Evaluation of flooding and smart drip irrigation methods on groundwater fluctuations in a physical model

Since an annual share of 70 to 90 percent of the water resources are allocated to the agricultural sector, by using appropriate irrigation methods, it is possible to prevent hydrologic unbalance in addition to optimizing water consumption. The main aims of this study is to investigate the effect of two different irrigation methods on water table fluctuation. For this purpose, two laboratory models with a height of two meters and a cross sectional area of ​​4000  were established. After selecting the plant (Lettuce), flooding method was applied in the first model and a smart drip method was used for irrigation in the second. Smart drip irrigation was applied using a solenoid and a humidity gauge so that when the soil was in less than 30% saturation irrigation was started and automatically disconnected in more than 80% saturation. The water infiltration was monitored in the models by a humidity sensor and simulated using HYDRUS/2D. In a period of four-months, the level of groundwater in the dripping irrigation system model was 10 centimeter higher and water consumption was 68% lower. These results indicated that by replacing smart drip irrigation instead of flooding, products with the same quality could be gained by using less water, which would prevent lowering of the water table in the aquifer.