Heated water was cooled rapidly to impact temperatures that produce optimum growth in plants by applying the water with a standard irrigation sprinkler. Maximum cooling was observed nearest the sprinkler, where the smallest droplets were measured, and temperatures and mean diameters generally increased with distance from the source. Impact temperatures of the water droplets approached but did not reach wet bulb temperatures. Water as hot as 50øC was cooled to droplet temperatures of 25øC or less when the sprinklers were operated in an associated arid climate and at line pressures greater than 25 psi. A theoretical treatment correlated well with one selected set of experimental data and with predicted cooling rates for specified droplets in several typical atmospheric conditions and one untypical condition for an arid climate. Only under the condition of high relative humidity at a given ambient temperature does it appear that cooling might be insufficient to produce usable sprinkler water from 50øC supply water for crop production.
IATTRODUCTIOl•Large quantities of heated water from steampowered electric generators and other industries are added to water systems of the biosphere [Cadwallader, 1964]. Increased water temperatures are generally undesirable, and they impair the biological quality of aquatic systems [Odum, 1959]. Alternatives to direct return of heated water would benefit the quality of rivers or lakes used for such industrial purposes. One such alternative is to use this water for irrigating agricultural fields.Relatively little work has been done to identify the potential effects of using warmed water for crop irrigation IRahey and Mihara, 1967]. Schultz [1964], Hilgeman e• al. [1964], Wheaton [1964], and Pogrell and Kidder [1960] reported beneficial effects of water in frost• protection. Soil warming by early spring watering was shown to stimulate early plant growth [Bodine, 1917; Ehrler and Bernstein, 1958]. Hot water treatment to control soil organisms has also been reported [Baker, 1962; Maggenti, 1962; Langridge, 1963]. Plant tolerance to temperature varies with species, but in most crop plants yields decline at root temperatures of about 30øC and death occurs when temperatures rise above 38 ø [Mil-let, 1938]. Friend et al. [1962a, 1962b, 1964] studied temperature response in wheat and found that 30øC gave the optimum growth rate but that over the entire growth period the relative growth rate was greatest at 25øC. Thus, where source water exceeds tolerable temperatures, some means of cooling will be required to assure successful usage for crop growth.This study was undertaken to measure the extent of temperature reduction attainable by use of a standard sprinkler and to identify the role of specific environmental and operating factors in affecting the rate of cooling.
METI-IODS ,• Experimental. A standard irrigation sprinkler (Rainbird •p35) with a 3•9-mm-diameter nOZZle was placed in a pipe riser at a height of I meter above the ground. Water temperatures and pressures were measured with appro...