Harby M . S . Mostafa
Benha University, Agricultural Engineering, Faculty Member
- Prof. of Agric. Engineering, Agric. and Biosys. Engineering Dept., Faculty of Agric., Benha Uni., Egyptedit
Due to water scarcity challenges, efficient management of irrigation water is becoming crucial. Water use efficiency (WUE) involves increasing crop productivity without increasing water consumption. This study was carried out to study the... more
Due to water scarcity challenges, efficient management of irrigation water is becoming crucial. Water use efficiency (WUE) involves increasing crop productivity without increasing water consumption. This study was carried out to study the effect of hydrogel, deficit irrigation and soil type on WUE, soil hydro-physical properties and lettuce productivity. For this purpose, four irrigation treatments (100%, 85%, 70% and 60% of full irrigation requirements), four hydrogel concentrations (0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3% w/w) and three soil textural classes (clay, loamy sand, and sandy-clay soil) were conducted in pot experiment at open field during two consecutive seasons. The results revealed that crop growth parameters and soil hydro-physical properties were significantly affected by hydrogel application rates. Hydrogel addition significantly enhanced head fresh and dry weights, chlorophyll content, number of leaves and WUE. Application of hydrogel at 0.3% and 85% of irrigation requirements achieved the highest WUE without significant yield reductions. Changes in the studied hydro-physical properties of soil were more dependent on soil texture and hydrogel application rate than on the amount of irrigation water. The significant decrease in soil saturated hydraulic conductivity and bulk density confirms that super absorbent hydrogels could be recommended to improve soil water retention and enhance water use efficiency under deficit irrigation conditions.
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This study was performed to investigate the hydraulic performance and clogging ratio of drip irrigation with magnetized water. Magnetized water was created by transferring water through a permanent magnet connected to a feed pipeline. Two... more
This study was performed to investigate the hydraulic performance and clogging ratio of drip irrigation with magnetized water. Magnetized water was created by transferring water through a permanent magnet connected to a feed pipeline. Two main treatments of magnetized and non-magnetized water, as well as three sub-treatments of irrigation water salts, including fresh water (219 ppm) and the addition of 1000 and 2000 ppm to irrigation water with three replications were applied under different operating pressure (75, 100, 125 and 150 kPa). At the beginning of the experiment, results show that hydraulic parameters were almost the same for both the magnetized and the non-magnetized water and for all salinity levels. At the end of working time, the hydraulic parameters were improved for the magnetized water under salinity levels compared to the non-magnetized water. Average emitter discharge increased with roughly 2.7% and 5.6%, coefficient of variation (Cv) decreased by 0.6 and 0.91%, emission uniformity (Eu) increased about 1 and 1.1% and variation of average flow rate (q avr) decreased by 21.3 and 29.4% when 1000 and 2000 ppm were used, respectively. Magnetized water had slight effect on clogging at non-saline water at the end of experiment. At 1000 and 2000 ppm salinity levels, the clogging ratio decreased by 1.97 and 2.45% at different pressure, respectively. The results show that magnetized water treatment could effectively relieve and delay the occurrence time of clogging.
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The objective of this study was to analyze the hydraulic performance of low-pressure drip irrigation system on emitter discharge, coefficient of variation, emission uniformity and friction losses. Therefore, a laboratory and field... more
The objective of this study was to analyze the hydraulic performance of low-pressure drip irrigation system on emitter discharge, coefficient of variation, emission uniformity and friction losses. Therefore, a laboratory and field experiments were conducted to assess the hydraulic performance of three drip laterals types [Gr (4 Lh-1/30cm), Flat-tape (2 Lh-1/30cm) and T-tape (10 Lh-1/m)]. Discharge rates were measured at four different low- pressure heads (0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1 bar). Results show that the discharge of emitter is increased with increasing pressure and decreasing of lateral length, which implied that the combination between pressure and lateral length has a direct impact on the emitter's hydraulic performance of low- pressure drip irrigation systems. Consequently, the low operating pressure combined with short laterals resulted in the emitters produce the desired discharge with good performance parameters. As well as, high emission uniformity coefficient (90-97%) was observed at 30 and 40 m lengths for all lateral types and all operating pressure. For the types of Flat-tape and T-tape with a length of 50, 40, and 30m, all values of friction losses were acceptable at different operating pressures. The use of a low operating pressure less than1 bar indicated that it was an excellent operation condition in spite of that it was greater than the operating pressure in the range recommended by this dripper manufacturer. Furthermore, the use of low-pressure drip irrigation systems using the combination of low pressure and short laterals would reduce the energy requirements of operating smallholdings irrigation system.
