effects of pulsed drip irrigation on soil moisture distribution under water stress conditions

The proper design and management of drip irrigation systems requires knowledge of the precise distribution of water and nutrients in the crop root zone. in order to matching the soil moisture distribution pattern with the crop root zone, some researchers suggest the use of a new concept as pulsed drip irrigation. the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of pulse technique used under deficit irrigation regimes on the soil moisture distribution. the treatments consist of three water application rates (100%, 80% and 60% of actual water requirement) and two types of applying water, pulse and continuous drip irrigation. to monitor the soil moisture distribution, two profile probe’s access tubes were installed to a depth of 100 cm at 0, 15 cm lateral distance from the dripper lines. profile probe readings were recorded 8 hours after each irrigation events. the results showed the advantage of pulse flow, for reducing the deep percolation of water under the crop root zone, while obtaining a wide horizontal spread of soil wetting pattern. also, results indicated that using pulsed drip irrigation in water stress condition can improve soil moisture distribution in the crop root zone.