Techniques for estimating soil water infiltration

The aim of the study was to carry out a comparative analysis of techniques for estimating water infiltration in the soil, with a view to sizing, managing and evaluating furrow irrigation systems. The study was carried out from January to February 2007 at the Vale do Curu Experimental Farm, Pentecoste, Ceará State. The experimental design adopted was a completely randomised block design, consisting of five treatments and four replications. The treatments consisted of the following soil water infiltration techniques: cylinder-infiltrometer, furrow-infiltrometer, inlet-outlet, volume balance I and volume balance II. Analysis of the results led to the following conclusions: - The water infiltrated into the soil showed a greater degree of dependence on the soil preparation variable compared to the soil water content variable; - The volume balance techniques showed similar results in terms of both the accumulated infiltrated water and the asymptotic regime; - The inlet-outlet and cylinder-infiltrometer techniques showed overestimated accumulated infiltration values compared to the other treatments analysed.