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In light of the current water scarcity, one strategy for reducing water consumption in irrigated agriculture is to reduce the amount of irrigation water compared to full crop irrigation or in other words deficit irrigation. Deficit... more
In light of the current water scarcity, one strategy for reducing water consumption in irrigated agriculture is to reduce the amount of irrigation water compared to full crop irrigation or in other words deficit irrigation. Deficit irrigation management may be a critical issue due to climate change. Incorporation of different soil conditioners can improve soil hydro-physical properties and mitigate negative effects in water-stressed conditions. Recent review articles either addressed specific crop behavior under water deficit or covered a single type of soil conditioners. This manuscript represents an inclusive review providing insight into deficit irrigation methods incorporated with different soil conditioners. Crop response to deficit irrigation is discussed in the light of some mathematical models. Three main types of soil conditioners are covered: bentonite, biochar, and super-absorbent polymers. Mechanisms associated with effects of each conditioner to enhance soil water retention is highlighted as well. Previous study findings were discussed comparatively and future prospective, recommendations and challenges were addressed.
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Maximizing water productivity is one of the most important strategies in arid and semi-arid regions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the using of plastic mulch at field scale for improving the performance of surface... more
Maximizing water productivity is one of the most important strategies in arid and semi-arid regions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the using of plastic mulch at field scale for improving the performance of surface irrigation in contrast to conventional practices in irrigated agriculture. The experiment was laid out in furrow and border irrigation system with three main treatments namely non-mulched furrows (NMF) (as control), plastic mulched furrows (FM) and plastic mulched-hole border (MB), and the sub main treatments were three lengths (15, 30 and 40 m). Each of the three main plots consisted of 9 irrigation parts each three of them represent one of the sub main treatments (furrow and border lengths). The spacing was 0.7m between all treatments. Squash crop was planted in April for two successive seasons. The results indicated that applied water was low in case of MB where the mulch effect reduced the number of irrigation times to the half. The maximum total yield was obtained from treatment with 30m length under MB (31.89 t/ha) followed by 15 m under MB (30.46 t/ha). As regard different irrigation practices with plastic mulch, maximum irrigation water productivity (8.33 to 9.15 kg/m 3) was measured in MB for all lengths, followed by MF (5.11 to 5.41 kg/m 3). The water saving was thus 10.44% and 46.3% under treatments MF and MB, respectively, when compared to NMF. The result of this study indicates that, using holemulching resulted a corresponding increasing of water productivity and water saving.
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The increasing demand of water in the country highlights the need to introduce low-input and water saving technologies for agricultural sustainability and crop production, mainly in semiarid region. The aim of this study was to... more
The increasing demand of water in the country highlights the need to introduce low-input and water saving technologies for agricultural sustainability and crop production, mainly in semiarid region. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of plastic mulch at field scale on improving the performance of surface irrigation in contrast to conventional practices. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted to test the combined effect of furrow irrigation lengths and furrow plastic mulching on crop growth, yield and water productivity of squash. The experiment was laid out with furrow irrigation method and plastic mulch with different furrows lengths (15, 30 and 40 m). Two experimental furrow plots were prepared, the first was mulched furrows (MF) and the second was nonmulched furrows (NMF). The results indicated that the amount of applied water was less in MF by 10% than that in NMF treatments. It may be due to the higher soil moisture content (26.6%) before irrigation than NMF (22.7%) as a direct effect of mulching. The highest yield of squash crop was obtained from MF treatment with 30m furrow length (10.7 t/fed) followed by 15 m furrow length (10.5 t/fed) under MF too. Regarding the different irrigation practices with plastic mulch, maximum irrigation water productivity (5.11 to 5.41 kg/m 3) was obtained in the mulched furrow irrigated squash with plastic mulch. The water saving was thus 10.44% under MF treatments when compared to non-mulched furrows irrigation method NMF.
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The study was carried out at the Experimental Farm of Moshtohor Faculty of Agriculture, Benha University during the winter seasons of 2018 /2019 and 2019/2020 to evaluate the efficiency of surface drip irrigation system for saving water... more
The study was carried out at the Experimental Farm of Moshtohor Faculty of Agriculture, Benha University during the winter seasons of 2018 /2019 and 2019/2020 to evaluate the efficiency of surface drip irrigation system for saving water under three irrigation water management strategies (full irrigation requirement (FI) of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) (control), sustainable deficit irrigation (DI) 75 and 50 % of FI,), yield and fruit quality of potato cultivar “Spunta” under different tillage levels (zero, 25, 50 and 100%) tillage depths. The results confirmed that the conversional tillage (100%) (40-50 cm depth) has the best effect on plant growth and yield among all tillage levels. The DI of 75% had the highest growth and yield parameters in both seasons. Respect to the interaction, potato plants that received 75% of ETc under conversional tillage (100%) recorded the highest yield and plant Morphological properties. A gradual increase in tuber yield/fed and water productivity were observed with the increase of tillage degree across all irrigation water levels. The highest tuber yield (17.19 ton/fed) and the highest water productivity (19.34 kg/m3) for plants that received 75% ETc under the conversional tillage. This means that when utilizing complete ploughing with 75% of the irrigation water requirements, it is possible to conserve around 25% of the irrigation water used while still getting the highest yield.
