded in the survey. We recommend that farmers monitor irrigation application depths and uniformity to help manage irrigation water efficiently and to help them estimate the value of irrigation to their enterprise. Keywords: distribution uniformity, water use efficiency, catch cans

Effect of Combination Factors of Operating Pressure, Nozzle Diameter and Riser Height on Sprinkler Irrigation Uniformity

2014 ◽  
Vol 695 ◽  
pp. 380-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manal Osman ◽  
Suhaimi B. Hassan ◽  
Khamaruzaman B. Wan Yusof
Keyword(s):  
Irrigation System ◽  
Sprinkler Irrigation ◽  
Nozzle Diameter ◽  
Operating Pressure ◽  
Irrigation Uniformity ◽  
Distribution Uniformity ◽  
Coefficient Of Uniformity ◽  
Riser Height ◽  
Design Factors ◽  
Pressure Nozzle

The irrigation uniformity of sprinkler irrigation system depends on many design factors such as nozzle type, nozzle diameter, operating pressure and riser height. An experimental study was performed to investigate the effect of combination factors of operating pressure, nozzle diameter and riser height on sprinkler irrigation uniformity. Different operating pressures, nozzle diameters and riser heights have been used. The irrigation uniformity coefficients such as coefficient of uniformity (CU) and distribution uniformity of low quarter (DUlq) have been studied. This study concluded that, the irrigation uniformity of sprinkler irrigation system was more affected by the combination of operating pressure, nozzle diameter and riser height.

scholarly journals Nitrate Leaching, Yields, and Water-use Efficiency of Zucchini Squash (Cucubita pepo) under Different Irrigation and Nitrogen Rates and Methods in a Sandy Soil

HortScience ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 988B-988
Author(s):  
Lincoln Zotarelli ◽  
Johannes Scholberg ◽  
Michael Dukes ◽  
Hannah Snyder ◽  
Eric Simonne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Nitrate Leaching ◽  
Drip Irrigation ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Irrigation Scheduling ◽  
Control Treatment ◽  
N Leaching ◽  
Use Efficiency

On sandy soils, potential N contamination of groundwater resources associated with intensively managed vegetables may hamper the sustainability of these systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the interaction between irrigation system design/scheduling and N fertilization rates on zucchini production and potential N leaching. Zucchini was planted during Fall 2005 using three N fertilizer rates (73, 145, 217 kg/ha) and four different irrigation approaches. Irrigation scheduling included surface-applied drip irrigation and fertigation: SUR1 (141 mm applied) and SUR2 (266 mm) using irrigation control system (QIC) that allowed time-based irrigation (up to five events per day) and a threshold setting of 13% and 15% volumetric water content (VWC), respectively; Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) using a QIC setting of 10% VWC (116 mm) combined with surface applied fertigation; and a control treatment with irrigation applied once daily (424 mm). Leacheate volumes were measured by drainage lysimeters. Nitrate leaching increased with irrigation rate and N rate and measured values ranged from 4 to 42 kg N/ha. Use of SDI greatly reduced nitrate leaching compared to other treatments. SDI and SUR1 treatments had no effect on yields (29 Mg/ha). However, SDI had a 15% and 479% higher water use efficiency (WUE) compared to SUR1 and the fixed irrigation duration treatment. Application of N in excess of intermediate N-rate (standard recommendation) did not increase yield but yield was reduced at the lowest N-rate. It is concluded that combining sensor-based SDI with surface applied fertigation resulted similar or higher yields while it reduced both water use and potential N leaching because of improved nutrient retention in the active root zone.

