Design of Level Basin Irrigation Systems for Robust Performance
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Volume 139, Issue 3
Abstract
A well-designed level basin irrigation system is easy to manage and has significant potential for achieving high application efficiency and improved salinity control, particularly when the field is laser-leveled. Over the years, three different criteria have arisen to design level basin irrigation systems. These are the volume-balance design criterion proposed by the Soil Conservation Service of the USDA, the limiting length design criterion, and the completion-of-advance design criterion. For achieving a performance that is close to the design performance, in addition to proper design, a well-defined irrigation schedule must be followed such that the soil moisture deficit at the time of irrigation is close to the design depth. The actual overall performance of a level basin irrigation system will otherwise be lower than the design performance. Using a mathematical simulation model, the performance of a level basin designed using the completion-of-advance design approach was found to be robust relative to one designed using the limiting length approach.
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Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 3 • March 2013
Pages: 254 - 260
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 9, 2011
Accepted: Aug 22, 2012
Published online: Aug 30, 2012
Published in print: Mar 1, 2013
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