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Knowing some physical and mechanical characteristics and oil percentage of sunflower seeds could be useful for harvesting and processing equipment and activities such as transportation, storage, food production processes and establishing... more
Knowing some physical and mechanical characteristics and oil percentage of sunflower seeds could be useful for harvesting and processing equipment and activities such as transportation, storage, food production processes and establishing database of this seed. The main aim of this research was to study the effect of water stress during irrigation on seed's properties and quality. For this purpose, a field experiment was done under four deficit irrigation treatments [80%, 60%, 100-80 (100% irrigation requirement ETc to seed formation, and then reduced to 80% until harvesting) and 100-60% (100% ETc to seed formation, and then reduced to 60% until harvesting)] in comparable with full irrigation (100%). Geometrical, gravimetrical and mechanical characteristics as well as oil seed content and yield of sunflower seed were estimated. Result showed that there was no significant effect of low (100-80%) and medium (80%) irrigation deficit treatments on geometrical, gravimetrical and mechanical characteristics, while applying 60% of irrigation requirement (ETc) showed a significant effect on them. On the other hand, low and medium irrigation stress treatments improved the oil yield and seed oil content. The highest increase was 8.54% and 5.6% for oil yield and oil content respectively, considering T 100-80 followed by applying 80% ETc, but with high water stress (60% ETc) oil yield and seed oil content significantly decreased.
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The increasing demand of water in the country highlights the need to introduce low-input and water saving technologies for agricultural sustainability and crop production, mainly in semiarid region. The aim of this study was to... more
The increasing demand of water in the country highlights the need to introduce low-input and water saving technologies for agricultural sustainability and crop production, mainly in semiarid region. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of plastic mulch at field scale on improving the performance of surface irrigation in contrast to conventional practices. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted to test the combined effect of furrow irrigation lengths and furrow plastic mulching on crop growth, yield and water productivity of squash. The experiment was laid out with furrow irrigation method and plastic mulch with different furrows lengths (15, 30 and 40 m). Two experimental furrow plots were prepared, the first was mulched furrows (MF) and the second was nonmulched furrows (NMF). The results indicated that the amount of applied water was less in MF by 10% than that in NMF treatments. It may be due to the higher soil moisture content (26.6%) before irrigation than NMF (22.7%) as a direct effect of mulching. The highest yield of squash crop was obtained from MF treatment with 30m furrow length (10.7 t/fed) followed by 15 m furrow length (10.5 t/fed) under MF too. Regarding the different irrigation practices with plastic mulch, maximum irrigation water productivity (5.11 to 5.41 kg/m 3) was obtained in the mulched furrow irrigated squash with plastic mulch. The water saving was thus 10.44% under MF treatments when compared to non-mulched furrows irrigation method NMF.
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In precision agriculture, methods for analysing 3D point clouds of plants have been introduced, particularly pointing to the high accuracy of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) laser scanning under field conditions. In the present work,... more
In precision agriculture, methods for analysing 3D point clouds of plants have been introduced, particularly pointing to the high accuracy of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) laser scanning under field conditions. In the present work, LiDAR-based 3D point clouds of cherry trees (n = 255) were analysed for estimating the leaf area as the main factor for water interception. Canopies were scanned for segmenting leaf area pointing to a high variability of canopy surface. The derived tree-specific data of leaf area index (LAI) were implemented into the Community Land Model (CLM), which takes into account canopy interception processes during rainfall events. During canopy development of perennial trees the LAI increased resulting in increased water interception. Events with low rain fall the interception reached 38-100 % capturing LAI of 0.76-2.11 m 2 /m 2 , respectively. In high rainfall events, interception varied 10-14 % capturing the same LAI range. An equation for describing the varying effects of rainfall intensity and LAI is proposed. The evapotranspiration and water interception data point to a substantial decrease of effective water supply that varies tree-individually during the season. In commercial fruit production, the proposed method can support precise irrigation management.
