Evaluating Soil Water Redistribution under Mobile Drip Irrigation, Low-Elevation Spray Application, and Low-Energy Precision Application Using HYDRUS
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 147, Issue 6
Abstract
A study to assess soil water redistribution under mobile drip irrigation (MDI), low-energy precision application (LEPA), and low-elevation spray application (LESA) was conducted under a center-pivot irrigation system. Water application devices included MDI ( and flow rates of 3.7 and , respectively), LEPA bubbler, and LESA spray. Measured soil water content was used to calibrate HYDRUS (2D/3D) version 2.05.0270, which was then used to simulate water redistribution within the soil profile after irrigation by MDI, LESA, and LEPA. Results showed that for all the devices, the effect of irrigation was mostly limited to the top 60 cm of the soil profile 72 h after irrigation. MDI driplines and LEPA showed the highest lateral soil water redistribution. The mean soil water contents for , , LEPA, and LESA at a depth of 30 cm were 0.31, 0.31, 0.31, and respectively; at a depth of 60 cm the corresponding values were 0.28, 0.28, 0.26, and , respectively. The interquartile range of soil water content at 30 cm for and was ; the value for LEPA was . The results indicated greater nonuniformity under MDI than under LESA. The results also showed that the MDI water redistribution pattern was similar to that of LEPA, but horizontal uniformity was less than with LESA. MDI had 48% and 19% less runoff potential compared with LEPA and LESA, respectively. Although soil water redistribution uniformity under MDI was less than under LESA and LEPA, it enabled better infiltration and lessened runoff potential.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
The data used in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by grants and donations from the USDA’s Ogallala Aquifer Project, the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research (Grant No. 430871), and USDA Project No. 2016-68007-25066 through the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Water for Agriculture Challenge Area, Teeter Irrigation, and Netafim-USA. The authors of the paper are grateful to these organizations and companies for their support. This is Contribution No. 18-269-J of the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station.
References
Agam, N., S. R. Evett, J. A. Tolk, W. P. Kustas, P. D. Colaizzi, J. G. Alfieri, L. G. McKee, K. S. Copeland, T. A. Howell, and J. L. Chávez. 2012. “Evaporative loss from irrigated interrows in a highly advective semi-arid agricultural area.” Adv. Water Resour. 50 (Dec): 20–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2012.07.010.
Akan, O. A. 1993. Urban stormwater hydrology: A guide to engineering calculations. London: CRC Press.
Colaizzi, P. D., P. H. Gowda, T. H. Marek, and D. O. Porter. 2008. “Irrigation in the Texas high plains: A brief history and potential reductions in demand.” Irrig. Drain. 58 (3): 257–274. https://doi.org/10.1002/ird.418.
Cooley, E. T., B. Lowery, K. A. Kelling, and S. Wilner. 2007. “Water dynamics in drip and overhead sprinkler irrigated potato hills and development of dry zones.” Hydrol. Process. 21 (17): 2390–2399. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.6751.
CPN. 2014. “CPN | 503 elite hydroprobe.” Accessed August 28, 2019. http://www.cpn-intl.com/503-elite-hydroprobe/.
Denef, K., C. E. Stewart, J. Brenner, and K. Paustian. 2008. “Does long-term center-pivot irrigation increase soil carbon stocks in semi-arid agro-ecosystems?” Geoderma 145 (1–2): 121–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2008.03.002.
Gärdenäs, A. I., J. W. Hopmans, B. R. Hanson, and J. Šimůnek. 2005. “Two-dimensional modeling of nitrate leaching for various fertigation scenarios under micro-irrigation.” Agric. Water Manage. 74 (3): 219–242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2004.11.011.
Geerts, S., and R. Dirk. 2009. “Deficit irrigation as an on-farm strategy to maximize crop water productivity in dry areas.” Agric. Water Manage. 96 (9): 1275–1284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2009.04.009.
Hanjra, M. A., and M. E. Qureshi. 2010. “Global water crisis and future food security in an era of climate change.” Food Policy 35 (5): 365–377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2010.05.006.
Horton, R. E. 1939. “Analysis of runoff-plat experiments with varying infiltration-capacity.” EOS Trans. Am. Geophys. Union 20 (4): 693–711. https://doi.org/10.1029/TR020i004p00693.
Hueso, J. J., and J. Cuevas. 2010. “Ten consecutive years of regulated deficit irrigation probe the sustainability and profitability of this water saving strategy in loquat.” Agric. Water Manage. 97 (5): 645–650. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2009.12.002.
