04227 - Irrigation and Drainage

Learning outcomes

At the end of the teaching, the student acquires the most important principles, notions and technical elements for managing water for irrigation and drainage.

Course contents

Formative Pre-requirements

The student must own a basic preparation thanks to studied principles of mathematics and physics and to some notions of agronomy and agro-meteorology. These pre-requirements are provided by the respective courses of the Bachelor’s degree.

Unit 1 - Irrigation (20 hours)

- Base notions and principal quantities of the agricultural hydraulics. Base concepts and definition of the fundamental quantities - classification of the irrigation according to agronomic and territorial criterions, necessity and convenience of the irrigation.

- Gravitational methods of irrigation (sliding, infiltration, submersion).

- Methods of irrigation in pressure: sprinkling - constitutive elements, typologies of business systems, self-propelled systems, typology and characterization of the irrigators.

- Methods of irrigation in pressure: micro-irrigation - constitutive elements with particular attention to nozzles, systems of filtering, fertirrigation.

- Pump systems and other equipment: classification of the pumps, fundamental quantities, characterization of pumps and other equipment.

Competences acquired in unit 1

The student possesses the correct technical approach in the context of the explained techniques of irrigation.

The student is able to choose the suitable technique of irrigation in relation to the different business realities.

The student knows criterions to calculate the principal parameters of irrigation.

Unit 2 - Drainage (4 hours)

- Relationship between water and drainage.

- Classification of the types of drains and their respective use: horizontal drainage, vertical drainage.

Competences acquired in unit 2

The student is able to identify the characteristic elements of both superficial and underground systems of drainage.

The student recognizes the most proper setup for the drainage of the water in excess.

Unit 3 - Exercises and didactic visits (16 hours)

- Design of irrigation systems, examples.

- Didactic/field visit.

Competences acquired in unit 3

The student identifies and calculates the fundamental quantities of the agricultural hydraulics.
The student is able to verify and project conducts in pressure and channels.
In a specific context, the student is able to choose the most suitable scheme of irrigation.
The student understands the studied tools in the field.

Readings/Bibliography

Lecture notes of “Irrigation and Drainage” (in .pdf format downloadable on the teacher’s website) and didactic material.

Texts for further information:

A. Capra, B. Scicolone; “Progettazione e Gestione degli impianti di irrigazione”; Edagricole; Bologna; 2007.

V. Ferro; “Elementi di idraulica e idrologia per le scienze agrarie, ambientali e forestali”; McGraw-Hill; Milano; 2013.

Teaching methods

The course is divided in three didactic unities. The first two units are theoretical. They are developed through frontal lessons supported by slides in PowerPoint. Demonstrations will be done through the help of blackboard and doubts will be clarified with opportune tools. The third didactic unit foresees numerical exercises that would be developed from the teacher and students. The material will be provided both on paper or on digital format. Also seminars and specific detailed analysis would be done in order to satisfy the difficulties and requirements of the class. The didactic visit is an integral part of the course because it is useful and necessary to understand mechanisms of systems of irrigation in the field.

Assessment methods

The present teaching belongs to the Integrated Course AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING linked with the module "Basic Agricultural Mechanics" by Prof. Ing. G. Molari.
The evaluation of the integrated course considers the level of knowledges and competences acquired on both the teachings. For the module "Irrigation and Drainage" the final examination consists in an oral exam (in Italian or in English) during which questions will be made on the three unities.

Teaching tools

Slides in PowerPoint, blackboard, computer, didactic material.

Office hours

See the website of Attilio Toscano