Simulating soil water content under surface and subsurface drip irrigation with municipal wastewater

The demand of wastewater for irrigation is gradually increasing due to escalating competition for freshwater by urban, industrial, and agricultural users. To sustain or increase agricultural production, there is a need to adopt highly efficient irrigation technologies such as surface or subsurface drip irrigation systems. Studies related to water distribution under any irrigation system and water quality are important for efficient water and nutrients application. In present study, the water dynamics under surface and subsurface drip irrigation was evaluated by taking cauliflower as a test crop on sandy loam soil. The calibrated model predicted all the parameters close to observed values with RMSE values ranging from 0.05to 0.92. HYDRUS -2D model has ability to predict water distribution with reasonably good accuracy in present crop and soil condition