Kandelous, M. M., and J. Šimůnek. 2010. “Numerical simulations of water movement in a subsurface drip irrigation system under field and laboratory conditions using HYDRUS-2D.” Agric. Water Manage. 97 (7): 1070–1076. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2010.02.012.
Kandelous, M. M., J. Šimůnek, M. T. Van Genuchten, and K. Malek. 2011. “Soil water content distributions between two emitters of a subsurface drip irrigation system.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 75 (2): 488–497. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2010.0181.
Keller, J., and R. D. Bliesner. 1990. “Center-pivot system design.” In Sprinkler and trickle irrigation, 307–387. Caldwell, NJ: The Blackburn Press.
Kincaid, D. C. 2005. “Application rates from center pivot irrigation with current sprinkler types.” Appl. Eng. Agric. 21 (4): 605–610. https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.18570.
King, B. A., and D. L. Bjorneberg. 2011. “Evaluation of potential runoff and erosion of four center pivot irrigation sprinklers.” Appl. Eng. Agric. 27 (1): 75–85. https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.36226.
Kisekka, I., T. Oker, G. Nguyen, J. Aguilar, and D. Rogers. 2017. “Revisiting precision mobile drip irrigation under limited water.” Irrig. Sci. 35 (6): 483–500. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-017-0555-7.
Lamm, F. R., T. A. Howell, and J. P. Bordovsky. 2012. “Erraticity of sprinkler irrigated corn in 2011.” In Proc., 24th Annual Central Plains Irrigation Conf., 88. Colby, KS: Central Plains Irrigation Association. https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/irrigate/oow/p12/Lamm12ECP.pdf.
Li, X., H. Shi, J. Šimůnek, X. Gong, and Z. Peng. 2015. “Modeling soil water dynamics in a drip-irrigated intercropping field under plastic mulch.” Irrig. Sci. 33 (4): 289–302. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-015-0466-4.
Lobell, D. B., M. B. Burke, C. Tebaldi, M. D. Mastrandrea, W. P. Falcon, and R. L. Naylor. 2008. “Prioritizing climate change adaptation needs for food security in 2030.” Science (New York, N.Y.) 319 (5863): 607–610. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1152339.
Mancosu, N., R. L. Snyder, G. Kyriakakis, and D. Spano. 2015. “Water scarcity and future challenges for food production.” Water 7 (3): 975–992. https://doi.org/10.3390/w7030975.
Molaei, B., R. T. Peters, and I. Kisekka. 2019. “Mobile drip irrigation (MDI).” Accessed January 4, 2020. http://irrigation.wsu.edu/Content/Fact-Sheets/MDI.pdf.
Naglič, B., C. Kechavarzi, F. Coulon, and M. Pintar. 2014. “Numerical investigation of the influence of texture, surface drip emitter discharge rate and initial soil moisture condition on wetting pattern size.” Irrig. Sci. 32 (6): 421–436. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-014-0439-z.
Netafim USA. 2018. “Precision mobile drip irrigation (PMDI™)—Netafim USA.” Accessed January 8, 2018. http://www.netafimusa.com/agriculture/products/heavywall-driplines/precision-mobile-drip-irrigation-pmdi/.
Oker, T. E., I. Kisekka, A. Y. Sheshukov, J. Aguilar, and D. Rogers. 2020. “Evaluation of dynamic uniformity and application efficiency of mobile drip irrigation.” Irrig. Sci. 38 (1): 17–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-019-00648-0.
Oker, T. E., I. Kisekka, A. Y. Sheshukov, J. Aguilar, and D. H. Rogers. 2018. “Evaluation of maize production under mobile drip irrigation.” Agric. Water Manage. 210 (Nov): 11–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2018.07.047.
O’Shaughnessy, S. A., and P. D. Colaizzi. 2017. “Performance of precision mobile drip irrigation in the Texas high plains region.” Agronomy 7 (4): 68. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy7040068.
PC-Progess. 2008. “FAQ: How to calculated the flux for a semi-circle boundary condition.” Accessed August 23, 2017. https://www.pc-progress.com/en/Default.aspx?h3d-lib-drip.
Pereira, L. S., and R. G. Allen. 1999. “Crop water requirements.” In CIGR handbook for agricultural engineering. Volume 1. Land and water engineering, edited by H. N. van Lier, L. S. Pereira, and F. R. Steiner, 213–262. St. Joseph, MI: American Society of Agricultural Engineers.
Phene, C. J., T. A. Howell, R. D. Beck, and D. C. Sanders. 1981. “A traveling trickle irrigation system for row crops.” In Proc., Irrigation Association Tech Conf., 66–82. Fresno, CA: USDA.
