Application depth under sprinkle irrigation as an ecologic and economic factor

Abstract

For most natural conditions, the pre-runoff application depths (PRADs) under sprinkle irrigation are considerably less than the maximum application depths required to moisten active root zone from a critical soil water content to field capacity. Increasing the PRADs to some extent or up to the maximum application depth may prove to be an expensive activity. To justify such an activity, a thorough comparative economic analysis should be made involving various measures for increasing the PRADs and accordingly the actual application depths. Such an analysis becomes possible only if we know the influence of application depths on economically important parameters of a farm sprinkle irrigation system. Influence of application depths on the properly irrigated area, energy used for moving the sprinkle systems, and soil water evaporation is discussed in the paper.