No description available.

One of the largest problems that face communities located high in the Andres Mountain range is the lack of crop diversity due to the climate characteristics of this zone. Because of this, the Benson Institute created a small subterranean greenhouse called a "panqar-huyu," which in Aymara means "flower garden," that allows cultivation of small and medium-sized crops. This study's objective is to modify and adapt this system to cultivate table (kidney) tomatoes, for which one was enlarged, a drip irrigation system was installed, channels were dug to drain groundwater from the interior, etc. This study was done in the community of La Rinconada. Two varieties of tomato were cultivated in three different soils: sand, scraps, and a mix, becoming thus a hydroponic crop. The goal of this combination is to observe if there are physical, chemical, and organoleptic changes during the crop's development and later the harvested fruit, which will be used to make tomato sauce. At the end of the investigation, it was found that the results were favorable in different aspects: The farmers in this region found a new alternative crop which helps them avoid a loss of capital at harvest time due to climate effects. The daily diet improved, as did the nutrition level, since tomatoes are rich sources of vitamins A, B, and C, malates, and citric acids that are very important in regulating uric acid in the blood. It was demonstrated that cultivating table tomatoes hydroponically in a panqar-huyu did indeed influence the physical, chemical, and organoleptic characteristics of the cultivated varieties.

No description available.

Trickle irrigation is the latest technique to efficiently apply irrigation water to plants. It is selected over other irrigation systems when water is scarce or expensive, the soils are very permeable or cannot be leveled, and crop values are high or require specialized cultural practices. Trickle irrigation is also very popular in commercial landscaping because of its ease for automation. Plant growth is optimized when the soil water content is near field capacity so that adequate water and oxygen are available to the plant root. Thus, the knowledge of moisture movement from a point source is most critical in designing, operating and managing a trickle irrigation system. This knowledge could help improve the irrigation efficiency so that maximum growth and production could be achieved per unit of water. A simple procedure was developed which reasonably predicted the wetted soil volume, lateral movement and vertical movement of water from a point source. The underlying assumptions are that the soil moisture in the wetted profile approximates field capacity and trickle irrigation is defined to exclude large flow rates which would cause excessive ponding and surface runoff or small flow rates which would not increase the soil moisture so it can approach field capacity. Moisture contents in excess of field capacity would be lost to deep percolation because of gravity. This procedure was verified with field tests on a Superstition Fine Sand soil and in the laboratory on a Gadsden Clay soil. The moisture movement in the soil from a trickle source is more a function of the water volume applied than the rate at which it was applied. Higher flow rates can cause greater moisture contents in the soil during the application but the values decrease and approach water contents from lower flow rates if given similar redistribution periods. It is expected that the procedure for predicting wetted soil volume, lateral movement and vertical movement can be used by both designers and managers of trickle irrigation systems. Estimates of the soil moisture contents and volume of water applied are needed. Greater accuracy in predicting the moisture movement can be attained by some simple measurements in the field. The procedure resulting from this study is more advantageous over the mathematical models which require complicated unsaturated hydraulic conductivity functions and high-speed computers to solve them.

A field study was conducted to determine water and salt distribution patterns in a soil irrigated by pairs of double-chamber, perforated polyethylene tubes. The study consisted of two experiments: a water distribution experiment and a salt distribution experiment. Both experiments were conducted at the same site with experimental plots having two perforated lines 9 m long, spaced 0.60 m. The tubing had outer orifices 0.5 mm in diameter spaced 0.30 m along the tubes. The water distribution experiment consisted of water application to the bare soil for periods of time of 3, 6, 9, and 12 hours. After each test a trench was dug normal to the irrigation tubes and samples were taken to determine soil moisture on a dry weight basis. Moisture profiles are presented for the various tests. The salt distribution experiment was conducted in the Fall of 1973 and repeated in the Spring of 1974. It consisted of four irrigation treatments comprising two irrigation levels and two levels of salt in the irrigation water (327 and 2000 milligrams per liter of salts). Experimental plots were planted with lettuce and soil samples taken after planting and after harvesting the lettuce. Soil samples were analyzed for electrical conductivity of the soil saturation extract, pH, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and nitrates. Saturation extract conductivity profiles in the soil are presented for different treatments. After planting and after harvest concentrations of calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, nitrates and pH values are also shown. Seasonal water application and lettuce yields are presented for both trials Water movement in the soil was 2 to 3 times greater in the horizontal than in the vertical direction. Wetted soil volume showed a high positive correlation with both the volume of water applied and with time of application. Salt accumulation occurred mainly at the soil surface between the irrigation tubes and away from the main root zone of the plants. The surface accumulation was followed by a leached zone. There were no significant differences in yield among plots receiving different treatments. Seasonal water application was less than half of the seasonal amount of water normally applied for furrow irrigated lettuce in the Tucson area. It was higher than experimental determinations of seasonal consumptive use for lettuce at Mesa, Arizona. The study indicated that trickle irrigation with water of high salt content is likely to cause a high surface concentration of salts. Application of extra amounts of water by the trickle system, or another method, is recommended to leach the salts to a depth below the crop root zone.

