Required leaching amount with subsurface drip irrigation

Abstract EN

Irrigation water for agricultural production is limited in many parts of the world.

The use of subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) method and waters with high levels of salinity may be a solution.

In this study, the Windows-based computer software package hydrus (2d/3d), which numerically simulates water, heat, and/or solute movement in two dimensional, variably saturated porous media, was used with SDI method to evaluate salt distribution and mean salt concentration for different amounts of leaching water, different crops, and different irrigation water salinity, described by the electrical conductivity of the irrigation water (ECiw).

Irrigation depth equal to potential evapotranspiration or more was applied daily for a period of about one hour per day.

The simulations were done at plant maturity and extended for 30 days.

The results showed that soil salinity can be controlled for a certain crop and irrigation water salinity by choosing the suitable leaching amount.