Phocaides, A. 2000. Technical handbook on pressurized irrigation techniques. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Porter, D. O., and T. H. Marek. 2009. “Center pivot sprinkler application depth and soil holding capacity.” In Proc., 21st Annual Central Plains Irrigation Conf., 112–121. Colby, KS: Central Plains Irrigation Association. https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/irrigate/oow/p09/Porter09.pdf.
Rajan, N., S. Maas, R. Kellison, M. Dollar, S. Cui, S. Sharma, and A. Attia. 2015. “Emitter uniformity and application efficiency for centre- pivot irrigation systems.” Irrig. Drain. 64 (3): 353–361. https://doi.org/10.1002/ird.1878.
Rawlins, S. L., G. J. W. Hoffman, and S. D. Merrill. 1974. “Traveling trickle system.” In Proc., 2nd Int. Drip Irrigation Conf., 184–187. Washington, DC: Agricultural Research Service.
Rogers, D. H. 2007. “Irrigation.” In Corn production handbook. Manhattan, KS: Kansas State Univ.
Sammis, T. W. 1980. “Comparison of sprinkler, trickle, subsurface, and furrow irrigation methods for row crops.” Am. Soc. Agron. 72 (5): 701–704. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj1980.00021962007200050002x.
Satchithanantham, S., V. Krahn, R. S. Ranjan, and S. Sager. 2014. “Shallow groundwater uptake and irrigation water redistribution within the potato root zone.” Agric. Water Manage. 132 (Jan): 101–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2013.10.011.
Sauer, T., P. Havlík, U. A. Schneider, E. Schmid, G. Kindermann, and M. Obersteiner. 2010. “Agriculture and resource availability in a changing world: The role of irrigation.” Water Resour. Res. 46 (6): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1029/2009WR007729.
Scanlon, B. R., C. C. Faunt, L. Longuevergne, R. C. Reedy, W. M. Alley, V. L. McGuire, and P. B. McMahon. 2012. “Groundwater depletion and sustainability of irrigation in the US high plains and central valley.” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 109 (24): 9320–9325. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1200311109.
Schaap, M. G., F. J. Leij, and M. T. Van Genuchten. 1998. “Neural network analysis for hierarchical prediction of soil hydraulic properties.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 62 (4): 847–855. https://www.ars.usda.gov/arsuserfiles/20360500/pdf_pubs/P1556.pdf https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1998.03615995006200040001x.
Šejna, M., J. Šimůnek, and M. T. van Genuchten. 2016. The HYDRUS software package for simulating two- and three-dimensional movement of water, heat, and multiple solutes in variably-saturated porous media. Prague, Czech Republic: PC Progress.
Selim, T., R. Berndtsson, and M. Persson. 2013. “Simulation of soil water and salinity distribution under surface drip irrigation.” Irrig. Drain. 62 (3): 352–362. https://doi.org/10.1002/ird.1739.
Šimůnek, J., M. Šejna, and M. T. van Genuchten. 1999. The HYDRUS-2D software package for simulating two-dimensional movement of water, heat, and multiple solutes in variably-saturated media. Riverside, CA: Salinity Laboratory, USDA, ARS.
Šimůnek, J., M. T. van Genuchten, and M. Šejna. 2016. “Recent developments and applications of the HYDRUS computer software packages.” Vadose Zone J. 15 (7): 1–25. https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2016.04.0033.
Skaggs, T. H., T. J. Trout, and Y. Rothfuss. 2010. “Drip irrigation water distribution patterns: Effects of emitter rate, pulsing, and antecedent water.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 74 (6): 1886–1896. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2009.0341.
Skaggs, T. H., T. J. Trout, J. Šimůnek, and P. J. Shouse. 2004. “Comparison of HYDRUS-2D simulations of drip irrigation with experimental observations.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng. 130 (4): 304–310. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9437(2004)130:4(304).
Stone, L. R., N. L. Klocke, A. J. Schlegel, F. R. Lamm, and D. J. Tomsicek. 2011. “Equations for drainage component of the field water balance.” Appl. Eng. Agric. 27 (3): 345–350. https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.37076.
USDA-NRCS. 1997. “Selecting an irrigation method.” In Part 652, irrigation guide, edited by L. A. Hardy. Fort Worth, TX: USDA.
van Genuchten, M. T. 1980. “A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 44 (5): 892–898. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1980.03615995004400050002x.
Waller, P., and M. Yitayew. 2016. “Center pivot irrigation systems.” In Irrigation and drainage engineering, 209–228. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 9, 2020
Accepted: Dec 9, 2020
Published online: Mar 26, 2021
Published in print: Jun 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Aug 26, 2021
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.