Design and Testing of Device for Measuring the Longitudinal Uniformity of Reel Hose Irrigation Machine

Abstract

During the cultivation of crops, irrigation is included in necessary working operations like tillage, fertilization and sowing. For irrigation, we require the highest quality of work. Therefore, in this contribution, we focused on monitoring the quality of work of a hose reel irrigation machine. For determining the longitudinal uniformity of winding a hose on a reel, the development of a digital device was necessary. During the development, we had to design its two basic parts-the hardware and software. After construction of the device, its function was tested directly in working conditions of the particular reel hose irrigation machine. The results of our developed device were compared with the results of the Ecostar 4000 (Bauer, Austria) microcomputer, both with the same hose winding speed. On the microcomputer, we set the hose winding speed to +2.1 m*h-1. The average measured value of speed using the first device Speedmeter SM1 (2000, KSVS) was 11.7 m*h-1. The difference between the set and measured speed was 0.4 m*h-1 (absolute error of measurement, the relative error of measurement was 3.42 %). In the second case, the measurement was performed using a more modern device-Speedmeter SM2, which allows saving of results into its internal memory (2012, KSVS). The average measured value of winding speed was 12.26 m*h-1 , which represents the relative error of measurement 2.77 % compared to the set value of 12.6 m*h-1. Based on the results obtained, we recommend the maintenance of the irrigation machine.

Evaluation of the Quality of Irrigation Machinery by Monitoring Changes in the Coefficients of Uniformity and Non-Uniformity of Irrigation

“…It was also suggested that the research should be further examined if the overall runoff in such a method was used, and which sprinkler pattern has the most potential runoff that is connected to the intermittency movement of the center pivot. The coefficient of irrigation uniformity of irrigation equipment has a direct effect on the efficiency of application and crop yield [7,[18][19][20]. Deployment of irrigation technology working on the principle of irrigation by sprinklers is an effective technology in compliance with technical and operational parameters and ensures further increases in productivity, decreases in manual labor and increased water savings, water protection and crop quality improvement [15,21].…”

Application and Evaluation of Performance Quality of Hose-Reel Irrigation Machine

“…On the other hand, irrigation uniformity guarantees appropriate moisture conditions for the crop (Látečka, 2000). Several indicators are used to assess the performance quality, ranging from visual inspection to evaluation through methodologies and standards (Jobbágy et al, 2013;Topak et al, 2005). In case of application of any of the methodologies utilized in this paper, irrigation dose was obtained from precipitation vessels (Topak et al, 2005;Jobbágy et al, 2013).…”

“…Several indicators are used to assess the performance quality, ranging from visual inspection to evaluation through methodologies and standards (Jobbágy et al, 2013;Topak et al, 2005). In case of application of any of the methodologies utilized in this paper, irrigation dose was obtained from precipitation vessels (Topak et al, 2005;Jobbágy et al, 2013). According to Tomášik and Jobbágy (2013), Christiansen's spray uniformity coefficient below 84% of the set value indicates a low quality performance.…”

“…In addition to the uniformity of the moisture distribution, the resulting quality of the irrigation technique also affects the crop yield (Li and Rao, 2000;Dechmi et al, 2003b;Jobbágy et al, 2013). Standard of performance quality assessed by the spray uniformity coefficient should exceed 90%.…”