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A lack of degradability and the closing of landfill sites, as well as growing water and land pollution problems, have led to concern about plastics. With the excessive use of plastics and increasing pressure being placed on capacities... more
A lack of degradability and the closing of landfill sites, as well as growing water and land pollution problems, have led to concern about plastics. With the excessive use of plastics and increasing pressure being placed on capacities available for plastic waste disposal, the need for biodegradable plastics and biodegradation of plastic wastes has assumed increasing importance in the last few years. Awareness of the waste problem and its impact on the environment has awakened new interest in the area of degradable polymers. The biodegradation of five different types of commercial bioplastics available on the market as agricultural mulch film (Bioflex, Ecoflex, Mater Bi, Chitosan and Bi-OPL foil) was evaluated under different soil types (Sandy, Sandy Loam and Loamy soil) to study the material stability and life expectancy, and to establish which was better to be used in the production of biodegradable drip tubes for drip irrigation system. Weight loss, tensile strength (TS) loss and ...
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Abstract: The main aim is to find out the influence of using coloured plastic mulches (blue, white, green, red, black and white on black) compared with a mulch-free treatment on the root zone temperature, growth and productivity of... more
Abstract: The main aim is to find out the influence of using coloured plastic mulches (blue, white, green, red, black and white on black) compared with a mulch-free treatment on the root zone temperature, growth and productivity of broccoli. The results indicated that the highest and lowest mean root zone temperatures were recorded the in the dark-coloured mulches (blue, green, red and white on black) and in the light-coloured mulches (white), respectively, in both the winter and spring seasons. The average shoot length, leaf number and root volume of the broccoli for all the treatments was higher in the spring season compared with those of the winter season. The highest marketable head fresh weight values were 449.6 and 451.0 g found in the black mulch, while the lowest values were 391.4 and 397.5 g found in the winter and spring seasons for the red mulch, respectively. The N, P, K, Ca and Mg concentrations in the broccoli heads ranged from 2.0 to 2.8%, 0.9 to 1.0%, 2.7 to 3.6%, 1....
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The aim of this paper was to evaluate the performance of a low-pressure drip system (LPS) for three years of service, to calculate the consumptive working time and costs of maintenance and laterals retrieving before harvesting and to... more
The aim of this paper was to evaluate the performance of a low-pressure drip system (LPS) for three years of service, to calculate the consumptive working time and costs of maintenance and laterals retrieving before harvesting and to determine benefits and problems with drip irrigation. Drip irrigation provides the opportunity to save water and the potential to increase net income by applying water at the right quantity and at the right time. Small to medium fields would benefit from the LPS irrigation system which has the ability to distribute the amount of water applied. LPS is a well-researched system for drip irrigation, typically that available for furrow irrigated crops. There are significant agronomic advantages of using a low-pressure, low-flow drip system. These advantages translate into measured improved distribution uniformity when compared to flood irrigated crops and energy savings compared to flood and sprinkler irrigated crops. The old (reused) drip line leads to a de...
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An experiment was conducted for two seasons on a farm in the Mit Kenana village, Qalyobia, Egypt. The aim was to study the influence of a magnetised water technology on the fertilisers during irrigation (fertigation) and its impact on the... more
An experiment was conducted for two seasons on a farm in the Mit Kenana village, Qalyobia, Egypt. The aim was to study the influence of a magnetised water technology on the fertilisers during irrigation (fertigation) and its impact on the water, soil as well as the yield and yield components for potatoes. The experiment included: Normal water (NM), magnetic water (MW), adding fertiliser before (FMW) and after magnetism (MWF). The results indicated that irrigation with magnetised water and then adding fertiliser (MWF) had a positive significant effect on the water and soil properties, the tuber engineering parameters improved and the potato productivity increased by 40.5% higher than the NM method.The fertigation unit has to be installed after the magnetic device because the direct magnetisation of the water with the fertilisers contributes to the cracking and increases the solubility of the fertilisers that may lead to the possibility of leaching some of them away from the roots, wh...
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Drip irrigation systems have become a major part of developing agriculture in Egypt and the aim of this research was to obtain the best performance from irrigation systems management using locally modified and original emitters. The... more
Drip irrigation systems have become a major part of developing agriculture in Egypt and the aim of this research was to obtain the best performance from irrigation systems management using locally modified and original emitters. The experiments were carried out at the National Irrigation Laboratory of the Agricultural Engineering Research Institute. The emitters were tested and calibrated under different operating pressures (0.50, 0.75, 1 and 1.25 bar) to determine emitter flow rates and emitter emission uniformity (EU) and manufacturing variation coefficient (CV). The original emitter performance was determined using the relationship between emitter flow rate (2 lh−1) and operating pressure, with data indicating that the EU was 98.5%, at a CV of 2.3% and actual flow rate was 1.8 lh−1 for the original emitter. The EU was 93.8% with a CV of 5.2% and actual flow rate of 2.02 lh−1 for the modified emitter. For original emitter performance at 4 lh−1, data indicated that the EU was 96%, ...
