Open AccessEvaluation of the scheduling of an existing drip irrigation network: Fadak Farm, Karbala, Iraq
Author(s) -
Juhaina S. Abdulhadi,
Husam H. Alwan
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
iop conference series. materials science and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1757-899X
pISSN - 1757-8981
DOI - 10.1088/1757-899x/1067/1/012024
Subject(s) - irrigation , drip irrigation , irrigation scheduling , environmental science , arid , low flow irrigation systems , surface irrigation , economic shortage , water resource management , water resources , agriculture , agricultural engineering , soil water , agronomy , geography , engineering , soil science , ecology , government (linguistics) , biology , linguistics , philosophy , archaeology
Iraq has a subtropical semi-arid climate; it was previously considered to be rich in water, but for several reasons, including climate change and dam construction by neighbouring countries, a shortage of water resources has developed in recent years. Using the drip irrigation method is one of the most efficient ways to rationalise water consumption and avoid losses. This study was conducted in order to assess the scheduling of the drip irrigation system used on the Fadak farm in the holy city of Karbala in Iraq, in order to investigate irrigation scheduling there and to compare this with established irrigation scheduling parameters. This required the study of the physical properties of the soil and water consumption calculations for the palm trees being irrigated using the CROPWAT 8.0 simulation program. The results indicated that the volume of water actually supplied to each plot of around dunum( 2,500 m 2 ) is 1,533.5 m 3 annually, while the volume of water that should be supplied to the farm is 1,388 m 3 , suggesting that there is wastage of 145.5 m 3 , or 10.7%, annually. The monthly losses show that the irrigation scheduling system currently used on the farm exposes the plants to excess irrigation over many months, resulting in a loss of water, while causing plants to be exposed to a decrease in irrigation water, which causes stress, in other months. Using surface irrigation, the volume of water needed per dunum is 12,617 m 3 , however, causing water waste to the volume 11,229 m 3 . This study thus confirms the general efficiency of the drip irrigation system, as well as highlighting that the CROPWAT 8.0 program is useful for calculating water consumption.