Optimizing furrow irrigation performance with WinSRFR software through field experiments and simulations in sunflower...

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Engineering
• Irrigation Science
• Water Management

Background:

• Surface irrigation, prevalent in India, suffers from deep percolation and uneven water distribution, limiting its efficiency.
• Sunflower cultivation is a key agricultural practice, yet water use efficiency in its irrigation remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate and optimize furrow irrigation methods for sunflower cultivation in India.
• To enhance water productivity by minimizing deep percolation and improving water distribution uniformity.

Main Methods:

• Utilized WinSRFR simulation software for modeling Continuous Furrow Irrigation (CFI) and Alternate Furrow Irrigation (AFI).
• Calibrated the model using field data on infiltration, advance/recession times, and soil moisture.
• Tested various furrow lengths (45-65 m) and inflow rates (1.0-2.0 lps) across crop growth stages.

Main Results:

• Alternate Furrow Irrigation (AFI) with a 65 m furrow length and 1.0 lps inflow achieved 87% Application Efficiency (AE) and 91% Distribution Uniformity (DU_lq).
• Optimized AFI resulted in only 15% Deep Percolation (DP), significantly lower than CFI (71% AE under optimal conditions).
• Model validation demonstrated high accuracy (R² > 0.93) and robustness across seasons.

Conclusions:

• Alternate Furrow Irrigation (AFI) is a superior method for sunflower cultivation, offering substantial improvements in water use efficiency.
• Simulation-assisted planning with WinSRFR provides practical, scalable recommendations for optimizing furrow irrigation in Indian agriculture.
• Inflow rate and cutoff time are critical parameters for maximizing irrigation performance.