Evaluation of Evaporation and Wind drift Losses at Day and Night Sprinkler Irrigation

Water is wasted during the storage, distribution and application in the field. In sprinkler irrigation systems Wind Drift and Evaporation Losses (WDEL) are known as the main part of losses due to the impact of climate variables on the droplets dispersed in the air. In arid and semi-arid and windy regions WDEL is high and lead to reduce the efficiency and performance of the sprinkler system. This study investigated the WDEL on classic sprinkler irrigation system in Dehgolan plain located in Kurdistan province. The experiments were done with three replications at the University Research Farm of Kurdistan in the Sarab village using the two sprinklers VYR-35 (3.96×2.38mm) and ZK30 (8×3.6mm) sprinklers with two riser heights (1 and 1.5 meters) at day and night irrigation times. Results showed that riser height, day and night irrigation and interaction between riser height and irrigation time had a significant effect on WDEL. So that, WDEL percent was 22.53 % and 6.94% for day and night irrigation, respectively. According to these results, nightly irrigation will help to improve irrigation efficiency. Also based on the results in the same conditions, riser height should be 1 meter.