Effect of the application of potassium chloride, soil particles and soluble iron in the discharge of drippers

Abstract

Since clogging of emitters is directly related to the quality of irrigation water, current assay quantifies possible discharge disorders in drips to which potassium chloride (white and red), soluble iron, suspended solids (soil particles) and water with organic matter (phytoplankton and algae) were applied. Assay was conducted at the Irrigation Laboratory of the Department of Biosystem Engineering of the Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz"-ESALQ/USP, and analyzed the performance of 21 drip tubes models, with four treatments and ten replications. Each replication was represented by a dripper. The addition of red potassium chloride and water with organic matter did not cause greater clogging rates. Model C7 had the best performance among the conventional models. C5 and C6 were the conventional models most prone to clogging, with high clogging rates. Model A9 had the best performance, whereas model A4 the highest clogging trend.