Abstract

CHAVEZ-GARCIA, Carlos A.  and  FUENTES-RUIZ, Carlos. Optimization of furrow irrigation by an analytical formula and its impact on the reduction of water applied. Agrociencia [online]. 2018, vol.52, n.4, pp.483-496. ISSN 2521-9766.

The gravity irrigation method is the most frequently used in the 85 Irrigation Districts in Mexico. One of the main problems is the considerable loss caused by the incorrect design of the irrigation longitude or the irrigation flow rate, from the selection of the inappropriate irrigation flow. The objective of this study was to demonstrate that from the evaluation of an irrigation test, the optimal flow rate can be calculated for each furrow during irrigation from data obtained from the plot and the net irrigation depth to be applied. The hypothesis was that with this flow rate, the gross historical water depth applied in the plots evaluated could be decreased. In this study, 197 irrigation tests were evaluated and designed, in eight textures, in Irrigation District 085, La Begoña, Guanajuato, Mexico. In each irrigation test, the following variables were measured in the plots: slope, furrow width, entry flow rate, initial moisture contents, and for saturation and apparent density. With an optimization algorithm, the parameters of the Green and Ampt (Ks y hf ) infiltration equation were calculated from the advancement, storage and recession phases of each test. For the simulation process of the superficial flow, the kinematic wave model was used and the optimal flow rate was calculated with an analytical formula, which was validated with the complete Saint-Venant and Richards model. With the application of the optimal flow rate of calculated irrigation, the irrigation depths decreased in average 19.63 cm, and in some cases, an in water depth of up to 124.68 cm ceased to be applied. The irrigation times decreased in average 11.76 h ha-1 per irrigation event and, in addition, the average savings was 2000 m3 ha-1 per irrigation event, which increased the average efficiency from 53 to 85 %.

Keywords : gravity irrigation; Green and Ampt equation; irrigation tests; kinematic wave model.

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