Principles and Management of Clogging in Micro Irrigation

Micro irrigation, also known as trickle, drip, localized, high frequency, or pressurized irrigation, is an irrigation method that saves water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either onto the soil surface or directly onto the root zone, through a network of valves, pipes, tubing, and emitters. It is done through narrow tubes that deliver water directly to the base of the plant. Clogging is a menace in the success of drip irrigation systems, and the situation is more complex under subsurface drip irrigation. Irrigation planners and engineers have found a variety of innovative methods to help to minimize clogging.

This book emphasizes the implications of micro irrigation clogging, especially under the subsurface placement of laterals. The book offers remedies to decrease clogging and methodologies to improve the performance of micro sprinklers. This valuable resource addresses this critical problem, covering:

• Challenges in clogging under subsurface drip irrigation
• Principles, practices, and management of emitter clogging
• Efficiency of acidification for unclogging of emitters
• Performance characteristics of micro sprinklers

The book will serve as a reference manual for professionals in biological and civil engineering, horticulture, soil and crop science, and agronomy, as well as for graduate and undergraduate students in related fields. It will be a valuable reference for professionals who work with micro irrigation/wastewater and water management and for technical agricultural centers, irrigation centers, agricultural extension services, and other agencies that work with micro irrigation programs.

Megh R. Goyal , PhD, PE, is a retired professor in agricultural and biomedical engineering from the General Engineering Department in the College of Engineering at University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Campus; and senior acquisitions editor and senior technical editor-in-chief in agriculture and biomedical engineering for Apple Academic Press Inc. He received his BSc in engineering in 1971 from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India; his MSc in 1977 and PhD in 1979 from the Ohio State University, Columbus; and his master of divinity in 2001 from Puerto Rico Evangelical Seminary, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, USA. He spent a one-year sabbatical leave in 2002-2003 at the Biomedical Engineering Department at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, USA. Since 1971, he has worked as soil conservation inspector (1971); research assistant at Haryana Agricultural University (1972-75) and Ohio State University (1975-79); research agricultural engineer/professor at the Department of Agricultural Engineering of UPRM (1979-1997); and professor in agricultural and biomedical engineering in the General Engineering Department of UPRM (1997-2012).He was the first agricultural engineer to receive a professional license in Agricultural Engineering in 1986 from College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico. On September 16, 2005, he was proclaimed as Father of Irrigation Engineering in Puerto Rico for the twentieth century by the ASABE, Puerto Rico Section, for his pioneering work on micro irrigation, evapotranspiration, agroclimatology, and soil and water engineering. During his professional career of 45 years, he has received awards such as Scientist of the Year, Blue Ribbon Extension Award, Research Paper Award, Nolan Mitchell Young Extension Worker Award, Agricultural Engineer of the Year, Citations by Mayors of Juana Diaz and Ponce, Membership Grand Prize for ASAE Campaign, Felix Castro Rodriguez Academic Excellence, Rashtrya