Effect of Low Pressure on Irrigation Uniformity of Solid Set Sprinkler Irrigation System

2014 ◽  
Vol 567 ◽  
pp. 26-31
Author(s):  
Manal Osman ◽  
Suhaimi B. Hassan ◽  
Khamaruzaman Wan Yusof
Keyword(s):  
Coefficient Of Variation ◽  
Rotation Speed ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Sprinkler Irrigation ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Nozzle Diameter ◽  
Operating Pressure ◽  
Irrigation Uniformity ◽  
Distribution Uniformity ◽  
Design Factors

The irrigation requires an efficient and effective method of water application to realize maximum return and conserve water resources. The low pressure sprinkler irrigation system is the most commonly used due to: its low energy cost, but the irrigation uniformity of this system is not constantly good because it is affecting by the design factors such as: nozzle type, nozzle diameter, operating pressure and spacing layout. But the most important factors are the operating pressure and nozzle diameter. In this study the effect of low pressure on the irrigation uniformity of the solid set sprinkler irrigation system was studied. Different low operating pressures (62, 82, 102 and122 kPa) were selected and different nozzle diameters (4, 5 and 7 mm) were used. The solid set layout was square (12 m between the sprinklers along the line and 12 m among the line). The catch-cans test was used to determine the uniformity coefficients such as: Christiansen’s coefficient of uniformity (CU), coefficient of variation (CV), distribution uniformity of low quarter (DUlq) and distribution uniformity of low half (DUlh). The distribution characteristics such as: throw radius and rotation speed were monitored. A comparison was made between the results obtained from different combination of operating pressures and nozzle diameters. The results of this study showed that, CU, DUlqand DUlhwere increased when the pressure increased for all the nozzles. The greater values of CU, DUlqand DUlhwere found with the combination of 7 mm nozzle diameter and 122 kPa. The coefficient of variation was increased when the pressure decreased for all the nozzles. The throw radius and rotation speed were increased gradually when the pressure increased. The throw radius was not significantly affected by the nozzle diameter while the rotation speed was more affected by the nozzle diameter.

scholarly journals Using limited irrigation water - crops or pasture?

2006 ◽  
pp. 173-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.N. Ward ◽  
J.L. Jacobs ◽  
F.R. Mckenzie
Keyword(s):  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Dairy Farmers ◽  
Forage Crops ◽  
Irrigation Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Irrigation Water Use ◽  
Use Efficiency

The irrigation of perennial pasture and the growing of dryland summer forage crops are two common methods of increasing the supply of and nutritional value of home grown forage on dairy farms in south west Victoria. In recent years the amount and reliability of supply of irrigation water to dairy farmers in the region has decreased through drought and increased regulation. Over the last 8 years a series of studies have been conducted to investigate the most efficient use of unreliable irrigation water supplies. Perennial pasture was found to be particularly sensitive in terms of reduced productivity and water use efficiency (WUE) to poor irrigation practices. However, under good management and reliable water supply it is still likely to be the easiest and most economically efficient irrigation system. Irrigated summer forage crops were found to have a higher WUE, but responses were variable due to year to year seasonal differences. These crops were found to be more tolerant of poor irrigation management and were able to take advantage of reduced amounts of irrigation water and one off irrigations. Keywords: brassicas, forage crops, irrigated pasture, irrigation, water use efficiency.

scholarly journals Nitrogen Balance of Effluent Irrigated Silage Cropping Systems in Southern Australia

2001 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 35-41
Author(s):  
Chris J. Smith ◽  
Val O. Snow ◽  
Ray Leuning ◽  
David Hsu
Keyword(s):  
Soil Profile ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Irrigation Season ◽  
Alkaline Ph ◽  
High Recovery ◽  
Mineral N ◽  
Effluent Reuse ◽  
Spray Irrigation ◽  
N Loading

