An automatic furrow irrigation system based on soil moisture sensing was installed and tested to assess its field performance. An electronic tensiometer monitored the prevailing soil moisture status and switched on a solenoid valve commencing irrigation. Once irrigation started the instrument kept on monitoring the soil moisture level and when it reached zero tension, it switched off irrigation. The automatic irrigation system was used to irrigate maize (CO 1). Conventional furrow irrigation method was kept as a control. The system performed well and it could save nearly 20% of water compared to conventional furrow irrigation. Grain yield of both the crops were only marginal different. Besides, water use efficiency of automatically irrigated crop (63.14 kg/ha/cm) was considerably higher than of conventional method (51.43 kg/ha/cm).
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Madras
Agricultural Students Union
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
Coimbatore - 641 003
Tamil Nadu, India.
For MAJ related issues :
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Madras
Agricultural Students Union
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
Coimbatore - 641 003
Tamil Nadu, India.
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