Technologies to reduce water waste during land leaching and cultivation of industrial crops

¹ “Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers”National Research University, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
² Tashkent State Technical University, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

^* Corresponding author: ilkhommatbe@mail.ru

Abstract

More than half of Uzbekistan's irrigated land is saline to some degree. The drying up of the Aral Sea has intensified this process. For many years, chronic salt storms in the northern part of the country have sprayed large quantities of salt onto agricultural land, leading to increased salinization. These processes cause the water required to flush saline soils year after year.

The problem is exacerbated by water shortages worldwide, including in Central Asia. This requires the leaching of saline soils and a multiplication of the water used in crop cultivation. Therefore, alternative use of water resources in our country is one of the most important issues for agriculture. The introduction of salt leaching and cultivation in farms based on outdated technologies and the low efficiency of new technologies (bio-solvent washing, etc.) in the production of new salt leaching and cultivation remain a negative obstacle for the economic development of farms and the country as a whole.

The analysis shows that in our country, billions of cubic meters of water are used to flush saline soils and cultivate agricultural crops. Still, only 60% of this water reaches the fields where crops are grown, while the rest of it disappears into the irrigation systems and irrigation processes (canals, ditches, and branch lines).

When providing water resources for soil salinization and cultivation using trapezoidal canals, part of the water flowing through them dissolves and filters the mineral and organic fertilizers in the soil due to air pressure and gravity; as a result, up to 30% of water is lost (wasted). In this paper, the water resources for soil washing and crop cultivation are replaced by a parabolic excavator with a trapezoidal boom, designed to save up to 30% of water resources.