Hassan, F., Ahmed, M., Abd-Elmonsef, A. (2021). Development of one row installation machine for subsurface drip irrigation lines and its effects on tomato production. Egyptian Journal of Agricultural Research, 99(1), 77-93. doi: 10.21608/ejar.2021.53520.1057
Fathi I. Hassan; Mohamed I.M. Ahmed; Ahmed A. Abd-Elmonsef. "Development of one row installation machine for subsurface drip irrigation lines and its effects on tomato production". Egyptian Journal of Agricultural Research, 99, 1, 2021, 77-93. doi: 10.21608/ejar.2021.53520.1057
Hassan, F., Ahmed, M., Abd-Elmonsef, A. (2021). 'Development of one row installation machine for subsurface drip irrigation lines and its effects on tomato production', Egyptian Journal of Agricultural Research, 99(1), pp. 77-93. doi: 10.21608/ejar.2021.53520.1057
Hassan, F., Ahmed, M., Abd-Elmonsef, A. Development of one row installation machine for subsurface drip irrigation lines and its effects on tomato production. Egyptian Journal of Agricultural Research, 2021; 99(1): 77-93. doi: 10.21608/ejar.2021.53520.1057
Development of one row installation machine for subsurface drip irrigation lines and its effects on tomato production
1Agriculture Engineering Research Institute, Bioengineering Systems Department, Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt
2Agriculture Engineering Research Institute, Mechanization Systems Department, Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt.
3Agriculture Engineering Research Institute, Irrigation and drainage Department, Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt.
Abstract
This study was conducted to develop a manual steering one row locally fabricated drip lines installation machine, and evaluate its performance rate, efficiency and operating costs compared with manual installing. Also, the effect of deficit irrigation regime (DIR) under burial depth on tomato plant growth performance “plant height, root length, total dry biomass, and total marketable yield”; water use efficiency “WUE & TYWUE”; yield response factor “Ky” and yield depression were investigated. Treatments consisted of three levels of DIR (85; 70 and 55 % ETc) represented by (RI); (RII) and (RIII) respectively, throughout the whole growing season, and three burial depths of subsurface drip T-tape at (5; 15 and 25 cm) represented by (DI); (DII) and (DIII) respectively; compared with the common tomato growing practice by using GR-drip tuber 16 mm installed at the soil surface (D0) with 100 % ETc (R0). The applied treatments were: T1 “control” (R0&D0); T2 (RI&D1); T3 (RI&DII); T4 (RI&DIII); T5 (RII & D1); T6 (RII&DII); T7 (RII&DIII); T8 (RIII&D1); T9 (RIII &DII) and T10 (RIII &DIII). The results showed that, the highest value of depth uniformity index by using the proposed machine and manual method were 10.54 and 2.9 respectively, recorded at burial depth 25 cm. The power consumption of the proposed machine ranged between 2.303 and 1.885 Kw/h recorded during installing the drip lines at the burial depth 25 cm and at the soil surface respectively. As far the tomato plant growth performance, the highest value of plant height, total dry biomass and total marketable yield were (68.83 cm); (3.84 Mg/fed) and (32.88 Mg/fed) respectively recorded with treatment T1(100% ETc & at the soil surface) while the highest value of root length was (11.4 cm) recorded with treatment T7 (70% ETc & burial depth 25 cm ). The water use efficiency “WUE” on the total dry biomass basis ranged between 2.11 and 1.494 Kg/m3 recorded with treatment T6 (70 % ETc & burial depth 15 cm) and T1 respectively, while the corresponding value for water use efficiency “TYWUE” on total yield basis were 17.85 and 12.16 Kg/m3 recorded with treatment T6 and T10 (55% ETc & burial depth 25 cm). The values of “Ky” ranged between (1.0 and 0.11) recorded with treatments T10 and T6. The yield depression ranged between 47.7 and 0.82 % recorded with treatment T10 and T3 (85 % ETc & burial depth 15 cm) respectively. It is recommended to use the proposed machine for installing drip lines to save time, effort and costs, and to ensure its safety and depth regularity. It is also recommended in tomato cultivation to apply treatment T6 “ DIR 70 % ET & burial depth 15 cm”, in which the irrigation rate can be reduced by 30% while obtaining the highest water use efficiency and the least relative yield depression (2.34%).
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