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Proper irrigation management, especially for tomatoes that are sensitive to water, is the key to ensuring sustainable tomato production. Using a low-cost sensor coupled with IoT technology could help to achieve precise control of the moisture content in the plant root-zone soil and apply water on demand with minimum human intervention. An IoT-based precision irrigation system was developed for growing Momotaro tomato seedlings inside a dark chamber. Four irrigation thresholds, 5%, 8%, 12%, and 15%, and two irrigation systems, surface and subsurface drip irrigation, were compared to assess which threshold and irrigation system referred the ideal tomato seedling growth. As a result, the 12% soil moisture threshold applied through the subsurface drip irrigation system significantly (p < 0.05) increased tomato seedling growth in soil composed of a main blend of peat moss, vermiculite, and perlite. Furthermore, in two repeated experiments, a subsurface drip irrigation system with 0.86 distribution uniformity used 10% less water than the surface drip irrigation system. The produced tomato seedlings were transplanted to open fields for further assessment. A low-power wide area networking Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) protocol was developed with remote monitoring and controlling capability for irrigation management. Two irrigation systems, including surface and subsurface drip irrigations, were used to compare which system resulted in higher tomato yields. The results showed that the subsurface drip irrigation system with 0.74 distribution uniformity produced 1243 g/plant, while each plant produced 1061 g in the surface drip irrigation system treatment. The results also indicated that the LoRaWAN-based subsurface drip irrigation system was suitable under outdoor conditions with easy operation and robust controlling capability for tomato production.

A field experiment was carried out to assess the effect of different irrigation systems, which included surface drip irrigation, sub-surface drip irrigation, surface irrigation in basins and cover crop on water productivity, growth and yield of maize in a silty clay loam soil in the Nile sub-district of  Babil Governorate, in the fall season 2020. The experiment was designed using the split plot arrangement according to a complete randomized block design (RCBD) with three replications. The experiment treatments included two factors: cover crop (C) includes cover crop (C1) and without the cover crop (C0), and irrigation systems (I): includes surface drip irrigation (I1) subsurface drip irrigation (I2) and surface irrigation in basins (I3). Scheduling Irrigation was applied after 50% depletion of the plant available water. The water balance equation was used to determine the water consumption of maize. The results showed that C1I3 treatment was highest mean of plant height 235 cm, grain yield 11236 kg ha-1, leaf area 6076 cm2 plant-1, and leaf area index 4.05. Whereas, C0I1 was the lowest values for the previous traits, 183 cm, 5200 kg ha-1, 3997 cm2 plants-1, and 2.67 respectively. Treatment C1I2 was superior in the value of field water use efficiency and crop water use efficiency, which reached 3.49 kg m-3 and 3.05 kg m-3, respectively. Whereas, treatment C0I1 gave the lowest value for field and crop water use efficiency, which was 1.11 kg m-3 and 1.05 kg m-3, respectively. The highest water consumption of maize was 709 mm season-1 was for treatment C0I3, and the lowest water consumption was 362 mm season-1 for the treatment C1I2. It is clear that surface drip irrigation in the presence of cover crop contributed to saving irrigation water by reducing water consumption of maize.

Sugarcane is a highly water-demanding crop, and optimizing irrigation is critical for sustaining productivity under increasing water scarcity and climate variability. This study evaluated the performance of the Optimized Subsurface Irrigation System (OPSIS) in comparison with conventional surface irrigation and rainfed conditions for the Sri Lankan sugarcane cultivar SL-96128. The APSIM-Sugar model (version 7.10) was parameterized and calibrated using field data from Hingurana, Ampara, and validated against observed growth and yield. Simulations were conducted for two contrasting sugarcane growing regions, Sevanagala (clay loam, poorly drained soils) and Hingurana (loamy sand, moderately well-drained soils), across six crop cycles under historical climate data (1980–2010). OPSIS consistently outperformed rainfed and surface irrigation regimes, producing the highest fresh cane yield, above-ground biomass, and sucrose yield with greater improvements observed in clay loam soils. Future climate projections (2020–2039) based on 20 General Circulation Models (GCMs) and two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) scenarios (4.5 and 8.5) indicated that OPSIS maintained its superiority, improving cane yield by 2–3% relative to the baseline, while also reducing yield variability compared to other regimes. These findings highlight OPSIS as a promising irrigation technology for enhancing sugarcane productivity and resilience under current and future climatic conditions in tropical Sri Lanka, though soil-specific design modifications may be necessary for coarse-textured soils.

