Modelling of wetting patterns for surface drip irrigation in dense clay soil

Abstract

The proportion of agricultural water consumption is continuously decreasing due to increased competition for water resources by urban, industrial, and agricultural users. Drip irrigation is more efficient in terms of water and energy utilization. These considerations are critical in view of the ongoing struggle for water resources among various consumers due to water scarcity. Some of the most critical criteria in the effective design and maintenance of drip irrigation systems are the shape and size of the volume of wet soil beneath the emitter. Hence several statistical models were constructed in this research to estimate the dimensions of wetting patterns, which are critical for designing an optimal drip irrigation system. The Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), coefficient of correlation (CC), and root mean square error (RMSE) criteria were used to assess the models' performance. The results showed that the Polynomial model was the most accurate for horizontal advance, with 0.94, 0.93, and 1.33 (cm) values for CC, NSE, and RMSE, respectively. For vertical advance, the logarithmic model showed 0.96, 0.96, and 0.72 (cm) values for CC, NSE, and RMSE. Thus, in the absence of a wetting pattern and under identical conditions, these models can be utilized to generate synthetic horizontal and vertical advances data.