USING PULSE DRIP IRRIGATION TO IMPROVE MOISTURE DISTRIBUTION AND DEVELOPING MATHEMATICAL MODEL FOR IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT

Abstract

The knowledge of moisture distribution patterns under continuous and pulse trickle systems for different soils and different discharge rates is used: (a) for efficient design and operation of the system, (b) for ensuring precise placement of water and fertilizer in the active root zone, (c) for establishing irrigation scheduling, and d) to synchronize the wetting pattern with crop rooting pattern.

The model combines the alternate direction implicit method (ADI) of solving two dimensional linear partial differential equations with the iterative Newton-Raphson method to advance through variable time steps, the main objectives of this study were:

1- Developing a mathematical model under point source (cylindrical flow) to simulate soil water movement and moisture distribution in the soil profile for continuous and pulse drip irrigation systems for design, installation, and management of systems.

2- Comparing between the predicted and measured moisture distribution in the soil profile for continuous and pulse drip