Proper droplet diameter and kinetic energy can effectively reduce the risk of soil erosion during low-pressure sprinkler irrigation. In this study, we comprehensively evaluated the radial distributions of droplet diameter, velocity, kinetic energy, kinetic energy per unit droplet volume, and specific power for three common low-pressure sprinklers, i.e. Nelson D3000, R3000 and Komet KPT, with two operating pressures (103 and 138 kPa) and three nozzle outlet diameters (3.97, 5.95 and 7.94 mm). Additionally, the relationships between these droplet characteristic parameters were analysed. Overall, the maximum values of five characteristic parameters were observed at the end of the jet under various treatments. Although R3000 had a larger droplet diameter (0.10-6.42 mm) and kinetic energy (1.08 Â 10 À10 -8.59 Â 10 À3 J) distribution range than D3000 and KPT, the D3000 specific power (mean value of 0.4274 W m À2 ) was the highest of the three sprinklers. Therefore, KPT was suggested more in low-pressure sprinkler irrigation than in the other two sprinklers because its application rates were reduced along the radial direction. In addition to selecting a suitable sprinkler type for minimizing specific power, determining a reasonable sprinkler spacing was also significant (P < 0.01). Furthermore, a universal specific power model with an appropriate accuracy (RMSE = 0.011 W m À2 , NRMSE = 29%) was proposed. This study provides a key basis for the selection and combination of low-pressure sprinklers.droplet diameter, kinetic energy, low-pressure sprinklers, specific power, universal model Résumé Un diamètre de gouttelettes et une énergie cinétique appropriés peuvent réduire efficacement le risque dérosion des sols lors de l'irrigation par aspersion à basse pression. Dans cette étude, nous avons évalué de façon complète les distributions radiales du diamètre des gouttelettes, de la vitesse, de l'énergie cinétique, de l'énergie cinétique par unité de volume des gouttelettes, et de la puissance spécifique pour trois sprinklers courants à basse pression, à savoir Nelson D3000, R3000 et Komet KPT, avec deux pressions de fonctionnement (103 et 138 kPa) et trois diamètres de sortie de la buse (3,97, 5.95 et 7.94 mm). De plus, Article title in French: Evaluation et modélisation complètes des diamètres de gouttelettes et des énergies cinétiques des sprinklers basse pression.

Droplet shear stress is considered as an important indicator that reflects soil erosion in sprinkler irrigation more accurately than kinetic energy, and the effect of droplet impact angle on the shear stress cannot be ignored. In this study, radial distribution of droplet impact angles, velocities, and shear stresses were investigated using a two-dimensional video disdrometer with three types of low-pressure sprinkler (Nelson D3000, R3000, and Komet KPT) under two operating pressures (103 and 138 kPa) and three nozzle diameters (3.97, 5.95, and 7.94 mm). Furthermore, the relationships among these characteristical parameters of droplet were analyzed, and their influencing factors were comprehensively evaluated. For various types of sprinkler, operating pressures, and nozzle diameters, the smaller impact angles and larger velocities of droplets were found to occur closer to the sprinkler, resulting in relatively low droplet shear stresses. The increase in distance from the sprinkler caused the droplet impact angle to decrease and velocity to increase, which contributed to a significant increase in the shear stress that reached the peak value at the end of the jet. Therefore, the end of the jet was the most prone to soil erosion in the radial direction, and the soil erosion in sprinkler irrigation could not only be attributed to the droplet kinetic energy, but also needed to be combined with the analysis of its shear stress. Through comparing the radial distributions of average droplet shear stresses among the three types of sprinklers, D3000 exhibited the largest value (26.94-3313.51 N/m 2 ), followed by R3000 (33.34-2650.80 N/m 2 ), and KPT (16.15-2485.69 N/m 2 ). From the perspective of minimizing the risk of soil erosion, KPT sprinkler was more suitable for low-pressure sprinkler irrigation than D3000 and R3000 sprinklers. In addition to selecting the appropriate sprinkler type to reduce the droplet shear stress, a suitable sprinkler spacing could also provide acceptable results, because the distance from the sprinkler exhibited a highly significant (P<0.01) effect on the shear stress. This study results provide a new reference for the design of low-pressure sprinkler irrigation system.

No abstract

The dry-hot wind climate is one of the major agro-meteorological disasters associated with high temperature, low humidity, and specific wind forces, which seriously affects the yield of wheat in the North China Plain. A field experiment was conducted to investigate the field microclimate, net photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll content of flag leaves, grain filling rate, and wheat yield after sprinkler misting under the condition of a dry-hot wind climate in the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Two travel speeds, full and half speed, and the corresponding irrigation amounts of 2.5 and 5 mm were used by a center pivot irrigation system during dry-hot wind conditions. A treatment without irrigation was applied as a control. The results showed that the air temperature and relative air humidity were greatly improved within 60 min after irrigation, especially in the upper part of the canopy. The net photosynthetic rate of flag leaves under 5 mm irrigation was higher than that under 2.5 mm irrigation during the middle and late grain filling periods. The adverse effects of dry-hot wind on the chlorophyll content of the flag leaves were mainly concentrated in the late grain filling stage. In the two years of the experiment, the average 1000-grain weights of 5 and 2.5 mm of irrigation treatments were 4.3 and 2.8% higher, and the grain yields were 5.8 and 3.3% higher, respectively, than those of the non-irrigated yields. Overall, applying a small amount of water between 12:00–14:00 with a center pivot before the occurrence of dry-hot wind is an effective means to regulate the field microclimate and produce more yield in the North China Plain.

High efficient nitrogen (N) application method and proper N management strategies can further reduce the losses and enhance N use efficiency. Field experiments were conducted in the 2015–2016 and 2016–2017 growing seasons to evaluate the effects of four fertigation frequencies treatments (FT-1: all the topdressing N was applied at the jointing stage; FT-2: 67% and 33% of the topdressing N was applied at the jointing and filling stages; FT-3: 33%, 50% and 17% of the topdressing N was applied at the regreening, jointing and filling stages; FT-4: 33%, 33%, 17% and 17% of the topdressing N were applied at the regreening, jointing, anthesis and filling stages) on wheat yield, water use efficiency (WUE), partial productivity of N fertilizer (PFPN) and N harvest index (NHI). In addition, one-time topdressing by surface broadcasting at the jointing stage was set up as a control (BC-1). The results showed that FT-3 and FT-4 supplied sufficient NO3−-N in the 0–40 cm soil layer, which reduced the risk of soil NO3−-N leaching to the deeper layers. FT-4 had the highest grain yield, WUE, PFPN and NHI, with average values of 9153.4 kg ha−1, 2.1 kg m−3, 0.74 kg kg−1 and 31.3 kg kg−1, respectively, followed by these values corresponding to the FT-3 in two years. These findings suggest that topdressing N split with 3–4 times, that is to say applying approximately 16.7% of topdressing N in anthesis and filling stages, respectively by the center pivot fertigation method can significantly improve yield, WUE, PFPN and NHI.