Engineering Commons^™

Fertigation Basics, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Fertigation is widely practiced with drip irrigation, yet remains very unsophisticated. Major areas which need improvement are (i) making certain the irrigation system applies water with a high DU (uniformity), (ii) using proper injection pumps and protection hardware, (iii) recognizing that chemicals can interact with each other and with water to form precipitates which will clog emitters, (iv) understanding of nutrient ratios in plants and soil, (v) recognizing that nitrogen fertilization requires attention to the type of nitrogen, and (vi) developing programs for spoon-feeding chemicals. This paper covers the first 4 topics, plus discusses some specific fertilizers.

Chemicals For Fertigation, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Modern Water Control And Management Practices In Irrigation: Impact On Performance, Charles M. Burt, Stuart W. Styles

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This research addressed the basic questions of what levels of water delivery service are presently provided by irrigation projects having some aspect of modernization; what hardware and software features impact those levels of service; whether modern water control and management practices in irrigation make a positive difference in performance; and what universal lessons can be learned and applied.

Selection Of Irrigation Methods For Agriculture: Drip/Micro Irrigation, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The ASCE On-Farm Committee has recently completed a draft of a manual (Bliesner et al, 1998) on "Selection of Irrigation Methods for Agriculture." One of the chapters describes drip/micro irrigation methods. Numerous variations of drip/micro designs are discussed, along with advantages and disadvantages. This paper provides an overview of some aspects of that chapter.

Drip/Micro Irrigation Survey For Delano-Earlimart Irrigation District, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Delano-Earlimart ID (DEID) has kept informal statistics on the use of drip and micro-irrigation (drip/micro) within its boundaries for several years. These statistics showed that there has been only a slight increase in the acreage of these systems over the past 10 years. Because the rate and extent of conversion to drip/micro may influence the type of future water delivery service needed from DEID, DEID management is interested in knowing more about farmer perceptions regarding these newer irrigation methods.

DEID obtained a grant from USBR Mid-Pacific region to examine perceptions of its farmers regarding future conversions to drip and micro-irrigation. …

Improving Water Properties To Increase Infiltration Characteristics, Richard W. O. Soppe, Stuart W. Styles

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Water properties, such as the viscosity and surface tension, can be affected by temperature and surfactants to Increase infiltration rates into soils. Specifically, they will change the hydraulic conductivity of the soil. A simple soap solution and the new material PAM (inexpensive polymer chemical) were evaluated as surfactants. Laboratory experiments and field tests on a site in Davis, California were done to quantify the effects of changing the water properties. Additional effects, like the improved soil structure during infiltration and less soil particles in tailwater (reduced erosion due to runoff) were observed and are described in this paper. The conclusions …

On Farm Irrigation - The Shift From Art To Science, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Excellent on-farm irrigation management and design have traditionally been promoted for reasons of improved yields and farm input costs. More recently, external pressures require even more detail to on-farm irrigation. These external pressures include competition for water by urban and environmental interests, plus degradation of aquifers and rivers. As irrigation progresses from an art to a science, new concepts must be adopted. Key points made in the paper relate to flexible water deliveries to farms, improved fertigation practices, the importance of on-farm irrigation evaluations, the use of an Irrigation Consumer Bill of Rights by dealers and farmers, and irrigation system …

Water Level Sensor And Datalogger Testing And Demonstration, A. Burt, Mike Lehmkuhl, Charles M. Burt, Stuart W. Styles

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Electronic water level sensing equipment is becoming increasingly important for the implementation of water conservation programs in irrigation districts. A need has risen for information on costs, advantages/disadvantages, required support equipment, and required maintenance for the various options. ITRC conducted a yearlong study on water level sensors and dataloggers and produced this report.

Improved Proportional-Integral (Pi) Logic For Canal Automation, Charles M. Burt, R S. Mills, Ram Dhan Khalsa, V. C. Ruiz

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Successful implementation of Proportional-Integral (PI) control logic for gate automation on irrigation canals has been problematic because of difficulties in tuning the PI controllers for a wide range of flows. This research shows that successful and relatively simple tuning for upstream controllers can be accomplished if one uses the velocity form of the PI logic. The velocity form must be modified with a newly-developed Universal Factor (UF) concept, which accounts for the nonlinearity of the upstream water level response to gate movement. The UF function is unique for each check structure, and can be determined with a steady state simulation …

Influence Of Canal Geometry And Dynamics On Controllability, Theodor S. Strelkoff, Jean Luc Deltour, Charles M. Burt, Albert J. Clemmens, Jean Pierre Baume

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This paper presents the results of the Task Committee on Canal Automation Algorithms with regard to the influence of canal properties on the controllability of irrigation canals. While the control provided by individual algorithms was not evaluated, studies were performed to illustrate inherent hydraulic limitations—the inability of canal pools to recover rapidly from disturbances or flow perturbations. Studies were performed in nondimensional form to develop a better understanding of how pool properties influence pool response. Three such studies were performed. First, nondimensional backwater curves were developed for a range of canal conditions. The second study involved the propagation of waves …