Evaluation of wetting front detector to estimate the dimensions of wetting front in the drip irrigation

Abstract

Abstract In order to achieve proper water consumption efficiency in micro-irrigation systems, the space and flow rate of the drippers should match the hydraulic characteristics of the soil and the time and amount of plant irrigation water. As a result, having proper information about the width and depth of the wetted soil (wetting volume) is essential for the design, planning, and proper management of drip irrigation systems. The aim of this study was to obtain a set of semi-empirical relationships for more accurate and easier estimation of the diameter and depth of the wetting front. Field data of drip irrigation systems were collected by wet front detector (WFD) installed in three different conditions in terms of soil texture and flow rates of 4 and 8 L/h. Due to the technical problems and errors in the measurement of saturated hydraulic conductivity, which is the main representative of soil properties, the relationships presented here estimate the dimensions of the wetted soil volume based on the infiltration time and the volume of water stored in the reservoir. No need for hydraulic conductivity of the soil. The equations obtained in this research predict the diameter and depth of the wetted soil volume with a correlation coefficient of 89 and 98%, respectively.

Keywords

• Drip irrigation
• Wetting front detector (WFD), Advance front
• Hydraulic conductivity