UC Santa Barbara

Abstract: The scarcity of water resources along with population growth and low precipitation exert stresses on the agricultural sectors of arid regions. The evapotranspiration losses due to water use in the warm months of the year are high for walnut production, for example, which is one of the main Iranian agricultural exports. Also, the water losses occurring in flood irrigation, surface storage, and water conveyance, and the high costs of drip irrigation increase the need for efficient irrigation methods. This study proposes induction irrigation as a novel method for preventing evapotranspiration losses, increasing water-use efficiency, and raising agricultural profitability. Induction irrigation relies on recharge and extraction wells to inject treated sewage and withdraw groundwater, respectively, and create a saturated zone in the plants' root area. This paper demonstrates that induction irrigation applied to walnut orchards would lower costs and water losses, avoid surface pollution, and increase agricultural profitability.