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Knowing some physical and mechanical characteristics and oil percentage of sunflower seeds could be useful for harvesting and processing equipment and activities such as transportation, storage, food production processes and establishing... more
Knowing some physical and mechanical characteristics and oil percentage of sunflower seeds could be useful for harvesting and processing equipment and activities such as transportation, storage, food production processes and establishing database of this seed. The main aim of this research was to study the effect of water stress during irrigation on seed’s properties and quality. For this purpose, a field experiment was done under four deficit irrigation treatments [80%, 60%, 100–80 (100% irrigation requirement ETc to seed formation, and then reduced to 80% until harvesting) and 100–60% (100% ETc to seed formation, and then reduced to 60% until harvesting)] in comparable with full irrigation (100%). Geometrical, gravimetrical and mechanical characteristics as well as oil seed content and yield of sunflower seed were estimated. Result showed that there was no significant effect of low (100–80%) and medium (80%) irrigation deficit treatments on geometrical, gravimetrical and mechanica...
Research Interests:
In precision agriculture, methods for analysing 3D point clouds of plants have been introduced, particularly pointing to the high accuracy of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) laser scanning under field conditions. In the present work,... more
In precision agriculture, methods for analysing 3D point clouds of plants have been introduced, particularly pointing to the high accuracy of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) laser scanning under field conditions. In the present work, LiDAR-based 3D point clouds of cherry trees (n = 255) were analysed for estimating the leaf area as the main factor for water interception. Canopies were scanned for segmenting leaf area pointing to a high variability of canopy surface. The derived tree-specific data of leaf area index (LAI) were implemented into the Community Land Model (CLM), which takes into account canopy interception processes during rainfall events. During canopy development of perennial trees the LAI increased resulting in increased water interception. Events with low rain fall the interception reached 38-100 % capturing LAI of 0.76-2.11 m 2 /m 2 , respectively. In high rainfall events, interception varied 10-14 % capturing the same LAI range. An equation for describing the varying effects of rainfall intensity and LAI is proposed. The evapotranspiration and water interception data point to a substantial decrease of effective water supply that varies tree-individually during the season. In commercial fruit production, the proposed method can support precise irrigation management.
Research Interests:
Knowing some physical and mechanical characteristics and oil percentage of sunflower seeds could be useful for harvesting and processing equipment and activities such as transportation, storage, food production processes and establishing... more
Knowing some physical and mechanical characteristics and oil percentage of sunflower seeds could be useful for harvesting and processing equipment and activities such as transportation, storage, food production processes and establishing database of this seed. The main aim of this research was to study the effect of water stress during irrigation on seed's properties and quality. For this purpose, a field experiment was done under four deficit irrigation treatments [80%, 60%, 100-80 (100% irrigation requirement ETc to seed formation, and then reduced to 80% until harvesting) and 100-60% (100% ETc to seed formation, and then reduced to 60% until harvesting)] in comparable with full irrigation (100%). Geometrical, gravimetrical and mechanical characteristics as well as oil seed content and yield of sunflower seed were estimated. Result showed that there was no significant effect of low (100-80%) and medium (80%) irrigation deficit treatments on geometrical, gravimetrical and mechanical characteristics, while applying 60% of irrigation requirement (ETc) showed a significant effect on them. On the other hand, low and medium irrigation stress treatments improved the oil yield and seed oil content. The highest increase was 8.54% and 5.6% for oil yield and oil content respectively, considering T 100-80 followed by applying 80% ETc, but with high water stress (60% ETc) oil yield and seed oil content significantly decreased.
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Size grading is an important operation in food processing for the onion export industry in particular. The aim of this work was to develop an appropriate machine for sizing onions, reduce losses and reduce grading costs. Maximum sizing... more
Size grading is an important operation in food processing for the onion export industry in particular. The aim of this work was to develop an appropriate machine for sizing onions, reduce losses and reduce grading costs. Maximum sizing efficiency obtained was 94.9±2.82 % at zero longitudinal angle and at a belt speed of (0.23 m/s), while it was 94.5±3.69% at 10 o longitudinal angle for the same belt speed. The overall average of the sizing efficiency (94.33%) was recorded at 20 o side angle and the highest grading capacity (1.72 t/h) was obtained at 10 o side angle and 10 o longitudinal angle. Total costs of grading the produce were 3.89 LE/t. (0.7 US$/t). This machine has the potential to size other crops like potatoes, tomatoes, apples and citrus fruits.
