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Straightforward furrow irrigation can be 70% efficient
Author(s) -
Jurriëns M.,
Lenselink K.J.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
irrigation and drainage
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.421
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1531-0361
pISSN - 1531-0353
DOI - 10.1002/ird.7
Subject(s) - surface irrigation , inflow , volumetric flow rate , irrigation , flow (mathematics) , yield (engineering) , percolation (cognitive psychology) , reuse , mathematics , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental science , engineering , geotechnical engineering , geology , mechanics , agronomy , materials science , oceanography , physics , geometry , neuroscience , metallurgy , biology , waste management
Design and operation of furrow irrigation often focus on finding an optimum combination of the length, the flow rate, and the cut‐off time. In this paper, we analyse various combinations of these three variables using the Furdev program. To express the hydraulic performance of furrow irrigation, we use the standard application efficiency, the surface run‐off ratio, and the deep percolation ratio. The paper investigates three cases: first, we discuss the optimum flow rate for a given length, then the optimum length for a given flow rate, and, finally, we establish a relationship between flow rate and length. In the analyses, wide ranges of soils, lengths, and flow rates are covered. We conclude that it is nearly always possible to find a combination of the three major design variables that will yield an application efficiency of 69–73%, or, say, 70%. Under the assumed conditions of constant inflow, open‐ended furrows, and no under‐irrigation, a higher efficiency is never possible and a lower one not desirable. The 70% ‘rule’ is true only if one of the three variables can be chosen freely. Operational practices like cut‐back, reuse, or blocking the end of the furrow, could easily lead to efficiencies higher than 70%. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.