The nitrogen (N) balance in a double-cropped, effluent spray irrigation system was examined for several years in southern Australia. The amounts of N added by irrigation, removed in the crop, and lost by ammonia (NH3) volatilisation, denitrification, and leaching were measured. Results from the project provide pig producers with the knowledge necessary to evaluate the efficiency of such systems for managing N, and enable sustainable effluent reuse practices to be developed. Oats were grown through the winter (May to November) without irrigation, and irrigated maize was grown during the summer/autumn (December to April). Approximately 18 mm of effluent was applied every 3 days. The effluent was alkaline (pH 8.3) and the average ammoniacal-N (NH4++ NH3) concentration was 430 mg N/l (range: 320 to 679 mg N/l). Mineral N in the 0- to 1.7-m layer tended to increase during the irrigation season and decrease during the winter/spring. About 2000 kg N/ha was found in the profile to a depth of 2 m in October 2000. N removed in the aboveground biomass (oats + maize) was 590 and 570 kg N/ha/year, equivalent to ≈25% of the applied N. Average NH3volatilisation during the daytime (6:00 to 19:00) was 2.74 kg N/ha, while volatilisation at night (19:00 to 6:00) was 0.4 kg N/ha, giving a total of 3.1 kg N/ha/day. This represents ≈12% of the N loading, assuming that these rates apply throughout the season. The balance of the N accumulated in the soil profile during the irrigation season, as 15N-labelled N studies confirmed. The high recovery of the15N-labelled N, and the comparable distribution of 15N and Br in the soil profile, implied that there was little loss of N by denitrification, even though the soil was wet enough for leaching of both tracers.

scholarly journals Resource use efficiency of maize production with and without irrigation system in Kaski, Nepal

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-295
Author(s):  
Kapil Khanal ◽  
Kalika Bahadur Adhikari ◽  
Shiva Chandra Dhakal ◽  
Santosh Marahatta
Keyword(s):  
Production Function ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Resource Use Efficiency ◽  
Microsoft Excel ◽  
Maize Production ◽  
Maize Productivity ◽  
Major Implication ◽  
Use Efficiency

The study examined the resource use efficiency of maize production in rainfed and irrigated conditions in Kaski, Nepal. It focused specially on the production function of maize, resource use efficiency and socioeconomic characteristics of the farmers. A well-structured interview schedule was used in this study. Out of the 368 households interviewed, 165 farmers cultivated maize and a total of 157 farmers (59 from irrigated and 98 from rainfed) provided useful data. The data analysis was done by using Microsoft excel and SPSS. Cobb-Douglas production function was used to determine the resource use efficiency of maize production.  Compared to rainfed system, maize productivity in irrigated system was higher despite the use of fewer input implying irrigation. Increase in seed use by 10% increased the yield by 1.9% in case of rainfed system and 0.05% in case of the irrigated system. The major implication for the study is that farmers should make proper utilization of their resources to achieve higher level of resource use efficiency.

scholarly journals DIAGNÓSTICO DA APLICAÇÃO DE ÁGUAS RESIDUÁRIAS DA SUINOCULTURA NA CAFEICULTURA IRRIGADA II. AVALIAÇÃO DA UNIFORMIDADE DE APLICAÇÃO DE ÁGUA

Irriga ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 402-141
Author(s):  
Roberta Alessandra Bruschi Gonçalves ◽  
Everardo Chartuni Mantovani ◽  
Márcio Mota Ramos ◽  
Luiz Otávio Carvalho de Souza
Keyword(s):  
Irrigation System ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Distribution Coefficients ◽  
Minas Gerais ◽  
Water Application ◽  
Coffee Plantations ◽  
Uniformity Coefficient ◽  
Filtration System ◽  
Irrigation Uniformity ◽  
Minas Gerais State

