Empirical research for social implementation of low-cost underground irrigation method using strings in arid areas

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K06285
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 41030:Rural environmental engineering and planning-related
• Research Institution: Hirosaki University
• Principal Investigator: MARUI ATSUSHI 弘前大学, 農学生命科学部, 教授 (80412451)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 泉 完 弘前大学, 農学生命科学部, 教授 (60132007) ; 大嶺 聖 長崎大学, 工学研究科, 教授 (60248474)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 地中灌漑 / 負圧差 / 節水 / ヒモ灌漑

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In order to realize irrigated agriculture in the arid areas of developing countries, we aimed to develop a water-saving, low-cost, and highly effective underground irrigation method using locally procured materials. We proposed a string irrigation system that utilizes the capillarity of strings and verified its effectiveness.
An experiment was conducted on the amount of water supplied and water retention of the string, and it was clarified that cotton and nylon are materials with high water supply capacity. These strings were buried in the soil, and the estimated supply amount and average supply amount from the dry state were clarified.
A soil moisture distribution simulation model was constructed to understand the soil moisture distribution for various patterns such as soil conditions and string installation conditions.

Free Research Field

地域環境工学および農村計画学関連

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究では，開発途上国の乾燥地において，現地で調達可能な資材を用い，安価な材料で均一な水分分布を実現するために革新的な地中灌漑方式を提案した．水位調節のみで重力水をできるだけ発生させず，作物に好適な水分量に保つ土壌水分管理を実現することができた．現地住民が扱い易い方法であるこのシステムは，乾燥地に適用し易く，新たな地域活性の創出とそれによる過放牧の抑制，不適切な水利用の改善に繋がると考えられる．