Climate change may harm the growth and yield of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) without the introduction of appropriate irrigation facilities. Therefore, new irrigation methods should be developed to maximize water use efficiency and reduce operational costs. OPSIS (optimized subsurface irrigation system) is a new solar-powered automatic subsurface irrigation system that creates a phreatic zone below crop roots and relies on capillarity to supply water to the root zone. It is designed for upland crops such as sugarcane. We investigated the performance of OPSIS for irrigating sugarcane and evaluated its performance against sprinkler irrigation under subtropical conditions. We conducted field experiments in Okinawa, Japan, over the period from 2013 to 2016 and took measurements during spring- and summer-planted main crops and two ratoon crops of the spring-planted crop. Compared with sprinkler irrigation, OPSIS produced a significantly higher fresh cane yield, consumed less irrigation water and provided a higher irrigation water use efficiency. We conclude that OPSIS could be adopted as a sustainable solution to sugarcane irrigation in Okinawa and similar environments.

The Optimized Subsurface Irrigation System (OPSIS) is a neoteric subsurface irrigation method designed for irrigating upland crops. While field trials have evaluated its performance for certain crops, further research is required to enhance its effectiveness. Utilizing crop models to assess OPSIS could reduce the need for time-consuming and costly field trials. This study aimed to enhance the modeling capabilities of the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) to simulate the growth, yield, water use, and soil moisture dynamics of OPSIS-irrigated sugarcane ( Saccharum officinarum L.). Field trial data from Okinawa, Japan, spanning three growing seasons (including the main crop and two ratoons), two distinct planting seasons (spring and summer planting), and two different crops were collected to calibrate and validate the newly developed module linking OPSIS with the APSIM engine. We parameterized, calibrated, and validated the APSIM-Sugar model to simulate the growth, yield, water use, and soil moisture dynamics of OPSIS irrigated sugarcane. APSIM-Sugar successfully represented the growth and yield of OPSIS-irrigated sugarcane. However, the simulation of soil moisture dynamics and irrigation water usage fell short of expected standards. Further research is recommended to improve the simulation accuracy of soil water dynamics and irrigation water usage for OPSIS-irrigated sugarcane.

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of pipes depth and the distance between them in the smart artificial subsurface irrigation system on the efficiency of the system performance and the yield of sunflower ( Helianths annuus L. ), in one of the fields of Al-Raed Research Station/Ministry of Water Resources located 25 km west Baghdad for the growing season 2022. Two factors were used in the experiment, the first factor included the depths of the subsurface irrigation pipes at three levels 10, 15, and 20 cm. The second factor included the between subsurface irrigation pipes at three levels 50, 60, and 70 cm. The characters studied were soil moisture content %., irrigation water amount, cm 3 h -1 . depth of irrigation water added cm, plant height cm, and sunflower grain yield ton ha -1 . Nested system was used according to the randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replicates. The pipes depth was allocated to the main plot and the distance in the sub-plots. Least significant difference was used under the probability (LSD 0.05) to compare the averages of treatments. The results showed that the highest and lowest values of moisture content were 23.21 and 16.69 % for treatment depth 20 and distance 60 cm and treatment depth 10 and distance 70 cm, respectively. The highest and lowest values for irrigation water depth were 7.99 and 5.31 cm for the treatment depth 15 and distance 50 cm, and treatment depth 10 and distance 60 cm, respectively. The highest and lowest values for the amount of water consumed were 234.59 and 96.7 cm 3 h -1 for treatments depth 10 and distance 50 cm, and treatment depth 20 and distance 60 cm, respectively. The highest and lowest values for plant height were 150.6 and 117.0 cm for the treatment depth 20 and distance 50 cm and treatment depth 10 and distance 70 cm, respectively. The highest and lowest values of grain yield were 4.97- and 2.62-ton ha -1 for treatments depth 20 and distance 50 cm and treatment depth 10 and distance 70 cm, respectively.

