Summary
A study was conducted to determine the possibility of using a single point source sprinkler to provide data for irrigation production functions. Four sprinklers were tested with irrigation initiated by soil water sensors at 15, 35, 60 and 120 kPa of matric suction. Irrigation was automatically applied using a control system. The results show that it was feasible to use a single sprinkler system controlled by soil-water sensors for establishing irrigation production for a given site and time. For the conditions of this experiment, initiating irrigation when the soil dried to 35 kPa at 45 cm depth gave a complete range of irrigation from dry to excessive and produced all of the data needed for a production function. The choice of set-points used to turn irrigation on was quite sensitive. A lower value of matric suction for the set point caused too much irrigation with little additional information. A higher value of matric suction gave good information for low to maximum yield but did not cause excessive irrigation. Further testing may be needed for other site conditions but we believe the general principles of this method will function satisfactorily.
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Or, D., Hanks, R.J. A single point source for the measurement of irrigation production functions. Irrig Sci 13, 55–64 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00193981
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00193981