| Abstrakt: |
Clogging of emitters is one of the main challenges for farmers using drip irrigation systems. Therefore, in the present study, solutions to reduce chemical clogging of emitters based on acid-washing methods and ultrasonic systems have been presented. The ultrasonic system, considered a type of green technology, has been proposed to mitigate emitter clogging in drip irrigation systems. In this regard, first, samples of emitters were selected from the chosen fields, and then they were grouped by measuring their discharge. Based on the measured discharge compared to the nominal discharge, the emitters were classified into five categories in terms of clogging: category 1 with 100% clogging, category 2 with 75-100% clogging, category 3 with 50-75% clogging, category 4 with 25-50% clogging, and category 5 with 0- 25% clogging. Four treatments were applied for each category: (1) acid washing at pH = 3, (2) acid washing at pH = 5, (3) ultrasonic bath cleaning, and (4) ultrasonic-acid washing. A reduction in clogging of zero-grade emitters, when placed in an ultrasonic bath for 15 minutes, was approximately 45%. Based on the analysis of variance, it can be observed that, with a Pvalue of 0.1 and an F-value of 2.81, the use of the ultrasonic method significantly affects emitter clogging at a 90% confidence level. A comparison of clogging reduction after washing shows the significant superiority of the ultrasonic method over acid washing. The results revealed that the ultrasonic washing method only reduced physical clogging, while the acid washing method reduced chemical clogging. The ultrasonic system is an environmentally friendly and green technology proposed to reduce emitter clogging in drip irrigation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
