IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v179y2017icp306-313.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Scheduling irrigation from wetting front depth

Author

Listed:
  • Stirzaker, Richard J.
  • Maeko, Tshepo C.
  • Annandale, John G.
  • Steyn, J. Martin
  • Adhanom, Goitom T.
  • Mpuisang, Thembeka

Abstract

Irrigation scheduling is often based around the analogy of a ‘tipping bucket’, and the measurement or prediction of the amount of water stored within the bucket. We compare this conventional approach of scheduling with stopping irrigation when the bucket tips i.e. when infiltrating water moves from an upper to a lower soil layer. Electronic wetting front detectors were used to close a solenoid valve at the time infiltrating water reached a depth of 300mm, when irrigating a lucerne crop in a rain-out shelter. Four different ways of using information from the position of the wetting front were compared with scheduling irrigation from soil water measurements made by a neutron probe or calculated by a soil-crop model. Automatically closing a solenoid valve at the time the upper bucket tipped was a successful approach, but only when the correct irrigation interval was selected. If the irrigation interval was too short, water draining from the soil layer above the detector resulted in drainage. Scheduling from wetting front detectors placed at 600mm depth was unsuccessful because of the difficulty in detecting weak wetting fronts at this depth. The commonly accepted method of measuring a soil water deficit and refilling the bucket to field capacity was not without limitation. Since the soil drained for many days after irrigation, and well beyond the 48h period typically selected to represent the upper drained limit, drainage and evapotranspiration occurred concurrently.

