Selection of flow rate and irrigation duration for high performance bay irrigation
Article
Article Title | Selection of flow rate and irrigation duration for high performance bay irrigation |
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ERA Journal ID | 5245 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Smith, R.J. (Author) and Uddin, M.J. (Author) |
Journal Title | Agricultural Water Management |
Journal Citation | 228 |
Article Number | 105850 |
Number of Pages | 11 |
Year | 2020 |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Place of Publication | Netherlands |
ISSN | 0378-3774 |
1873-2283 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2019.105850 |
Web Address (URL) | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378377419303981 |
Abstract | The maximum efficiency attainable by surface irrigation in any particular situation is determined largely by the soil infiltration characteristic and the flow rate onto the field. Performance evaluations have suggested that higher flow rates than those traditionally recommended can lead to increases of about 20% in the application efficiency of bay irrigation across the dairy regions of southern Australia. However, substantially reduced irri-gation durations are required to realise these efficiency gains and greater precision is required in the selection and management of these shorter durations. In this paper, infiltration characteristic curves representative of the predominant (cracking and non-cracking)soils of the region are used in the surface irrigation simulation model SISCO, for a range of bay lengths and soil moisture deficits, to determine: (i) the flow rates required to achieve the maximum efficiency on the bay irrigated soils of southern Australia; and (ii) the means for real-time estimation of optimum irrigation durations. The aim is provision of guidance to irrigators seeking higher efficiency through the use of higher flow rates.Real-time estimation of optimum time to cut-off must recognise the substantial variations in infiltration within a soil type and with time due to changes in antecedent moisture content, and hence must be adaptive to the conditions prevailing at the time of any irrigation. A method for estimating time to cut-off(previously developed for furrow irrigation), is extended to the hydraulically more complex case of bay irrigation. The method is based on simple linear relationships between the advance time to a nominated point part way down the field and the time to cut-off. Its application to the management of irrigations is demonstrated using data from multiple irrigations of a single bay under varying soil moisture conditions. |
Keywords | surface irrigation, border check irrigation, infiltration, simulation, application efficiency, optimization, time to cut-off |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 300202. Agricultural land management |
Byline Affiliations | Centre for Agricultural Engineering |
Department of Primary Industries, New South Wales | |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q5w8w/selection-of-flow-rate-and-irrigation-duration-for-high-performance-bay-irrigation
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