Drip Irrigation Scheduling Using Hydrus 2‐D Numerical Model Application for Strawberry Production in South‐West Spain

Abstract

Estimation of the optimum irrigation pulse duration and frequency is critical for any crop, and especially important in the typical sandy soil existing in the strawberry production area in south‐west Spain. Irrigation scheduling has been carried out using the numerical model Hydrus‐2D. The model has been calibrated with data from a soil tank experiment carried out in the laboratory. The optimum pulse duration has been estimated in three different crop stages, and has been compared with the irrigation scheduling recorded in the field, estimating the potential water saving in strawberry production in Huelva. The optimum irrigation pulse duration starts with an irrigation time of 10 min that should be increased until a maximum of 1 h, divided into several pulses. Applying rop water needs in several shorter pulses is a strategy highly recommended especially in the typical sandy soil, with very low water retention capacity. It has been shown that current management is disproportionate, maintaining the moisture content out of reach of the roots. Therefore, it is advisable to check the current irrigation management, so that the irrigation matches crop water requirements, maintaining sufficient moisture within the upper 30–40 cm of soil, avoiding water losses by percolation and groundwater pollution. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Trends and Challenges in Irrigation Scheduling in the Semi-Arid Area of Spain

“…In sandy soils, with a low water retention capacity, spatiotemporal hydraulic characterization is crucial [57,58]. As an example of watering difficulties in sandy soils, in a two-season study of irrigated potato cultivated in a sandy soil in USA, soil water storage and deep drainage at several zones across the farm were evaluated [57], detecting a significant spatiotemporal variability in soil water storage and temporal differences on deep drainage.…”

“…As an example of watering difficulties in sandy soils, in a two-season study of irrigated potato cultivated in a sandy soil in USA, soil water storage and deep drainage at several zones across the farm were evaluated [57], detecting a significant spatiotemporal variability in soil water storage and temporal differences on deep drainage. To reduce deep drainage, soil water movement models like Hydrus 2-D were used to set the optimum duration of irrigation pulses in strawberries cultivated in extremely sandy soils in Spain, for each crop development stage [58].…”

Parameterization of Soil Hydraulic Parameters for HYDRUS-3D Simulation of Soil Water Dynamics in a Drip-Irrigated Orchard

“…Given the stability of the HYDRUS model, this software can be used to investigate the distribution of soil water and its movement under the surface and subsurface of drip irrigation systems [18][19][20][21]. It can also be used to design and evaluate the management of different irrigation systems, soils and crops [22][23][24]. To simulate an orchard, it is more interesting to use HYDRUS-3D than HYDRUS-2D because it simultaneously solves transport problems on all three axes and provides more realistic calculations of soil water distribution around the dripper.…”

Water budgeting in conservation agriculture-based sub-surface drip irrigation in tropical maize using HYDRUS-2D in South Asia

“…In earlier studies, a good agreement between observed and simulated values for SWB components had been reported 7 , 23 , 24 . Previous research based evidences showed that under drip irrigation, Hydrus-2D was successfully calibrated and validated for SWB 25 , 26 , crop root water uptake 27 , 28 , soil wetting pattern 29 , 30 , irrigation scheduling 31 , 32 and to evaluate the nutrient transport and distribution pattern 33 , 34 . Aggarwal et al 23 compared the SWB in the scenario of CA and CT and found a very good agreement between observed and simulated values.…”