Comparative evaluation of daytime solar and nighttime solar hydro center pivot irrigation for common bean

Résumé fourni par la source

Abstract Water scarcity and the temporal variability of solar power constrain center pivot irrigation in hyper arid agriculture. This single season field scale comparative case study examined two adjacent 50 feddan fields of common bean Phaseolus vulgaris L in El Wahat El Baharia Egypt. Pivot 5 received conventional solar powered daytime irrigation whereas Pivot 20 received nighttime irrigation from an elevated reservoir through a hydraulic turbine coupled to pivot movement. Seasonal applied water was obtained from cumulative inline flow meter records and field yield was obtained from farm harvest records. Observed applied water was 1647.7 and 1400.6 m 3 fed −1 season −1 for the daytime and nighttime systems respectively which is a 15.0 percent descriptive difference. Reported yield was 1245 and 1500 kg fed −1 which is a 20.5 percent difference and irrigation water productivity was 0.76 and 1.07 kg m −3 . These comparisons are descriptive because each configuration was represented by one commercial pivot without randomization or true replication and the two systems differed in both irrigation timing and hydraulic configuration. The PV array capacity pump and inverter nameplates average discharge and static head were documented but total dynamic head motor input power irradiance turbine pressures turbine shaft power sprinkler uniformity and event scale day and night weather were not measured. Accordingly, the energy calculations are presented only as engineering bounds and the observed water and yield differences cannot be interpreted as causal treatment effects. The study documents operational feasibility and identifies the measurements required for replicated multi season validation of solar hydro nighttime center pivot irrigation.

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