Maziar Kandelous, Ph.D. Candidate 
Department of Land, Air and Water Resources 
University of California, Davis 

Thursday, August 20th, 2015 
9:00 a.m. 
3102 Ghausi Hall 

"Micro-Irrigation System Design and Management: Monitoring, Modeling and Optimization" 

Abstract: There has been a growing concern for agricultural water and nutrient use efficiency, in particular, dealing with water shortages due to drought and groundwater pollution from fertilizer. In order to address these concerns, conventional surface irrigation systems were switched to micro irrigation systems, which have been proven to be effective in boosting productivity and improving water and nutrient use efficiency. Optimum design of micro-irrigation systems and irrigation/fertigation management are the key elements in achieving desired water and nutrient use efficiency. A combination approach of both modeling and field monitoring of soil-water-plant parameters was used to optimize irrigation system design and irrigation/fertigation management for alfalfa fields and almond orchards. The HYDRUS-2D model was coupled with a multi-objective optimization tool, AMALGAM, to look for optimum subsurface drip irrigation system design and management for alfalfa. Almond has a high water and nitrogen demand making it a potentially significant source of nitrate contamination of groundwater. A field monitoring study was conducted to evaluate water use efficiency and its uniformity across the orchard. A water balance approach and Darcys law were used to estimate the leaching of water below the root zone of almond. 

Maziar Kandelous is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources at the University of California, Davis. He holds an MS degree from University of Tehran in Irrigation and Reclamation Engineering and a BS degree from the University of Tehran in Irrigation and Drainage Engineering. 

Coffee will be served