Water table management through controlled tile drainage and subsurface irrigation (CDSI), retrofitting to conventional tile drainage, has been developed to abate the environmental impacts of irrigation and drainage meanwhile supporting agroecosystems and crop productivity. Since the environmental profile of new technologies is a prerequisite to understanding their socio-economic benefits, a life cycle assessment was conducted to assess the environmental impacts of CDSI on corn production for the 2014 and 2015 growing seasons at St-Emmanuel, south-western Quebec in eastern Canada, compared to the free drainage (FD). Inventory flows of corn production with CDSI and FD were developed using biophysical data from field experiments and public databases. Then, environmental impacts were compared for corn production with CDSI and FD, including climate change, eutrophication potential, acidification potential, and toxicity. The assessment results show the environmental benefits of implementing CDSI, particularly in improving water quality. However, potential synergy and trade-offs of climate change, eutrophication, and acidification impacts from the implementation of CDSI, especially under different climatic conditions, should be further monitored to improve the performance of the technology. Nevertheless, CDSI and associated practices can be adopted as adaptation measures in agricultural water management to support agroecosystems and address the challenges posed by environmental impacts.

To determine the effects of water quality and irrigation methods on soil chemical properties, a field experiment was conducted during the 2025 spring in a private farm in Al-Azzawiya/Babil Governorate. Two varieties of water for irrigation, river and well, and two different methods of irrigation, subsurface and nano, were studied in regards to their effect on the chemical composition of soil associated with squash. The experiment was conducted as a split-plot CRBD with three replications of 12 experimental units. The findings demonstrated that soil salinity increased significantly and to a significant degree when water was used in conjunction with the subsurface irrigation system. However, the system of nano-irrigation decreased the salt content as well as the soil acidity, both of which were affected by the use of water of different types with the system of nano-irrigation. The water flow through the Nano-Irrigation system’s river achieved the highest available soil nitrogen and potassium, having a concentration of 8.0 and 55.5 mg kg−1, respectively, compared to the W0D treatment, which had a concentration of 2.5 and 45.5 mg kg−1, respectively. While the W1D treatment had the highest concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil, it also had the highest available potency, reaching 74.0 and 139.59 mg kg−1, respectively.

Irrigation and fertilization technologies need to be adapted to climate change and provided as effectively and efficiently as possible. The current study proposed pocket fertigation, an innovative new idea in providing irrigation water and fertilization by using a porous material in the form of a ring/disc inserted surrounding the plant’s roots as an irrigation emitter equipped with a “pocket”/bag for storing fertilizer. The objective was to evaluate the functional design of pocket fertigation in the specific micro-climate inside the screenhouse with a combination of emitter designs and irrigation rates. The technology was implemented on an experimental field at a lab-scale melon (Cucumis melo L.) cultivation from 23 August to 25 October 2021 in one planting season. The technology was tested at six treatments of a combination of three emitter designs and two irrigation rates. The emitter design consisted of an emitter with textile coating (PT), without coating (PW), and without emitter as a control (PC). Irrigation rates were supplied at one times the evaporation rate (E) and 1.2 times the evaporation rate (1.2E). The pocket fertigation was well implemented in a combination of emitter designs and irrigation rates (PT-E, PW-E, PT-1.2E, and PW-1.2E). The proposed technology increased the averages of fruit weight and water productivity by 6.20 and 7.88%, respectively, compared to the control (PC-E and PC-1.2E). Meanwhile, the optimum emitter design of pocket fertigation was without coating (PW). It increased by 13.36% of fruit weight and 14.71% of water productivity. Thus, pocket fertigation has good prospects in the future. For further planning, the proposed technology should be implemented at the field scale.

Horizontal porous pipe method is one of the most efficient systems of irrigation in arid and semi-arid areas.  The main aim of this study is to simulate the subsurface horizontal porous pipe irrigation under different conditions.  By this method of irrigation, an optimum amount of water is reached to the crop.  Moreover, it saves more water than the other irrigation systems.  Simulation models by HYDRUS/2D  are described the distribution of wetting shapes in two different soil textures through the system of United States Department of Agriculture, USDA, namely as loam and silt soils.  The system is designed for three diameters of 6, 7, and 8 cm installed at 15, 20, and 25 cm below the soil surface under three application heads of 25, 50, and 75 cm.  Horizontal and vertical advance of the wetting front shapes in loam are greater than silt soil.  The numerical values of horizontal and vertical advance are compared with those of predicted by the formulas, showing that average relative error values not more than 2 %.  This indicated that the formulas may be used as a tool for designing and investigating the subsurface horizontal porous pipe irrigation system.