Estimating Water Application Efficiency for Drip Irrigation Emitter Patterns on Banana

The objective of this work was to evaluate root and water distribution in irrigated banana (Musa sp.), in order to determine the water application efficiency for different drip irrigation emitter patterns. Three drip emitter patterns were studied: two 4-L h-1 emitters per plant (T1), four 4-L h-1 emitters per plant (T2), and five 4-L h-1 emitters per plant (T3). The emitters were placed in a lateral line. In the treatment T3, the emitters formed a continuous strip. The cultivated area used was planted with banana cultivar BRS Tropical, with a 3-m spacing between rows and a 2.5-m spacing between plants. Soil moisture and root length data were collected during the first production cycle at five radial distances and depths, in a 0.20x0.20 m vertical grid. The experiment was carried out in a sandy clay loam Xanthic Hapludox. Soil moisture data were collected every 10 min for a period of five days using TDR probes. Water application efficiency was of 83, 88 and 92% for the systems with two, four and five emitters per plant, respectively. It was verified that an increase in the number of emitters in the lateral line promoted better root distribution, higher water extraction, and less deep percolation losses

HYDROLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF RAINFALL AND ITS POTENTIAL EROSIVITY IN THE MIDDLE COURSE OF SALITRE RIVER BASIN IN THE BRAZILIAN SEMI-ARID

A characterization of the rains in the middle course of Salitre River Basin and its relation with the existing processes of water erosion is presented. Rainfall of 30 minutes was used to obtain the coefficient of disaggregation of rainfall. The annual maximum daily precipitation obtained from the National Water Agency database was adjusted according to the statistical distribution of Gumbel and the adjustment of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov adjustment. The individual erosive rains were established by the erosivity index (EI30) of each individual precipitation and kinetic energy were calculated according to Wischmeier and Smith, later compared to the methodology of Lombardi Neto and Moldenhauer. Higher precipitation intensities were observed for shorter run times and longer return periods. The highest rates of erosivity coincide with the highest rainfall indexes

Variables efficiency, irrigation management and yield of banana cv BRS Tropical under different systems of microsprinkling and drip

