Automated irrigation systems for wheat and tomato crops in arid regions

Authors

  • Hussein M Al-Ghobari Department of Agricultural Engineering, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
  • Fawzi S Mohammad Department of Agricultural Engineering, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
  • Mohamed SA El Marazky 1. Department of Agricultural Engineering, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 2. Agricultural Engineering Research Institute (AEnRI), Agricultural Research Centre, P.O. Box 256, Giza, Egypt
  • Ahmed Zakaria Dewidar 1. Department of Agricultural Engineering, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 2. Agricultural Engineering Research Institute (AEnRI), Agricultural Research Centre, P.O. Box 256, Giza, Egypt

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4314/wsa.v43i2.18

Keywords:

autonomous control, evapotranspiration controller, water conservation, sprinkler and drip irrigation, water-use efficiency, arid regions

Abstract

Automated irrigation systems (AISs) are critical for the sustainability of irrigated farming systems, considering the present water crisis in Saudi Arabia. This study investigated whether electronic controllers in irrigation systems effectively save water. The study also assessed the effect of these controllers on crop yield using drip and sprinkler irrigation systems in severely arid climate conditions. Evapotranspiration (ET) controllers were installed in experimental fields of wheat (Triticum aestivum) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.) crops for 2 successive seasons. The results revealed that the water use efficiency (WUE) and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) were typically higher in the AIS than in the conventional irrigation control system (CIS). Under the AIS treatment, the WUE and IWUE values were 1.64 and 1.37 k·gm-3 for wheat, and 7.50 and 6.50 kg·m-3 for tomato crops; under the CIS treatment the values were 1.47 and 1.21 kg·m-3 for wheat and 5.72 and 4.70 kg·m-3 for tomatoes, respectively. Therefore, the AIS provided significant advantages in both water savings and crop yields by utilising up to 26% less water than the CIS, and simultaneously generating higher total yields. The automated irrigation system technique may be a valuable tool for conserving water and scheduling irrigation for wheat and tomato crops, and may be extendable to other similar agricultural crops.

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Published

2017-04-20

How to Cite

Hussein M Al-Ghobari, Fawzi S Mohammad, Mohamed SA El Marazky, & Ahmed Zakaria Dewidar. (2017). Automated irrigation systems for wheat and tomato crops in arid regions. Water SA, 43(2 April). https://doi.org/10.4314/wsa.v43i2.18

Issue

Section

Research paper