Articles
EVALUATION OF DRIP IRRIGATION SYSTEMS FOR BLUEBERRY ORCHARDS IN SOUTH CENTRAL CHILE
Article number
889_62
Pages
489 – 497
Language
English
Abstract
In two farms of 80 ha in south central Chile (Los Angeles in the 2003-2004 season, Chillán in the 2006-2007 season), drip irrigation systems were evaluated in blueberry bushes on the basis of the Christiansen Uniformity Coefficient (CUC) and Total Efficiency Distribution (TED). At the Los Angeles farm the irrigation carried out under the farmers criterion was evaluated, whereas in Chillán the irrigation was technically controlled in the second part of the irrigation season using the Hargreaves – Samani model, the canopy cover factor, and permanent monitoring of the soil water content.
In Los Angeles, the CUC showed values around 92%, whereas TED showed values from 0 to 90%. This wide range of values shows the excess time of irrigation in sectors with a high soil water content, which caused drainage problems, or insufficient irrigation times that were not enough to supply the plants water requirements.
At the Chillán farm, in the first part of the irrigation season, which was operated by the farmer, the CUC was in average 85%, whereas TED varies between 32 to 61% on average.
Later, under technical irrigation operation from the end of December, the CUC was 90% on average, which was due to the permanent pressure regulation in the valves, allowing a homogeneous discharge similar to the nominal flow.
Similarly, TED increased to an 89 % average, and in some cases it was 93%, which is due to the adjustment of irrigation times on the basis of blueberry water requirements.
In Los Angeles, the CUC showed values around 92%, whereas TED showed values from 0 to 90%. This wide range of values shows the excess time of irrigation in sectors with a high soil water content, which caused drainage problems, or insufficient irrigation times that were not enough to supply the plants water requirements.
At the Chillán farm, in the first part of the irrigation season, which was operated by the farmer, the CUC was in average 85%, whereas TED varies between 32 to 61% on average.
Later, under technical irrigation operation from the end of December, the CUC was 90% on average, which was due to the permanent pressure regulation in the valves, allowing a homogeneous discharge similar to the nominal flow.
Similarly, TED increased to an 89 % average, and in some cases it was 93%, which is due to the adjustment of irrigation times on the basis of blueberry water requirements.
Authors
J. Jara, E. Holzapfel, A. Quiñónez, M. Soto
Keywords
Hargreaves – Samani model, Christiansen uniformity coefficient, total efficiency distribution
Online Articles (79)