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ABSTRACT The rapid growth of world population has resulted in significantly increased global water need. The conservation techniques and water use policies are required to save water. Worldwide agriculture is the largest consumer of... more
ABSTRACT The rapid growth of world population has resulted in significantly increased global water need. The conservation techniques and water use policies are required to save water. Worldwide agriculture is the largest consumer of water, particularly for growing rice. Water use for rice production was chosen because rice continues to be a staple crop for most world’s population and because of its pervasive use of water. Developing ideal irrigation management methods in rice production to lessen water consumption will free-up water for other users. Water use could be minimized with proper management techniques. It is necessary to highlight the threatens of water scarcity and drought, and reiterates the importance of efficient water management for rice production and the urgent need in taking actions to solve the underlying problems in considering water security. From here, this study was designed to decide whether water can be preserved in rice production by surveying the successful water management techniques in Egyptian Nile Delta. Management scenarios were suggested saving irrigation water as more as possible. The scenarios showed that water can be saved by 43 to 52% (4.7 to 5.7 billion m3), which could be used in the agricultural land expansion.
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In the humid and sub-humid areas, agricultural production is largely rain fed and this needs to be urgently supplemented by irrigation practice if the country is to meet its food demand. A two years study was carried out at the... more
In the humid and sub-humid areas, agricultural production is largely rain fed and this needs to be urgently supplemented by irrigation practice if the country is to meet its food demand. A two years study was carried out at the experimental site of the Institute of Agricultural Technology and Biosystems Engineering, Johan Heinrich von Thünen Institute (vTI), Braunschweig, Germany to compare performance of maize crop for silage production using three different irrigation systems; rain fed, drip and rain-gun sprinkler. Growth parameters such as plant height, stem diameter were measured. The total yields of silage were obtained for all treatments at the harvesting. The experimental results reveal that total yields obtained from different treatments were 25.76, 24.23 and 9.30 Mg ha -1 in drip, rain-gun and rain fed irrigated maize, respectively. The results also showed that the water use efficiency reached 11.01 kg m -3 for drip irrigation in while it was 8.84 kg m -3 for rain-gun syste...
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Increasing the environmental stresses on water resources are causing countries to reconsider various mechanisms
The identification of water rights is essential to the application of Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) policies
Increasing the environmental stresses on water resources are causing countries to reconsider various mechanisms to improve water use efficiency. This is especially true for irrigation agriculture, a major consumer of water. The physical... more
Increasing the environmental stresses on water resources are causing countries to reconsider various mechanisms to improve water use efficiency. This is especially true for irrigation agriculture, a major consumer of water. The physical and hydraulic characteristics of the irrigation distribution system often form a major limit. Also the implementations of irrigation water fees are sensitive to physical, social, and religious beliefs, making it necessary to design allocation mechanisms accordingly. The purpose of this work is to study the water pricing mechanisms to improve cost recovery for irrigation and drainage facilities under the Islamic law and its impact on water saving. The study tries to find out if there is an irrigation water pricing system that better meets the social, economical, and environmental needs. Also the research tries to highlight Egypt's experience in dealing with the cost recovery in irrigated agriculture. the main findings to agree with Islamic law tha...
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The efficient use of irrigation systems has grown o ver the years due to water shortage and the need to optimize food production using minimum amount of water. Sinc e removing the irrigation laterals at the end of th e crop season... more
The efficient use of irrigation systems has grown o ver the years due to water shortage and the need to optimize food production using minimum amount of water. Sinc e removing the irrigation laterals at the end of th e crop season (especially for vegetables) is expected to require ext nsive and challenging efforts from farmers and gricultural engineers, It would be desirable to use biodegradable irrigati on drip lines that would allow ploughing of these m aterials after the end of the cultivation season without the need to remov e the tubes or any environmental impacts. In this s tudy, the engineering properties of two different types of biodegradable drip tubes were manufactured and evaluated under di fferent soil treatments with using the organic and biofertilizer s to study the material stability and life expectan y. Bi-OPL drip tubes appeared to possess a high resist ance to all treatments. Tubes materials showed very little degradation indicated by minimal changes in tensile st...
