Fertigation techniques for use with multiple hydrozones in simultaneous operation |
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| Authors: | Robert W Coates Pramod K Sahoo Lawrence J Schwankl Michael J Delwiche |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA;(2) Division of Agricultural Engineering, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012, India;(3) Kearney Agricultural Center, University of California, 9240 S. Riverbend Avenue, Parlier, CA 93648, USA; |
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| Abstract: | Site-specific delivery of fertilizer is a useful tool to address differences in crop need. Modern systems with wirelessly
networked sensors and valves allow multiple hydrozones to be created more easily than traditional wired systems. This allows
irrigation and fertigation rates to be varied across small portions of a field. However, fertigation to multiple hydrozones
with different fertilizer requirements may be complex if each zone cannot be fertigated in an independent set. Instead, it
might be necessary to operate several fertigation zones simultaneously. This raises a concern over the ability to deliver
fertilizer uniformly within each zone. Four fertigation strategies were tested. The conventional method was to fertigate multiple
hydrozones at different times. Three site-specific strategies were considered, involving overlapping fertigation phases in
multiple hydrozones. Fertilizer distribution uniformity tests were conducted with a 64-emitter drip line to determine which
strategy gave the most uniform distribution of fertilizer within a hydrozone. All fertigation techniques performed well, with
fertilizer distribution uniformities between 0.88 and 0.96. Selection of the optimum site-specific fertigation strategy will
depend on crop needs, scheduling limitations, and system design parameters such as emitter type, fluid travel time, and slope.
Similar to conventional fertigation, the main factor in fertilizer distribution uniformity for this study was drip emitter
variability. In the presence of sloped terrain, the site-specific control strategy that involved a delay between fertilizer
injection and flushing had the least uniform fertilizer application. |
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