Land Evaluation System for Trickle and Sprinkle Irrigation Methods Using Fuzzy Logic System

Limited water and soil resources and growing population have led countries around the world towards raising agricultural production per unit area and optimal utilization of these resources. Due to the population growth and rising living standards, the demand for food has increased. In this regard, identification and knowledge of the parameters that somehow affect food production is essential. Using new techniques for selecting appropriate land irrigation methods can enhance water use efficiency in farm lands. Selecting a proper irrigation method in irrigated agriculture in order to achieve a high efficiency and maximum water use. Nowadays Fuzzy systems are one of the most efficient methods in the field of forecasting and modeling (Akbarzadeh et al, 2009). Fuzzy system is able to use human language and human experiences and experts and connoisseurs (Karatalopoulos, 2000). Sys, Vanranst and Debaveye (1991) proposed parametric evaluation system to select irrigation methods based on physical and chemical properties of soil. Using fuzzy logic capabilities which stem from the ability of continuous membership function of input variables and by combination of parameters affecting irrigation methods evaluation in parametric system with fuzzy logic membership functions, it is possible to assess farm lands for choosing the right irrigation method more accurately. Therefore, this study aims to utilize the functionalities of fuzzy logic method to evaluate land suitability of the area studied based on parametric system for two drip and sprinkler irrigation methods.