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Since the irrigation laterals are usually removed at the end of the crop season, it would be desirable, especially for the vegetables, to use biodegradable irrigation drip lines that would allow roto-tilling of these materials after the... more
Since the irrigation laterals are usually removed at the end of the crop season, it would be desirable, especially for the vegetables, to use biodegradable irrigation drip lines that would allow roto-tilling of these materials after the end of the cultivation season, without the need to remove the laterals. This study was conducted to find out and evaluate the effect of using biodegradable tubes (Biotube, made from Bi-OPL bioplastic) on water distribution uniformity comparable with polyethylene tubes (Polytube) at various working heads. Results showed the coefficient of uniformity (UC), the emission uniformity (EU) and increased head losses whereas, coefficient of variation (CV) decreased with increasing heads when considered for both types of drip tubes. UC was achieved to almost 98.1% with Biotube and 98.2% for Polytube at 7 m. CV was 2.19 % for Biotube and 2.1% for Polytube with the head increasing to 7 m. The head losses ranged from 0.004 to 0.011 m for both drip tubes. All eval...
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The identification of water rights is essential to the application of Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) policies. Water and agricultural land have traditionally had strong relationships. We must clarify land tenure conditions and... more
The identification of water rights is essential to the application of Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) policies. Water and agricultural land have traditionally had strong relationships. We must clarify land tenure conditions and their relationships with water rights. This paper presents the results of studies focused on the relationships between agricultural land systems and water use in several African and Asian countries. It describes different situations related to land systems and water use, as well as the relationships between them. In study areas, in addition to historical backgrounds, land tenure may be associated with the extent to which state, customary, and individual involvements affect farmers’ de facto water rights. In general, water rights are clearly established in developed countries because formal administration of land and water resources has been functional and wellestablished. In developing countries, further institutional arrangements may be required to...
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Abstract: Drip irrigation is one of the most efficient systems in delivering water to the plant root zone but it still allows relatively high evaporation from the saturated zone that develops under emitters especially in clay soils of low... more
Abstract: Drip irrigation is one of the most efficient systems in delivering water to the plant root zone but it still allows relatively high evaporation from the saturated zone that develops under emitters especially in clay soils of low infiltration rates. Initial lateral water movement may take a long time in such soils thus exposing surface water to high evaporation. The vertical columns method induces water infiltration keeping the actual water surface deeper in the soil profile. The objective of this research is to compare between the effect of vertical compost and sand columns on the distribution of water in the root zone and the potential for water saving in clay soil. A field experiment was conducted and the results indicated that the vertical mulch allowed more water to remain in the soil profile thereby increasing the irrigation efficiency and has a significant effect on water storage at the 20-60 cm depth. Over time, as the soil is drying up, the significance of the vert...
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A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of fertigation components on emission uniformity, emitter clogging and soil infiltration rate. The effects of two types of emitters (pressure and non-pressure compensating) with two... more
A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of fertigation components on emission uniformity, emitter clogging and soil infiltration rate. The effects of two types of emitters (pressure and non-pressure compensating) with two discharges (2 and 4 L h) and six fertilization treatments were undertaken. For all fertilization treatments, the emission uniformity significantly (p<0.05) decreased while emitters clogging ratio increased with more fertigations, which were periodically applied throughout the 180-day season. The 4 L h discharge emitters resulted in less clogging than the 2 L h emitters. Clogging problems observed with the pressure compensating (PC) emitters was less than those non-pressure compensating emitters. The maximum clogging ratios (29.42% and 28.72% at the end of 180 days season) were recorded for the plots that received ammonium sulfate and humic acid+ ammonium sulfate fertigation, respectively, with 2 L h non-pressure compensating emitters.Finally, humic ...
In the humid and sub-humid areas, agricultural production is largely rain fed and this needs to be urgently supplemented by irrigation practice if the country is to meet its food demand. A two years study was carried out at the... more
In the humid and sub-humid areas, agricultural production is largely rain fed and this needs to be urgently supplemented by irrigation practice if the country is to meet its food demand. A two years study was carried out at the experimental site of the Institute of Agricultural Technology and Biosystems Engineering, Johan Heinrich von Thünen Institute (vTI), Braunschweig, Germany to compare performance of maize crop for silage production using three different irrigation systems; rain fed, drip and rain-gun sprinkler. Growth parameters such as plant height, stem diameter were measured. The total yields of silage were obtained for all treatments at the harvesting. The experimental results revealed that total yields obtained from different treatments were 25.76, 24.23 and 9.30 Mg.ha 1 using drip, rain-gun and rain fed irrigated maize, respectively. The results also showed that the water use efficiency reached 11.01 Mg.m -3 for drip irrigation, while it was 8.84 Mg.m -3 for rain-gun sys...
