Assessment of Variations of Three Infiltration Models for Furrow Irrigation

Soil infiltration rate is the most important factor in designing irrigation systems. Therefore، selection of a suitable infiltration equation is a prerequisite for achieving the best performance of any irrigation system. As a plant’s performance integrates numerous factors، particularly water demand in arid environments، providing adequate and timely water in irrigated fields passes a challenge. In this regard، the coefficients of three popular infiltration equations، namely: Kostiakov-Lewis، Philip and SCS، were investigated along the volume balance equation. The cumulative infiltration depths in furrows planted with sweat corn were also compared using different equations. Three periods: first، mid and end of maize growth season were considered in this study. Results indicated that the application of Philip equation (one point method) was not applicable because it over-predicted the infiltration depths. Moreover، the mean absolute error (AAE) of the Philip equation (0. 00683) and SCS equation (0. 00373) were larger than that of the Kostiakov-Lewis equation (0. 00253). Finally، the results revealed that the Kostiakov-Lewis equation were the best predictor of the three infiltration equations used in this study.