Simple Method for Determining the Emitter Discharge Rate in the Reclamation of Coastal Saline Soil Using Drip Irrigation
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 141, Issue 10
Abstract
A laboratory experiment was carried out to study the relationships of emitter discharge rate (EDR) and distribution of water and salt for two typical coastal saline soils. The objective was to find a simple method to determine a suitable EDR for reclamation of coastal saline soil using drip irrigation. The experiment included five EDR treatments in a coastal saline sandy-loam soil (SAS): 0.23, 0.55, 0.8, 1.5, and ; another five EDR treatments were conducted in a coastal saline silt soil (SIS): 0.23, 0.55, 1.0, 1.5, and . The water distribution and the low-salinity zone (with electrical conductivity of the saturated soil extract , , and ) were clearly affected by EDR. The relationships of EDR and wetted front, wetted zone volume, and low-salinity zone were difficult to obtain because of the requirements of determining and calculating the vertical wetted front and the volume of wetted, saturated, and low-salinity zones in the field. For this reason, these relationships could not be used to directly calculate EDR. Steady-state ponding area radius and EDR were linearly related, and constant ponding area was related to EDR but not to time. A method was proposed to rapidly determine EDR from this linear relationship. Based on this method, a specific radius of the steady-state ponding area, proposed at 3–4 cm, was substituted into the linear relationship to calculate suitable EDRs of 1.3–1.9 and for SAS and SIS soils, respectively. Two field experiments were used to test the practicability of the method; there was no runoff or erosion in the irrigation period, and plant survival rates were not affected by salt. The method proposed can rapidly determine EDR (within 300 min) with a small amount of water (12 L), which saves labor (one or two persons), and it can be implemented in multiple locations without destroying soil and plants.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the National Key Technology R&D Program of China (Grant Nos. 2013BAC02B02, 2013BAC02B01, and 2012BAD08B02) and by the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Action Plan for the Development of Western China (Grant No. KZCX2-XB3-16).
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Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 141 • Issue 10 • October 2015
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 30, 2014
Accepted: Jan 30, 2015
Published online: Mar 9, 2015
Discussion open until: Aug 9, 2015
Published in print: Oct 1, 2015
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