Farmerless Profit-Oriented Irrigation Scheduling Strategy for Solid Sets. II: Assessment
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 4
Abstract
The companion paper presented a self-programmable profit-oriented irrigation scheduling strategy based on simulation models. This study is an assessment of the strategy and aims to contribute to the analysis of its viability. The assessment is based on the simulation of corn irrigated with a typical solid-set system under 81 scenarios that combine different conditions of weather, soil, and prices over a period of nine years. Two simpler self-programmable yield-oriented strategies serve as benchmarks for the assessment. The profit-oriented strategy achieves up to higher profit, depending on the conditions of the scenario. Lower percolation and better harnessing of initial soil water are the main drivers of the profit gap, in which the influence of prices is low because of the high efficiency achieved. This water conservation (up to 128 mm) could also deliver additional benefits that future researches should analyze. The models and a multidisciplinary approach provide a better understanding of the technical and economic processes that enable the development of advanced self-programmable strategies that lead to wiser, more situation-specific irrigation decisions.
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Acknowledgments
The research contract of S. Lecina was funded by the National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA), Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.
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Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 4 • April 2016
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 15, 2015
Accepted: Sep 24, 2015
Published online: Dec 31, 2015
Published in print: Apr 1, 2016
Discussion open until: May 31, 2016
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