Components for an Advance Rate Feedback Irrigation System (Arhs)

ABSTRACTA real-time automated system for surface irrigation is described. The system, an experimental advance rate feedback irrigation system (ARFIS), is composed of four main sub-systems. These are: an intelligent system, a water sensing system, a flow control system, and a telemetry system. ARFIS automatically senses the advance of water at two known distances down the field. The rate-of-advance data are used to determine infiltration characteristics for the field. The predicted infiltration function is then used to manage the remainder of the irrigation event. An appropriate total time of application and a cutback flow regime are calculated and used to achieve a desired net average infiltration depth for the irrigation event. In this article, the ARFIS concept and its four system components are described. Also, a cost analysis for a typical Texas irrigation scenario is presented. The annual net return for an eleven-furrow ARFIS setup over a conventional furrow system was $37/ha for an infrared telemetry system and $12/ha for a radio telemetry system