Application of the Hydrus 3D model to determine the wet bulb in drip-irrigated soils of intensive greenhouses

Abstract: The development of the wet bulb under drip irrigation in stratified (sand covered soils) presents a different behavior from that observed under homogeneous soils. The presence of a very active crop as it happens in intensive greenhouses also imposes a series of variations that have not been fully characterized. The aim of this work is to present the data acquisition methodology to calibrate and validate the Hydrus-3D model to safely define the evolution of moisture in wet bulbs generated in stratified “sanded” soils characteristic of greenhouses with tomato and pepper crops grown intensively under drip irrigation.

The procedure for collecting and processing moisture data in stratified soils has been defined. The soil and permeability curve has been adjusted experimentally for each material. It has been proved that the Hydrus-3D model can reproduce the behavior of a sand covered soils and it has been possible to verify that the predictions are adequate to what has been observed in the field.