Comparison of two lateral move irrigation machines commonly used in Turkey in respect of water uniformity coefficient

Abstract

Aims: The purpose of this paper is to define some criteria such asuniformity coefficient, features of machines, which is used commonly inThrace region for field crops to be used in system design. In this study, thewater distribution tests were performed standards and the Christiansen’suniformity coefficient (CU) was determined in order to control theuniformity of the water distribution throughout the wings.Methods and Results: Within the scope of the test, 6 mm nozzle diameter,30, 40, and 50 m h-1 operating speed were used. The wind velocity andprevailing direction is the factor that causes negative influence on waterapplication. Therefore, they were taken into consideration the windvelocity from 0.5 m s-1to 2 m s-1. The performance test was applied on twodifferent types of irrigation movement machines that have different winglengths, where 11 and 17 collectors were placed on the left and the rightside of the wings. The amount of water collected in the collectors wasmeasured and CU was calculated. As a result, water uniformity coefficientsvalues were varied between 74.72-86.50%.Conclusions: It is advantageous that the wing height and length of one ofthe machines can be adjustable, it is advantageous that the flow and speedcontrol of the other one's can be done with electronic panel. So, thesemachines should be tested and developed by crop cultivation.Significance and Impact of the Study: The importance of the study is toimprove the system performance, to ensure uniform water distribution onthe field surface, to improve the water application efficiency and todevelop recommendations for machine manufacturers and users inparallel to increase production capacity.