Versatile, precise drip irrigation system for agronomic small-plot research

Tamás Varga; Gary W. Feyereisen; Michael P. Russelle; Samadangla Ao; Jeffrey A Coulter

doi:10.13031/aim.201801700

Versatile, precise drip irrigation system for agronomic small-plot research

Tamás Varga, Gary W. Feyereisen, Michael P. Russelle, Samadangla Ao, Jeffrey A Coulter

Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Enhancing water use efficiency is paramount for sustainable intensification of crop production, but irrigation systems for small-plot research often cannot provide the precision needed to meet the objectives. A surface drip irrigation system was developed to meet the requirements of a study conducted on a sandy loam soil at Becker, MN, USA in 2013. The objective was to compare the performance of two maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids with three levels of nitrogen fertilization under well-watered conditions and two levels of simulated drought stress. Three experimental fields, each with a different previous crop, were equipped with identically designed surface drip irrigation systems, configured to support the randomized block experimental design with four replications. Plots were 6.1 m (eight maize rows) wide and 12.2 m long, using 16 lines of drip tape with an application capacity of 10 mm h^-1, matching the water infiltration capacity of the soil at this site. Drip tape was 0.254 mm thick, with emitter spacing of 152 mm and a flow rate of 0.63 L h^-1. Water was filtered through 106 µm screen filters. Water application was controlled using volumetric automatic shut-off valves with precision of ±1 mm ha^-1 (378 L) and was measured by disc water meters with 2 L accuracy. Water was successfully applied at 3 to 30 mm ha^-1 with the desired precision of ±1 mm ha^-1 per application. This drip irrigation system provides the theoretical basis enabling drought simulation in small-plot experiments for sustainable intensification of crop production.

Original language	English (US)
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.13031/aim.201801700
State	Published - 2018
Event	ASABE 2018 Annual International Meeting - Detroit, United States Duration: Jul 29 2018 → Aug 1 2018

Conference

Conference	ASABE 2018 Annual International Meeting
Country/Territory	United States
City	Detroit
Period	7/29/18 → 8/1/18

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors are grateful to Eric Ristau, Ron Faber, and his team for technical support. This research was supported by the Minnesota Corn Research and Promotion Council. It served as the basis for S. Ao’s Ph.D. dissertation, who was supported on a graduate fellowship from Project AgGrad (Minneapolis, MN, USA). In-kind contributions of irrigation system materials and components were provided by The Toro Co. (Bloomington, MN, USA), Badger Meters (Milwaukee, WI, USA), and BERMAD, Inc. (Porterville, CA, USA).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Drip irrigation
Drought simulation
Maize
Soil profile vertical transect measurement
Water application uniformity

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.13031/aim.201801700

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Cite this

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title = "Versatile, precise drip irrigation system for agronomic small-plot research",

abstract = "Enhancing water use efficiency is paramount for sustainable intensification of crop production, but irrigation systems for small-plot research often cannot provide the precision needed to meet the objectives. A surface drip irrigation system was developed to meet the requirements of a study conducted on a sandy loam soil at Becker, MN, USA in 2013. The objective was to compare the performance of two maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids with three levels of nitrogen fertilization under well-watered conditions and two levels of simulated drought stress. Three experimental fields, each with a different previous crop, were equipped with identically designed surface drip irrigation systems, configured to support the randomized block experimental design with four replications. Plots were 6.1 m (eight maize rows) wide and 12.2 m long, using 16 lines of drip tape with an application capacity of 10 mm h-1, matching the water infiltration capacity of the soil at this site. Drip tape was 0.254 mm thick, with emitter spacing of 152 mm and a flow rate of 0.63 L h-1. Water was filtered through 106 µm screen filters. Water application was controlled using volumetric automatic shut-off valves with precision of ±1 mm ha-1 (378 L) and was measured by disc water meters with 2 L accuracy. Water was successfully applied at 3 to 30 mm ha-1 with the desired precision of ±1 mm ha-1 per application. This drip irrigation system provides the theoretical basis enabling drought simulation in small-plot experiments for sustainable intensification of crop production.",

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note = "Funding Information: The authors are grateful to Eric Ristau, Ron Faber, and his team for technical support. This research was supported by the Minnesota Corn Research and Promotion Council. It served as the basis for S. Ao{\textquoteright}s Ph.D. dissertation, who was supported on a graduate fellowship from Project AgGrad (Minneapolis, MN, USA). In-kind contributions of irrigation system materials and components were provided by The Toro Co. (Bloomington, MN, USA), Badger Meters (Milwaukee, WI, USA), and BERMAD, Inc. (Porterville, CA, USA). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. All rights reserved.; ASABE 2018 Annual International Meeting ; Conference date: 29-07-2018 Through 01-08-2018",

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AU - Coulter, Jeffrey A

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AB - Enhancing water use efficiency is paramount for sustainable intensification of crop production, but irrigation systems for small-plot research often cannot provide the precision needed to meet the objectives. A surface drip irrigation system was developed to meet the requirements of a study conducted on a sandy loam soil at Becker, MN, USA in 2013. The objective was to compare the performance of two maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids with three levels of nitrogen fertilization under well-watered conditions and two levels of simulated drought stress. Three experimental fields, each with a different previous crop, were equipped with identically designed surface drip irrigation systems, configured to support the randomized block experimental design with four replications. Plots were 6.1 m (eight maize rows) wide and 12.2 m long, using 16 lines of drip tape with an application capacity of 10 mm h-1, matching the water infiltration capacity of the soil at this site. Drip tape was 0.254 mm thick, with emitter spacing of 152 mm and a flow rate of 0.63 L h-1. Water was filtered through 106 µm screen filters. Water application was controlled using volumetric automatic shut-off valves with precision of ±1 mm ha-1 (378 L) and was measured by disc water meters with 2 L accuracy. Water was successfully applied at 3 to 30 mm ha-1 with the desired precision of ±1 mm ha-1 per application. This drip irrigation system provides the theoretical basis enabling drought simulation in small-plot experiments for sustainable intensification of crop production.

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KW - Maize

KW - Soil profile vertical transect measurement

KW - Water application uniformity

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ER -

Versatile, precise drip irrigation system for agronomic small-plot research

Abstract

Conference

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access

OpenUrl availability

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