Increasing Crop Productivity in an Eco‐Friendly Manner by Improving Sprinkler and Micro‐Irrigation Design and Management: A Review of 20 Years' Research at the IWHR, China

Abstract

The use of sprinkler and micro‐irrigation has progressed continuously from being a novelty that was employed by researchers to being widely accepted, efficient methods of irrigation for many crops during the past 30–40 years in China. This paper reviews the studies that have been conducted on sprinkler and micro‐irrigation at the WatSave Lab in the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR) over the past two decades. These studies address several areas of concern and provide partial answers to the questions raised during the application and extension of these relatively new irrigation technologies. With the aim of exploring the consumption of sprinkled water that is intercepted by the canopy, the amount of water interception and the losses were quantified, confirming that sprinkler irrigation is an efficient irrigation method. The standards of sprinkler and micro‐irrigation uniformity were studied with respect to many aspects of water and solute dynamics, environmental effects, and crop yield and quality under a wide range of environments from arid to subhumid climates for typical wheat, cotton, maize and vegetable crops. As a result, new target uniformity values have been recommended. Other studies on water, solute and bacterial transport from normal water and sewage effluent can also be useful in the design, operation, maintenance and management of irrigation systems. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Agronomic Basis and Strategies for Precision Water Management: A Review

“…to apply in the field [35]. At present, there are several irrigation technologies for conservation irrigation, such as sprinkler, drip, and other micro-irrigation systems but limited site-specific studies have been done [30,[36][37][38]. For example, a study of the variable-rate drip irrigation system on vineyard found up to 17% increase in yield and a 20% decrease in water consumption compared to uniform irrigation [39].…”

“…A review for site-specific sprinkler irrigation [29] focused on the technology and challenges for adoption. Another review of 20 years' research on increasing crop productivity with sprinkler and micro-irrigation discussed the importance of understanding the crop response to VRI [30]. The study emphasized the need for continuous effort towards management zone delineation based on field properties integrated with dynamic information from real-time monitoring of climatological and crop data.…”

Deficit irrigation effectively reduces soil carbon dioxide emissions from wheat fields in Northwest China

“…At present, several water‐saving irrigation technologies have made good progress and have been popularized in northwest China. These include deficit irrigation, drip irrigation, sprinkler irrigation, and film‐mulched irrigation . Deficit irrigation may be the appropriate choice to reduce irrigation water amounts and improve crop water efficiency .…”

Development in sprinkler irrigation technology in China*

“…A control unit designed with radio frequency identification technology (known as the geo‐recognizer) was used to identify particular spots to achieve different irrigation zones, functioning similarly to a global positioning system (GPS) unit. The system can apply VRI in both the radial and circumferential directions of the centre pivot irrigation systems by changing the pivot rotation speed and duty cycle of the solenoid valve (Li, 2018a).…”