Point Estimation of Infiltration in Surge Irrigation Using Surge Infiltrometer Method

 In recent years, to increase the efficiency of surface irrigation methods, new techniques such as surge irrigation have been developed. Numerous studies have shown that the surge flow can reduce water consumption in the advance phase and subsequently improve irrigation efficiency and water distribution uniformity. One of the factors affecting the performance of surface irrigation systems is the accurate estimation of infiltration. Due to continuous changes in the infiltration process during on-off cycles in surge irrigation, determining the empirical equation of infiltration in surge irrigation method is complex and requires time-consuming and costly field data. As a result, proper selection and parameterization of empirical equations with a simplified procedure are needed. The goal of this research was the field evaluation of the point method (surge infiltrometer) to simulate the infiltration process in advance phase surges.      A field experiment was conducted at the experimental station of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran. A ring infiltrometer was modified by connecting a pipe arm for inward and outward water flow to the ring and from the ring to the pipe to create on-off surge cycles, respectively. Water entered the ring through the inlet hole at the top of the pipe arm and water depth was recorded at different time intervals during the on-time of each cycle. Four treatments were performed for infiltration tests under surge flow, including different cycle time and ratio. Also, infiltration tests were performed under continuous flow conditions. To simulate the first (dry soil) and second irrigation conditions, infiltration experiments were conducted twice on an 8-day interval. The Kostiakov infiltration equation was corrected by applying surge factors to predict infiltration water depth for subsequent surges, using first surge data. The empirical coefficients of the Kostiakov equation were calculated by applying the two-point technique.   Results of the study revealed that the infiltration data simulated by the developed Kostiakov equation matched closely with those collected from the surge-ring infiltrometer. The coefficient of determination and the root mean square error were calculated to be 0.92 to 0.97 and 0.03 to 0.16 cm, respectively. In general, the amount of cumulative infiltration in the second and subsequent surges decreased. The ratio of the infiltration depth at the end of the second to the first surge was less than 0.5. In all experiments, the depth of water infiltrated in the third surge was significantly reduced and almost reached to the final infiltration rate. As the cycle ratio increased, the cumulative infiltration also increased. However, the effect of on-off time on the infiltrated water depth in the first experiment was greater than that in the second experiment. It was concluded that in the first experiments, the surging phenomena substantially reduced water movement and the reduction in cumulative infiltration ranged from 50 to 70% during the second surge and from 59 to 85% during the third surge. The above values were determined 52 to 76% and 61 to 88% for the second experiment, respectively. A significant difference was observed between surge and continuous flow tests. The surge flow led to a 46 to 76% reduction in the cumulative infiltration depth compared to the continuous flow. The effect of surge flow was greater in the first experiments.  One of the most important points in designing surface irrigation systems is to determine the infiltration equation parameters. In particular, the difficulty involved in the planning and design of surge irrigation systems is the prior knowledge and understanding of how infiltration changes occur during surging. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the surge ring infiltrometer test to predict the infiltration in the second and third surges using the first surge data. The results obtained from the surge infiltrometer experiments showed that the use of surge irrigation has the potential to reduce infiltration. The observed and predicted cumulative infiltration for the second and third surges showed a good agreement. The surge-ring infiltrometer has the potential for creating an on-off mechanism and is best suited to determine the cumulative infiltration from surges for constant on-off time surge intervals.