Investigating the Performance Indicators of Sprinkler Irrigation Projects Implemented with Government Subsidies in Malekan Plain

Subject Areas : Farm water management with the aim of improving irrigation management indicators

Fariborz Ahmadzadeh Kaleybar ¹ (Department of Water Sciences and Engineering, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran )
Shahram Shahmohammadi Kalalagh ² (Department of Water Sciences and Engineering,Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz)
Sina Fard moradi nia ³ (Department of Civil Engineering, Tabriz Branch , Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran)

Received: 2024-07-10 Accepted : 2024-08-14 Published : 2024-10-02

Keywords: Sprinkler irrigation, Potential efficiency, Application efficiency, Malekan plain, Uniformity coefficient,

Abstract :

Introduction: Sums of money are spent annually in countries as government subsidies for pressurized irrigation projects. In these circumstances, field evaluation of implemented systems is necessary to reveal weak points and improve their performance. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the performance indicators of classical fixed sprinkler irrigation systems with mobile sprinklers implemented with government subsidies in the Malekan Plain in the northwest of Iran. Seven sprinkler irrigation systems with different conditions in terms of location, crop pattern, implementation year and type and distance of sprinklers were selected. Methods: To evaluate the irrigation systems implemented in Malekan Plain, seven farms equipped with classical fixed sprinkler irrigation systems from the list of projects implemented with government subsidy in East Azerbaijan province were selected with different conditions in terms of location, crop pattern, year of implementation, and the model and layout of sprinklers with areas of 1 to 4.4 hectares. Performance evaluation indices included potential efficiency of lower quartile, actual efficiency of lower quartile, Christiansen uniformity coefficient and distribution uniformity. The Sprinkler irrigation model was performed by the single sprinkler on a lateral tube method, and the experiments were done according to ISO15886-3: 2021 standard. To evaluate the fixed sprinkler irrigation system, 14 cm diameter and 9.5 cm tall catch-cans were arranged in the distance between three risers in a 3x3m square grid. After one and a half hours of sprinkler operation, immediately the volume of water inside the cans was measured and recorded using a graduated cylinder. The measurement of the sprinkler flow rate was measured by volumetrically using a 20-liter graduated carboy, two pieces of hose with slightly larger diameters than the sprinkler nozzles, 2 meters long, and a stopwatch. To record the pressure in the working sprinkler, the riser was installed with a pressure gauge in the next automatic valve, and the pressure was measured instantly. Results: The pressure changes of the irrigation network, which should be less than 20%, are not in the allowed range in any of the farms, although the P3 farm has better conditions with 22% pressure changes. Deviation of the average output flow rate of the sprinklers from the value specified in their catalog also confirms this. In general, high pressure changes indicate that the hydraulic principles in the system design are less respected, the implementation is not correct, or the operation is unfavorable. In this sense, P1 has the worst conditions and P3 has the best conditions. The values of Christiansen's uniformity coefficient and distribution uniformity (CU and DU) in all farms except P1 are lower than the values suggested by Merriam and Keller (0.67 ≤DU ≤ 0.80 and 0.81≤ CU ≤ 0.87). The highest amount of CU and DU is related to P1 with 82.39% and 73.29%, respectively, and the lowest is related to P4 and P7 with 55.43% and 39.70%, respectively. The values of PELQ and AELQ are equal in all fields, which indicates incomplete irrigation of part of the field. The highest value of these indicators is related to P1 with 63.31% and the lowest value is related to P7 with 37.66%. Conclusion: The results of the evaluation of the sprinkler irrigation systems of Malekan Plain, which were implemented with government subsidies, showed that these systems are not in a properly functioning state. The calculations showed that the evaluation values were lower than the recommended values in all systems. The low uniformity of water distribution has led to low irrigation efficiency in some systems along with high deep penetration. Important reasons for reducing the evaluation indices was detected in the three parts of design, implementation and operation includes low pressure of pumps, non-verticality of risers, leakage in valves, use of unauthorized, damaged and worn sprinklers and disobedience of designed Irrigation period and time. Finally, solutions were separately stated to improve the operation of each farm so that they can be used in similar cases.

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