JWSS - Journal of Water and Soil Science

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To maintain a high system-uniformity and also acceptable water use efficiency in a solid-set sprinkler irrigation system, the total committed pressure variation to subunits should not exceed 20% of the pressure head of the sprinkler which operates with the average pressure. Although some references often recommend giving the major part of this pressure variation to laterals, a scientific and precise criterion that allows designers to minimize the costs has not yet been developed. In this study, regarding the usual design criteria of this system in Iran and also respecting hydraulic rules, an economical analysis was conducted in order to optimize the system based on the appropriated permitted pressure head loss to each subunit. Then, the system irrigates the possible largest area by using minimum weight of pipe. The methodology consisted of 13 slope treatments for each subunit (0, ±0.1, ±0.5, ±1, ±2.5, ±5 and ±10%) and also the ratio of appropriated allowable head loss to the manifold (2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15 and 17.5%). A simple software was developed to determine the size and the length of the manifold and laterals for each combination as well as their total weight and total irrigated area. Several criteria such as maximum and minimum velocity of water in the pipe, maximum head loss which occurs in 100 m of the manifold, maximum permitted head loss for each subunit and also maximum length of the laterals were considered here in order to derive practical design combinations. Because a constant inlet pressure for each subunit leads to a constant cost of energy, then the ratio of total weight of pipelines to the total irrigated area (Wtot /A0) was chosen as the standard, which helps to distinguish the best appropriation of allowable head loss to the manifold or laterals. Graphical diagrams were presented to help designers to know how to distribute the total permitted head loss between manifold and laterals. In general, results showed that total pressure head variation of each subunit greatly affects the system costs and also the total optimized appropriated pressure head loss to each subunit is greatly dependent on its own slope.

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Nitrate leaching from agricultural lands can pollute groundwater, and the degree of pollution caused significantly depends on agricultural practices implemented on farms. Field studies required to evaluate the effects of various agricultural management strategies on nitrate leaching are expensive and time consuming. As a result, it is suggested to use crop models to simulate the effects of management practices on nitrate leaching. Plant growth models such as DSSAT software package can simulate daily plant growth and development, and also are capable of simulating daily nitrate leaching and nitrogen uptake by plants. However, it is required to evaluate the performance of any model before using it for any specific region. In this study, the performance of nitrogen balance model of DSSAT software package was evaluated to simulate nitrate leaching from the root zone of silage maize at different levels of applied water and nitrogen fertilizer. The experiment consisted of three levels of nitrogen fertilizers, including zero, 150 and 200 kg N ha-1 and four levels of applied water 0.7SMD (soil moisture depletion), 0.85SMD, 1.0SMD and 1.13SMD. Nitrate-nitrogen leaching from 36 plots at the 60 cm depth during the growing period was measured by soil moisture suction equipment (ceramic suction cups, CSC). After calibrating the model by using field data, its performance was evaluated to simulate nitrate leaching. Maximum amount of N leaching 8.4 kg N ha-1 was obtained from over irrigation treatment with the application of 150 kg nitrogen per hectare. The model simulated nitrate leaching for this treatment as 7.8 kg N ha-1. The model consistently underestimated the nitrate leaching however, it followed the behavior of nitrate leaching during the growing season. In deficit irrigation treatments, the nitrate leaching was very low and close to zero and the model simulated the same result accordingly. The results showed that the model, in addition to phenological stages and performance indicators, can simulate nitrate leaching from the root zone and could be used to evaluate the effects of various irrigation and fertilizer management strategies on nitrate leaching.

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The purpose of this study was to measure daily and seasonal evapotranspiration and daily crop coefficient of two common varieties of sunflower (Sirna and Euroflor) via drip-tape irrigation system. For this purpose, the sunflower water use was determined by daily monitoring of soil moisture at the depths of 10, 20, 30, 40 and 60 cm, and the crop evapotranspiration (ETC) was measured using volume balance method. According to the equation recommended by FAO, the obtained value of KC for Euroflor and Sirna varieties at the initial stage was 0.32. According to volume balance method, the Euroflor KC value for development, middle, and late stages were found to be 0.75, 1.18 and 0.9 and for Sirna were found to be 0.72, 1.15 and 0.84 respectively. Seasonal amount of evapotranspiration for Euroflor and Sirna varieties was equal to 601 and 575 mm, which was 26 and 30 percent less than seasonal ET0 in Isfahan. The average value of during the sunflower growing season was 0.77, which was greater than that offered by Doorenbose and Pruitt (0.55). As the crop coefficients of two varieties were different during the growing season and they were also different from FAO KC, measuring the actual amount of KC as a function of growing degree days can increase the accuracy of the estimated ETc and help develop the crop models in order to improve the irrigation management.