A agricultura irrigada, por se tratar do setor produtivo que mais demanda água, tem sofrido continuas pressões para garantir a produção de alimentos com uso eficiente da água. Diante disto, objetivou-se com este trabalho estudar: (i) o efeito de diferentes sistemas de irrigação localizada (microaspersão e gotejamento) sob diferentes configurações na produtividade da bananeira BRS Tropical; (ii) avaliar a distribuição de raízes das plantas irrigadas por esses sistemas; (iii) calcular a eficiência de aplicação de água desses sistemas na cultura da bananeira e (iv) definir o posicionamento de sensores de água no solo para monitoramento da irrigação sob os sistemas considerados. O experimento foi conduzido nos campos experimentais da Embrapa Mandioca e Fruticultura Tropical, no qual foram estudados diferentes sistemas de irrigação localizada na cultura da bananeira BRS Tropical. Verificou-se que não houve efeito das diferentes configurações dos sistemas de irrigação por microaspersão nas variáveis de produção da bananeira BRS Tropical, o mesmo ocorrendo com as plantas irrigadas por diferentes configurações de sistemas de gotejamento. Entretanto, a produtividade da bananeira foi maior quando irrigada por sistemas de microaspersão do que por sistemas de gotejamento. A profundidade efetiva das raízes da bananeira irrigada por microaspersão e gotejamento foram 0,5 e 0,3 m, respectivamente, com exceção dos sistemas com gotejadores distribuídos em faixa contínua e com quatro gotejadores por plantas, para os quais se registrou uma profundidade efetiva de 0,25m e 0,6m, respectivamente. Quanto à eficiência de aplicação de água, nos sistemas de microaspersão, para um mesmo volume de água aplicado, na medida em que a uniformidade de distribuição de água dos sistemas aumenta, diminui-se a percolação, aumenta-se a extração de água e a eficiência de aplicação de água torna-se mais elevada. Nos sistemas de gotejamento, o incremento no número de emissores na linha lateral promoveu o crescimento da área de distribuição de raízes no solo em relação a lateral da planta, aumentou as áreas de extração de água, reduziu as perdas por percolação e aumentou a eficiência de aplicação. Na definição do posicionamento de sensores no solo, para a microaspersão, verificou-se que os sensores podem ser localizados na região que compreende a distância do pseudocaule ao emissor de 0,1 m à 0,7 m, 0,1 m à 0,8 m e 0,4 m à 1 m, nos sistemas com um microaspersor de 32 L h-1 para quatro plantas, um microaspersor de 60L h-1 para quatro plantas e um microaspersor de 60L h-1 para duas plantas, respectivamente, sendo a profundidade de instalação limitada em 0,25 m. Nos sistemas de gotejamento, definiu-se que os locais ideais de instalação dos sensores nos sistemas que utilizam dois, quatro e cinco emissores de 4 L h-1 por planta, partindo-se do pseudocaule da bananeira na direção da fileira de planta, às regiões limitadas pelas distâncias horizontais e profundidades de 0,2 m e 0,4 m; 0,5 m e 0,35 m; 0,55 m e 0,35 m, respectivamente.Irrigated agriculture is the part of the productive section that demands more water, as a consequence, it has been under continuous pressure in order to guarantee food production with efficient water use. This work had as objective, studies about: (i) effects of different trickle irrigation systems (sprayer and drip) configurations on yields of banana cv BRS Tropical; (ii) evaluation of root distribution of plants which were under these systems; (iii) application efficiency of these systems on banana crop and (iv) soil water sensor placement definition for irrigation scheduling of the evaluated systems. The experiment was carried out on the experimental fields of Embrapa Cassava & Tropical Fruits, where studies about different trickle irrigation systems on banana crop were accomplished. There was no effect of the different sprayer or drip irrigation systems configurations on the production variables of banana cv BRS Tropical, however yields of banana irrigated by sprayer were larger than those of banana irrigated by drip. The effective root depth of banana irrigated by sprayer and drip systems were 0.5 and 0.3 m, respectively, except for drip systems with drippers distributed as line source and systems with four drippers per plant. In those cases the effective root depths were 0.25 m and 0.6m, respectively. Concerning water application efficiency and the same volume of water applied for all sprayer systems, the larger the water distribution uniformity, the larger the root water extraction and the water application efficiency and the smaller the deep percolation. The increase of emitters on the lateral lines provided growth of root distribution area and root water extraction area around the plant, reduced deep percolation losses and increased water application efficiency. Concerning definition of sensor placement around plants for sprayer system, it was noticed that sensors may be placed in zones limited by distances between plant and emitter of 0.1 m to 0.7 m, 0.1 m to 0.8 m and 0.4 m to 1 m for systems of one 32 L h-1 sprayer for four plants, one 60 L h- 1 sprayer for four plants and one 60 L h-1 sprayer for two plants, respectively. In all cases, the depth for sensor installation was 0.25 m. In case of drip irrigation systems, the ideal zones for sensor placement for systems that use two, four and five 4 L h-1 emitters per plant were limited by horizontal distances and depths of 0,2 m and 0,4 m; 0,5 m and 0,35 m; 0,55 m and 0,35 m, respectively

Water percolation estimated with time domain reflectometry (TDR) in drainage lysimeters

Due to the difficulty of estimating water percolation in unsaturated soils, the purpose of this study was to estimate water percolation based on time-domain reflectometry (TDR). In two drainage lysimeters with different soil textures TDR probes were installed, forming a water monitoring system consisting of different numbers of probes. The soils were saturated and covered with plastic to prevent evaporation. Tests of internal drainage were carried out using a TDR 100 unit with constant dielectric readings (every 15 min). To test the consistency of TDR-estimated percolation levels in comparison with the observed leachate levels in the drainage lysimeters, the combined null hypothesis was tested at 5 % probability. A higher number of probes in the water monitoring system resulted in an approximation of the percolation levels estimated from TDR - based moisture data to the levels measured by lysimeters. The definition of the number of probes required for water monitoring to estimate water percolation by TDR depends on the soil physical properties. For sandy clay soils, three batteries with four probes installed at depths of 0.20, 0.40, 0.60, and 0.80 m, at a distance of 0.20, 0.40 and 0.6 m from the center of lysimeters were sufficient to estimate percolation levels equivalent to the observed. In the sandy loam soils, the observed and predicted percolation levels were not equivalent even when using four batteries with four probes each, at depths of 0.20, 0.40, 0.60, and 0.80 m

