Question

Given: A 63 acre drip irrigation system, crop peak ETc = 0.32 in/day, DU = 0.84. Pre-infiltration losses = 9%. What is the minimum flow rate the system can have and still meet the net crop ET needs?

Answer 1

To determine the minimum flow rate of a drip irrigation system, you need to calculate the total water requirement, adjust for water use efficiency and pre-infiltration losses.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the minimum flow rate the system can have and still meet the net crop ET needs, we need to calculate the net crop ET needs and then adjust for different factors.

1. First, we calculate the total water requirement per day by multiplying the area of the irrigation system (63 acres) by the crop peak ETc (0.32 in/day). This gives us the gross daily water requirement.
2. Next, we need to account for the water use efficiency, which is given by DU (0.84). Multiplying the gross daily water requirement by the DU value gives us the net crop ET needs.
3. Finally, we need to account for pre-infiltration losses. Subtracting the pre-infiltration losses (9%) from the net crop ET needs gives us the minimum flow rate the system can have and still meet the net crop ET needs.

Calculating these values will give us the minimum flow rate.