Document Type : Research Paper

Abstract

The scarcity of irrigation water and decrease of water resources are the most important limiting factors in crop production in countries such as Iran. Thus, studying the optimum use of water and increasing water use efficiency are essential to the agricultural sector. The use of a low pressure hydroflume has been suggested to replace traditional surface irrigation methods. The aim of this research was to compare water distribution in the hydroflume with traditional and sprinkler irrigation systems. Farms in the Kabodarahang plain were selected for the evaluation of water consumption, yield, irrigation efficiency and water productivity. The results showed that most water loss in the farms irrigated by hydroflume was deep percolation and, in the farms irrigated by traditional furrow irrigation, was runoff and deep percolation. The amount of runoff loss in the traditional and hydroflume methods were 25.8% and 15%, respectively. In the hydroflume method, the average of potential efficiency of low quarter was 50, application efficiency of low quarter was 48.2, distribution uniformity was 79.2, and uniformity of the Christiansen coefficient was 77. These parameters for the traditional method were 44.8, 34.9, 87.65, and 89.1, respectively. For the sprinkler method, they were 57.6, 56, 70.3 and 76.6, respectively. The water productivity for the traditional, hydroflume and sprinkler irrigation systems were 1.2, 2.4 and 3.2 kg/m3, respectively. The venue of hydroflume irrigation relative to traditional irrigation increased by 39376600 rails/ha. The ratio of benefit per cost in hydroflume irrigation systems was 6.

Keywords

Abbasi, F., Sohrab, F., Zarei, G., Arasti, A. and Nayrizi, S. 2009. Analysis of irrigation efficiency in Iran. Final Research Report. IRD1-85084. Iran Water Resources Management Company. (in Farsi)
Alizadeh, A. 2004. Irrigation System Design. The 5th Ed. Astan-e-Ghods-e-Razavi Press. 583 pp. (in Farsi)
Anon. 2008. Selected Statistics. Management Plan and Planning Bureau of Statistics. (in Farsi)
Howitt, R. E., Wallender, W. W. and Weaver, T. 1990. Economic analysis of irrigation technology selection: the effect of declining performance and management In: Social, Economic, and Institutional Issues in Third World Irrigation Management, R. K. Sampath and R. A. Young (Eds.) Studies in Water Ppolicy and Management, No. 15, Westview Press. San Francisco. 437-464.
Jibin, L. and Foroud, N. 2000. Evaluation of a gated pipe basin irrigation method in China. Hebei Academy of Agriculture Sciences.
Karami, V and Samadi Bahrami, R. 2005. Improved surface irrigation methods by using gated pipes. Technical Workshop on Surface Irrigation. 209-221. (in Farsi)
Minaei, S., Behzadi, M. and Marofpore, M. 2005. Technical and economical evaluation of low pressure distribution systems with furrow and sprinkler irrigation system. Technical Workshop on Surface Irrigation.159-172. (in Farsi)
Osman, B. and Hassan, E. 2003. Evaluation of surface irrigation using gated pipes techniques in field crops and old horticultural farm. Agricultural Engineering Research Institute. Egypt.
Rozati, M. and Valizadeh, N. 2009. Use of gated irrigation system (Hydroflume) in irrigation farms, gardens and water. 2nd National Congress of the Effects of Drought and Management Strategies. Isfahan Center for the Research of Agricultural Science & Natural Resources. (in Farsi)
Salemi, H., Nikooie, A., Rezvani, M. and Jafari, A. M. 2005. Technical and economical evaluation of sprinkler irrigation system of potato in Isfahan and Hamedan provinces. Final Research Report. No. 84/344. Agricultural Engineering Research Institute. Karaj. (in Farsi)
Shamili, M. 2005. Reviewing the irrigation systems Karun Agro Industry Co. Technical Workshop on Surface Irrigation. 231-246. (in Farsi)
Steigum, E. J. 1983. A financial theory of investment behavior. Econometrica. 51, 637-645.
Tecle, A. and Yitayew, M. 1990. Preference ranking of alternative irrigation technologies via a multicriterion decision-making procedure. Trans. ASAE. 33, 1509-1517.