Sandy Loam Soil Wetting Patterns of Drip Irrigation: a Comparison of Point and Line Sources

Two drip infiltration conditions were compared (point source and line source) in a sandy loam soil field trial designed to study on dynamic of saturated zone radius, radial and vertical wetted distance. In total, six single-dripper treatments and four multi-dripper treatments which uniformly spaced 28 cm under linear arrangement were conducted. Different application rates were obtained by changing the height differential between the Mariotte tube and the outlet. The width of the surface wetting pattern and vertical wetted depth was measured by tape measure and soil drill, respectively. The results showed that there was positive linear correlation between saturated zone radius and application rate. The relationship between both the radial and vertical wetted distance and drip irrigation time can be described by a power function, respectively. The line source infiltration condition was formed after 1 hour irrigation time under multi-dripper irrigation, after that, the vertical wetted depth was significantly greater than point source (single-dripper). (c) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Society for Resources, Environment and Engineering