Suggested Citation

  • Stirzaker, Richard J. & Maeko, Tshepo C. & Annandale, John G. & Steyn, J. Martin & Adhanom, Goitom T. & Mpuisang, Thembeka, 2017. "Scheduling irrigation from wetting front depth," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 306-313.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:179:y:2017:i:c:p:306-313
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2016.06.024
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377416302293
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2016.06.024?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Leib, Brian G. & Hattendorf, Mary & Elliott, Todd & Matthews, Gary, 2002. "Adoption and adaptation of scientific irrigation scheduling: trends from Washington, USA as of 1998," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 105-120, June.
    2. van der Laan, M. & Stirzaker, R.J. & Annandale, J.G. & Bristow, K.L. & Preez, C.C. du, 2010. "Monitoring and modelling draining and resident soil water nitrate concentrations to estimate leaching losses," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(11), pages 1779-1786, November.
    3. McCown, R. L., 2002. "Locating agricultural decision support systems in the troubled past and socio-technical complexity of `models for management'," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 74(1), pages 11-25, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cao, Jingjing & Tan, Junwei & Cui, Yuanlai & Luo, Yufeng, 2019. "Irrigation scheduling of paddy rice using short-term weather forecast data," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 714-723.
    2. Zhou, Hong & Zhao, Wen zhi, 2019. "Modeling soil water balance and irrigation strategies in a flood-irrigated wheat-maize rotation system. A case in dry climate, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 286-302.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. McCown, R. L., 2002. "Changing systems for supporting farmers' decisions: problems, paradigms, and prospects," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 74(1), pages 179-220, October.
    2. Phogat, V. & Skewes, M.A. & Cox, J.W. & Alam, J. & Grigson, G. & Šimůnek, J., 2013. "Evaluation of water movement and nitrate dynamics in a lysimeter planted with an orange tree," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 74-84.
    3. So Pyay Thar & Thiagarajah Ramilan & Robert J. Farquharson & Deli Chen, 2021. "Identifying Potential for Decision Support Tools through Farm Systems Typology Analysis Coupled with Participatory Research: A Case for Smallholder Farmers in Myanmar," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-20, June.
    4. Pascual-Seva, Núria & San Bautista, Alberto & López-Galarza, Salvador & Maroto, José Vicente & Pascual, Bernardo, 2018. "Influence of different drip irrigation strategies on irrigation water use efficiency on chufa (Cyperus esculentus L. var. sativus Boeck.) crop," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 406-413.
    5. Sterk, B. & van Ittersum, M.K. & Leeuwis, C. & Rossing, W.A.H. & van Keulen, H. & van de Ven, G.W.J., 2006. "Finding niches for whole-farm design models - contradictio in terminis?," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 211-228, February.
    6. Thysen, Iver & Detlefsen, Nina K., 2006. "Online decision support for irrigation for farmers," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 86(3), pages 269-276, December.
    7. Carberry, P. S. & Hochman, Z. & McCown, R. L. & Dalgliesh, N. P. & Foale, M. A. & Poulton, P. L. & Hargreaves, J. N. G. & Hargreaves, D. M. G. & Cawthray, S. & Hillcoat, N. & Robertson, M. J., 2002. "The FARMSCAPE approach to decision support: farmers', advisers', researchers' monitoring, simulation, communication and performance evaluation," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 74(1), pages 141-177, October.
    8. Cabrera Corral, Francisco Javier & Bonachela Castaño, Santiago & Fernández Fernández, María Dolores & Granados García, María Rosa & López Hernández, Juan Carlos, 2016. "Lysimetry methods for monitoring soil solution electrical conductivity and nutrient concentration in greenhouse tomato crops," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 171-179.
    9. Mace, Karen & Morlon, Pierre & Munier-Jolain, Nicolas & Quere, Lionel, 2007. "Time scales as a factor in decision-making by French farmers on weed management in annual crops," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 93(1-3), pages 115-142, March.
    10. He, Xue-Feng & Cao, Huhua & Li, Feng-Min, 2007. "Econometric analysis of the determinants of adoption of rainwater harvesting and supplementary irrigation technology (RHSIT) in the semiarid Loess Plateau of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(3), pages 243-250, May.
    11. Sara Rodríguez & Lluis Plà & Javier Faulin, 2014. "New opportunities in operations research to improve pork supply chain efficiency," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 219(1), pages 5-23, August.
    12. Akpoti, Komlavi & Kabo-bah, Amos T. & Zwart, Sander J., 2019. "Agricultural land suitability analysis: State-of-the-art and outlooks for integration of climate change analysis," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 172-208.
    13. Nguyen, Nam C. & Wegener, Malcolm K. & Russell, Iean W., 2007. "Decision support systems in Australian agriculture: state of the art and future development," AFBM Journal, Australasian Farm Business Management Network, vol. 4(1-2), pages 1-7.
    14. Kaufmann, Brigitte A., 2011. "Second-order cybernetics as a tool to understand why pastoralists do what they do," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 104(9), pages 655-665.
    15. Gonzalez T., Francisco & Pavek, Mark J. & Holden, Zachary J. & Garza, Rudy, 2023. "Evaluating potato evapotranspiration and crop coefficients in the Columbia Basin of Washington state," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    16. Carlos F. Brunner-Parra & Luis A. Croquevielle-Rendic & Carlos A. Monardes-Concha & Bryan A. Urra-Calfuñir & Elbio L. Avanzini & Tomás Correa-Vial, 2022. "Web-Based Integer Programming Decision Support System for Walnut Processing Planning: The MeliFen Case," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-22, March.
    17. Salazar, Osvaldo & Vargas, Juan & Nájera, Francisco & Seguel, Oscar & Casanova, Manuel, 2014. "Monitoring of nitrate leaching during flush flooding events in a coarse-textured floodplain soil," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 218-227.
    18. van der Laan, M. & Annandale, J.G. & Bristow, K.L. & Stirzaker, R.J. & Preez, C.C. du & Thorburn, P.J., 2014. "Modelling nitrogen leaching: Are we getting the right answer for the right reason?," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 74-80.
    19. Dieguez Cameroni, F.J. & Terra, R. & Tabarez, S. & Bommel, P. & Corral, J. & Bartaburu, D. & Pereira, M. & Montes, E. & Duarte, E. & Morales Grosskopf, H., 2014. "Virtual experiments using a participatory model to explore interactions between climatic variability and management decisions in extensive grazing systems in the basaltic region of Uruguay," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 89-104.
    20. Olutobi Adeyemi & Ivan Grove & Sven Peets & Tomas Norton, 2017. "Advanced Monitoring and Management Systems for Improving Sustainability in Precision Irrigation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-29, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:179:y:2017:i:c:p:306-313. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.