Evaluation of Movement of Wetting Front Under Wick Irrigation in Black Cotton Soil

Irrigation of the crop is a necessity for group growth. Several irrigation techniques have been used for watering the crop and cultivating the crops for maximum production. Applying the different irrigation techniques to crops depends on crop-land suitability; however, finding the optimum water requirements to crop is the primary aim of this case study. The present research aims to identify wetting front movement while using wick irrigation technique. The method has been executed to demonstrate and find the developed wetting front at a small farm in Velavadar, Surendranagar in Gujarat. This study reviews an experiment with capillary wick irrigation for cultivating raw crops. IS 2720 (Part-IV)–1985 and IS 460–1978 were used to analyze a representative soil sample taken from the farm. The electrical conductivity (E.C.) of the irrigation water and the soil was relatively high, according to water quality and soil nutrient tests. The knowledge of wetted width, depth, and maximum wetted width beneath the soil’s surface is required to design and manage an efficient wick irrigation system. It can essentially be auto regulated by wick discharge and time of micro-irrigation. Temporal movement of wetting in horizontal and vertical directions under the surface point source was studied in an experimental box size of 1 * 1 * 1 m. The wick diameter considerably impacts the yield as per the types of crops. However, a small underground reservoir with 7 L is used for the best economic returns. The wetting pattern was shaped like a balloon and stretched 30 cm horizontally and 50 cm vertically from the ground level. After 120 h, the wetting front faded and was gone after 12 days. Some shallow-rooted vegetable crops (up to 50 cm depth) such as lettuce, onions, potatoes, radish, and moderately deep-rooted (30–60 cm depth) vegetable crops such as broccoli, beans, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, muskmelon, peppers, tomatoes, and zucchini can be grown by observing moisture distribution under capillary wick for alkaline soil with saline irrigation water. Tests suggest that this indigenous technology could be used successfully even in adverse land and water conditions.