Performance Evaluation of an Innovative Self-Compensating Gated Pipe System for Furrow Irrigation: Preliminary Results

An innovative self-compensating gated pipe system equipped with calibrated nozzles was developed in the framework of the EU project MADFORWATER no. (H2020-E.3.5.4 GA ID: 688320) to improve the performance of furrow irrigation method. The experiment was conducted in CIHEAM-Bari experimental field (Italy) on bare soil. The following performance indicators were assessed: duration of the irrigation event (IT), application efficiency (AE), distribution uniformity (DU), in addition to the volume of drainage water accumulated downstream and compared with traditional furrow irrigation. Preliminary results showed that IT decreased by one third (from 45 minutes to 30 minutes), AE and DU increased by 17% and 20% respectively. In addition, the volume of drainage water decreased by around 50%, which may positively impact the environment, especially in those countries such as Egypt where, during peak periods, drainage water is reused for irrigation. This new technique provides a cost-effective alternative to traditional surface irrigation methods with no requirement for additional energy consumption requirements for pumping drainage water into the upstream irrigation canals. Additional field tests will be carried out in different environmental contexts and on cropped areas to confirm the above reported preliminary results.