PREDICTING WATER LOSSES (RUNOFF) UNDER MOVING SPRINKLER IRRIGATION USING THE EUROPEAN SOIL EROSION MODEL (EUROSEM)

Moving sprinkler irrigation systems such as centre pivots and rain guns can have excessively high water application rates and are prone to water losses due to runoff problems. This is exacerbated by the trend to low pressure operation, for the reason of saving energy, which adds to the problem. Runoff problems are traditionally dealt with in the field either by adjusting the irrigation system or the cultivation practices. This paper describes a more fundamentally based approach to predict runoff from moving sprinkler irrigation. A well known runoff-erosion model called EUROSEM is used to predict runoff from both plane and ridge and furrow cultivation and is validated by field experiments.

Keywords:

: EUROSEM , moving sprinkler , plane , ridge and furrow , runoff