Estimation of water percolation by different methods using TDR

Detailed knowledge on water percolation into the soil in irrigated areas is fundamental for solving problems of drainage, pollution and the recharge of underground aquifers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the percolation estimated by time-domain-reflectometry (TDR) in a drainage lysimeter. We used Darcy's law with K(θ) functions determined by field and laboratory methods and by the change in water storage in the soil profile at 16 points of moisture measurement at different time intervals. A sandy clay soil was saturated and covered with plastic sheet to prevent evaporation and an internal drainage trial in a drainage lysimeter was installed. The relationship between the observed and estimated percolation values was evaluated by linear regression analysis. The results suggest that percolation in the field or laboratory can be estimated based on continuous monitoring with TDR, and at short time intervals, of the variations in soil water storage. The precision and accuracy of this approach are similar to those of the lysimeter and it has advantages over the other evaluated methods, of which the most relevant are the possibility of estimating percolation in short time intervals and exemption from the predetermination of soil hydraulic properties such as water retention and hydraulic conductivity. The estimates obtained by the Darcy-Buckingham equation for percolation levels using function K(θ) predicted by the method of Hillel et al. (1972) provided compatible water percolation estimates with those obtained in the lysimeter at time intervals greater than 1 h. The methods of Libardi et al. (1980), Sisson et al. (1980) and van Genuchten (1980) underestimated water percolation

Efficiency of water application of irrigation systems based on microsprinkling in banana plantations

Further food production may be limited by the reduced availability of water resources. Since irrigated agriculture is the productive sector that presents a higher demand of water, this sector has been under intense pressure in order to ensure food production with improved efficiency of water use. This study aimed to use the Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) technique to measure percolation losses and to determine water application efficiency of banana (Musa spp.) trees using microsprinkler irrigation systems. Three systems were studied: (i) one 32 L h-1 microsprinkler for four plants; (ii) one 60 L h-1 microsprinkler for four plants; and (iii) one 60 L h-1 microsprinkler for two plants. Systems that replace water to the soil with the lowest variation of infiltrated water depths at different distances from plant pseudostem were the most efficient. The water application efficiency of microsprinkler irrigation systems using the (i), (ii), and (iii) microsprinkler systems were 85%, 80 % and 90 % respectively

Water extraction variability in the banana root zone affects the reliability of water balance

Spatial and temporal variability of soil water extraction from the root zone affect soil water balance determination. The number of sensors installed in the root zone in studies addressing water balance is still set arbitrarily. This study provided an investigation of the water extraction process by banana (Musa spp.) roots by (i) determining the variability of water extraction from the banana tree root zone, (ii) detecting differences in the estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) by the soil water balance method when the number of soil profiles monitored in the roots zone varies, (iii) and; determining the minimum number of Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) probes needed to obtain ET precision and accuracy similar to that determined by a drainage lysimeter. The field experiment was conducted in Cruz das Almas, in the state of Bahia, Brazil, where a drainage lysimeter was installed on a banana plantation. The water extraction in the banana root zone was quantified by the water content variations monitored in 72 points by TDRs, with measurements at 15-min intervals. The variability of water extraction in the banana root zone was medium to high. The range of variability affects the reliability of the crop evapotranspiration calculation by the soil water balance method. To prevent an overestimation of banana evapotranspiration, the water extraction in the soil profile must be monitored with at least 16 TDR probes installed at a minimum distance of 0.9 m and a minimum depth of 0.7 m