The crop growth rate (CGR); the relative growth rate (RGR); seed yield; plant uptake of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, and Na; and the water use efficiency (WUE) were studied in relation to N fertilizer and water application rate interactions in trickle-irrigated cotton. Increasing water application rate significantly increased CGR, but no significant differences were detected among the RGR values at the various water levels. Nitrogen fertilizer additions significantly increased the CGR. Nitrogen and water applications significantly increased seed yield, however, the effect of the interaction between N and water was not significant. Water levels had a positive significant effect on the cotton reproductive growth. Increased N and water significantly increased total N-uptake by cotton plants. Nitrogen additions significantly increased N% of leaves, burrs and seed. However, N% of stem was significantly reduced with high N applications. Total uptake of P, K, Ca, and Mg significantly increased with the increased application of N and water. Addition of 1.2 consumptive use (Cu) irrigation rate significantly increased P% in cotton stems, however, K% in stem was reduced. The irrigation rate of 0.9 CU and 1.2 CU significantly increased Mg% in both leaves and stems. Nitrogen application rates of 224 and 336 kg N/ha significantly decreased Mg% in leaves and stems. Increasing the irrigation rate from 0.9 CU to 1.2(1.3) CU reduced the WUE by cotton plants. However, WUE appeared to increase as N fertilizer increased up to 33 kg N/ha with water level of 0.9 CU.

No description available.

A tractor mounted three-point hitch implement was developed to extract and collect subsurface trickle irrigation laterals from the soil. Power to the implement was supplied by the tractor hydraulic system to the three-point hitch and two remote hydraulic circuits. In operation, the implement loosened the soil around the lateral, extracted the tubing from the soil, wound it on a reel assembly, and then dropped the roll of tubing at the end of the row. Draft power requirements averaged 14.5 kW (19.4 hp) and hydraulic power averaged 0.56 kW (.75 hp) when the one row implement was operated at 7.2 km/h (4.5 mph). Field capacity of the one row implement averaged 0.19 ha/hr (.47 ac/hr) when operated in 100 m (328 ft) long rows.

No description available.

As perdas localizadas de carga são elementos frequentemente negligenciados em dimensionamento de sistemas de irrigação, afetando a uniformidade de aplicação de água. Algumas peças acessórias não possuem equações que estimem estas perdas de forma simples e eficiente. Este trabalho foi desenvolvido com o objetivo de ajustar uma equação que estime a perda localizada de carga na passagem lateral em conectores. Foram testados 11 modelos de conectores em 12 diferentes diâmetros de tubos formando 15 conjuntos de tubo/conector. Os conectores foram caracterizados quanto aos diâmetros internos e dimensões. A perda localizada de carga foi obtida por diferença entre perda de carga distribuída no tubo mais conector e perda de carga no tubo. Os parâmetros responsáveis pela perda localizada de carga foram organizados em termos adimensionais utilizando o teorema de Buckingham. Um modelo matemático foi desenvolvido e apresentou um coeficiente de determinação de 93,31%. Elementos como diâmetro interno do conector e do tubo, comprimento do conector, velocidade de escoamento da água, número de Reynolds e número de Froude influenciaram na perda localizada de carga nos conectores. O modelo foi comparado com os dados observados e apresentou um desempenho classificado como ótimo, podendo ser empregado no cálculo da perda localizada de carga na passagem lateral em conectores. / Local losses are often neglected in design of irrigation systems affecting the uniformity of water application. Some accessories have no simple and efficient equations to estimate these losses. The main objective of this work was to develop an equation to estimate the local head loss in the lateral passage connectors. 11 models of connectors in 12 different diameters of pipes were tested forming 15 groups of pipe/connector. The connectors were characterized by its internal diameters and dimensions. The local head loss was determined by subtracting the head loss on the connector and pipe from the head loss on the pipe. The parameters affecting the local head loss were defined as dimensionless terms using Buckingham\'s theorem. A mathematical model was developed and presented a determination coefficient of 93.31%. Elements such as inner diameter of the connector and pipe length, connector, water flow velocity, Reynolds number and Froude number influenced the local head loss in the connectors. The model was compared with the observed data and presented a performance classified as excellent and can be used in calculating of the local head loss in the lateral passage connectors.