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Research Interests:
This work focused on the determination of equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of some bioplastic materials that could be used for agricultural foil mulch as a source to produce biodegradable drip tubes. Equilibrium moisture content (EMC)... more
This work focused on the determination of equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of some bioplastic materials that could be used for agricultural foil mulch as a source to produce biodegradable drip tubes. Equilibrium moisture content (EMC) is very important to determine the desirable conditions of microorganism’s growth, which causes material deterioration and degradation. Thus, this work aimed to determine the EMC of some commercial bioplastic mulch such as (Bioflex, Ecoflex, Chitosan, Mater-bi, and Bi-OPL). The bioplastic materials were put under different temperature (10-50°C) and relative humidity (43-95%) conditions. The data revealed that changing the relative humidity from 43 to 95 % has a great effect on both of Mater-Bi and Chitosan, which the EMC increased by 9.87 and 12.22%, respectively. On the other hand, there is a small effect on the EMC with relative humidity changes on each of Ecoflex (1.41%), Bioflex (2.4%) and Bi-OPL (0.5%).
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Research Interests:
Research Interests:
A study was conducted at the Institute of Agricultural Technology and Biosystem Engineering, vTI, Germany during the year 2008 to focus on the determination of equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of some bioplastic materials that could be... more
A study was conducted at the Institute of Agricultural Technology and Biosystem Engineering, vTI, Germany during the year 2008 to focus on the determination of equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of some bioplastic materials that could be used for agricultural foil mulch. EMC is very important to determine the desirable conditions of microorganism's growth, which causes material deterioration and degradation. Five commercial bioplastic mulches such as Bioflex, Ecoflex, Chitosan, Mater-bi and Bi-OPL were tested at varying temperature (10-50°C) and relative humidity (43-95%). EMC of all materials increased with the increase in relative humidity and decreased with increase in temperature. However, the relative humidity had a greater effect on the change of moisture content than the temperature. The data revealed that Mater-Bi and Chitosan increased EMC by 9.87 and 12.22 percent, respectively by changing the relative humidity from 43 to 95 percent. These changes of relative humidity ...
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The efficient use of irrigation systems has grown over the years due to water shortage and the need to optimize food production using minimum amount of water. Since removing the irrigation laterals at the end of the crop season... more
The efficient use of irrigation systems has grown over the years due to water shortage and the need to optimize food production using minimum amount of water. Since removing the irrigation laterals at the end of the crop season (especially for vegetables) is expected to require extensive and challenging efforts from farmers and agricultural engineers, It would be desirable to use biodegradable irrigation drip lines that would allow ploughing of these materials after the end of the cultivation season without the need to remove the tubes or any environmental impacts. In this study, the engineering properties of two different types of biodegradable drip tubes were manufactured and evaluated under different soil treatments with using the organic and biofertilizers to study the material stability and life expectancy. Bi-OPL drip tubes appeared to possess a high resistance to all treatments. Tubes materials showed very little degradation indicated by minimal changes in tensile strength an...
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Drip irrigation is one of the most efficient systems in delivering water to the plant root zone but it still allows relatively high evaporation from the saturated zone that develops under emitters especially in clay soils of low... more
Drip irrigation is one of the most efficient systems in delivering water to the plant root zone but it still allows relatively high evaporation from the saturated zone that develops under emitters especially in clay soils of low infiltration rates. Initial lateral water movement may take a long time in such soils thus exposing surface water to high evaporation. The vertical columns method induces water infiltration keeping the actual water surface deeper in the soil profile. The objective of this research is to compare between the effect of vertical compost and sand columns on the distribution of water in the root zone and the potential for water saving in clay soil. A field experiment was conducted and the results indicated that the vertical mulch allowed more water to remain in the soil profile thereby increasing the irrigation efficiency and has a significant effect on water storage at the 20-60 cm depth. Over time, as the soil is drying up, the significance of the vertical mulch...
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Since the irrigation laterals are usually removed at the end of the crop season, it would be desirable, especially for the vegetables, to use biodegradable irrigation drip lines that would allow roto-tilling of these materials after the... more
Since the irrigation laterals are usually removed at the end of the crop season, it would be desirable, especially for the vegetables, to use biodegradable irrigation drip lines that would allow roto-tilling of these materials after the end of the cultivation season, without the need to remove the laterals. This study was conducted to find out and evaluate the effect of using biodegradable tubes (Biotube, made from Bi-OPL bioplastic) on water distribution uniformity comparable with polyethylene tubes (Polytube) at various working heads. Results showed the coefficient of uniformity (UC), the emission uniformity (EU) and increased head losses whereas, coefficient of variation (CV) decreased with increasing heads when considered for both types of drip tubes. UC was achieved to almost 98.1% with Biotube and 98.2% for Polytube at 7 m. CV was 2.19 % for Biotube and 2.1% for Polytube with the head increasing to 7 m. The head losses ranged from 0.004 to 0.011 m for both drip tubes. All eval...