ABSTRACT
The use of trickle irrigation has increased during the past few years, mainly due to greater economy in water consumption. However, the fact of being a fixed system raises installation costs and inhibits its adoption. In order to get the advantages that localized irrigation offers, the objective of this work is to adopt the integrated economic optimization method (applied to conventional sprinkle irrigation systems, developed by Gomes) to trickle irrigation. This methodology intends to minimize costs of the distribution network, pumping energy and plot equipment. The results obtained were consistent with the methodology used in this work, showing its validity for conventional sprinkle irrigation as well as trickle irrigation.
Key words:
pressurized systems; water distribution networks; economic optimization