DIAGNÓSTICO DA APLICAÇÃO DE ÁGUAS RESIDUÁRIAS DA SUINOCULTURA NA CAFEICULTURA IRRIGADAII. AVALIAÇÃO DA UNIFORMIDADE DE APLICAÇÃO DE ÁGUA  Roberta Alessandra Bruschi Gonçalves; Everardo Chartuni Mantovani; Márcio Mota Ramos; Luiz Otávio Carvalho de SouzaDepartamento de Engenharia Agrícola, Universidade Federal de Viçosa , Viçosa-MG, [email protected]  1 RESUMO             A uniformidade de aplicação de água influencia diretamente a produtividade das culturas, que tende a aumentar com a uniformidade de irrigação. O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar os coeficientes de uniformidade de distribuição de água residuária da suinocultura (ARS) em 6 propriedades cafeeiras, que aplicam ARS via sistema de irrigação, localizadas em 5 diferentes municípios da região de cerrado de Minas Gerais. Do total de sistemas avaliados, 50% apresentaram coeficientes de uniformidade de distribuição de água residuária (CUC/CUD) abaixo do recomendado. Os melhores resultados estão associados ao sistema de irrigação localizada por gotejamento, mostrando a viabilidade da utilização do mesmo, desde que haja manejo adequado ao longo de todo o processo de tratamento do efluente, inclusive no sistema de filtragem do equipamento. UNITERMOS: café, reuso, irrigação GONÇALVES, R. A. B.; MANTOVANI, E. C.; RAMOS, M. M.; SOUZA, L. O. C. de; ANALYSIS OF SWINE CULTURE WASTEWATER APPLICATION ON IRRIGATED COFFEE CROP  -  II. EVALUATION OF WATER APPLICATION UNIFORMITY  2 ABSTRACT            Water application uniformity influences crop productivity that is likely to increase with irrigation uniformity. The objective of this work was to determine the uniformity distribution coefficients of swine culture wastewater on coffee plantations (SCW); the analysis was carried out on 6 farms in the Minas Gerais State cerrado region that use SCW through their irrigation system. Half of the assessed systems presented water application uniformity coefficient below the recommended limit. The best results were associated to drop irrigation, showing the viability of this irrigation system use if there is an appropriate management throughout the entire treatment process, including equipment filtration system management. KEYWORDS: coffee, irrigation, reuse

The Design of Remote Intelligent Irrigation System Based on Web Servers

2013 ◽  
Vol 416-417 ◽  
pp. 806-810
Author(s):  
Wei Li
Keyword(s):  
Smart Home ◽  
Lower Cost ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Reference Value ◽  
Web Servers ◽  
Foreign Products ◽  
Traditional Irrigation ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Intelligent Irrigation

The paper proposed program of lower-cost traditional 8-bit micro-controller with Web servers function, and is designed for remote control system. The system has the flexibility and low cost. And according to the actual needs of the decision-making and management of plant irrigation, intelligent irrigation system was designed and implemented.The system solve the difficult and critical hardware products import prices too high and difficult to promote for distribution of soil temperature and humidity monitoring.The system cost compared to similar foreign products decreased 44.8%.Compared with traditional irrigation methods, crop water use efficiency of 22.6%.The design of software and thinking can popularize and promote practical reference value, the future of smart home system.

scholarly journals Irrigation of arugula cultivars in the region of Zona da Mata Mineira

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 1101
Author(s):  
Caio César Silva Alvarenga Correia ◽  
Fernando França da Cunha ◽  
Everardo Chartuni Mantovani ◽  
Derly Jose Henriques Silva ◽  
Santos Henrique Brant Dias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Irrigation System ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Field Capacity ◽  
Minas Gerais ◽  
Crop Evapotranspiration ◽  
Randomized Complete Block Design ◽  
Plant Water Potential ◽  
Irrigation Depth ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Shoot Mass

The region of the Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais stands out in the production of vegetables. To achieve the success in this activity, it is important to choose suitable cultivars and apply irrigation correctly. This study aimed to determine the optimum irrigation depth and evaluate new commercial arugula cultivars in the Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais. The cultivation was carried out in a greenhouse during three cycles with periods of 33 (January 11, 2016 to February 12, 2016), 36 (March 1, 2016 to April 5, 2016), and 36 (April 12, 2016 to May 17, 2016) days. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with five replications, five irrigation depths (50, 75, 100, 125, and 150% of the crop evapotranspiration-ETc) in the plots, and three arugula cultivars (Antonella, Cultivada, and Folha Larga) in the subplots. A drip irrigation system was used. The parameters evaluated were root depth, root fresh mass, plant water potential, leaf temperature, number of commercial leaves, total number of plants, fresh shoot mass, and water use efficiency. Arugula cultivars did not present differences in their agronomic characteristics. An irrigation depth of the 50% ETc is recommended if the soil moisture is under the field capacity at the beginning of the arugula cycle.

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