ULTRA LOW DRIP IRRIGATION EFFECT ON WATER DISTRIBUTION IN SOILS AND SQUASH PRODUCTION

Elmesery, A. A. M.; Zabady, F. E.; Fayed, M. H.

doi:10.21608/mjae.2011.102602

ULTRA LOW DRIP IRRIGATION EFFECT ON WATER DISTRIBUTION IN SOILS AND SQUASH PRODUCTION

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Assoc. Prof., Agric. Eng. Dept., Fac. of Agric., Al-Azhar Univ., Egypt.

² Lect. Agric. Eng. Dept., Fac. of Agric., Al-Azhar Univ., Egypt.

³ Demonstrator. Agric. Eng. Dept., Fac. of Agric., Al-Azhar Univ., Egypt.

10.21608/mjae.2011.102602

Abstract

Ultra low drip irrigation ''ULDI'' system is a new aspect of micro irrigation.It is known as ''minute or ultra-low flow- rate'' irrigation. This method involves applying water at a very low rate, even lower than the natural soil water intake capacity. Flow rate from minute or ultra-low irrigation system is usually 10 times less than conventional emitters (0.2 L/h).Also; ''ULDI'' gets a continuous moisture and oxygen (air) supply under "Field Capacity" conditions. The first aim of this study is determine the wetting pattern on soil (ClayandSandy) at different application rates (0.25, 0.5, 1.2, and 2 L/h) and different application times. The second aim is investigated in ''ULDI'' effect on squash production. The results showed the following relationships to describe wetted front advance (width ''w'', depth ''d'', and diagonal ''z''): where α: is in any direction (w, d, or z),c, c₁, c₂, and c₃: are constants that depend on (α) direction, t: is application time (h), K: is hydraulic conductivity (cm/h), and q: is emitter discharge (L/h) . The results of field experiments indicated that the increasing ratio of squash yield when using 0.25 L/h treatment was 41.17 %.

Main Subjects

Agricultural Irrigation and Drainage Engineering

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