Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment

Fertigation quality with drip irrigation system in grape orchard by using the process capability index

Author(s):

Márcio Roberto Klein ^{1, 2}, Marcio Antonio Vilas Boas ¹, Floriano Luiz Suszek ¹, Flavio Daniel Szekut ², Eloy Lemos de Mello ¹, Benedito Martins Gomes ¹, Bruno Bonemberger Silva ¹, Thiago Zuculotto ¹

Recieved Date: 2015-01-01, Accepted Date: 2015-03-20

Abstract:

The capability of the process is used to produce acceptable products or processes. Process-capability studies have large impact on many management decision problems that occur over the product cycle, including decisions and process improvements that reduce process variability. In order to study the quality of fertigation in grapes, a field experiment with drip irrigation system was conducted in a farm in the state of Parana, Brazil. The experiment was factorial 2 × 4, with two fertilizer concentrations, 200 and 400 mg L^-1 of NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) and four head pressures, 150, 200, 250 and 300 kPa. Analysis of variance was performed for the coefficients CUC (Christiansen’s uniformity coefficient) and CVt (coefficient of total variation). The PC (process capability index) was calculated for all combinations of head pressure with fertilizer concentration. The head pressures of 150 and 200 kPa resulted in more water distribution uniformity. The relationships of CUC and CVt with CP resulted in R² equal to 91.84% and 93.76%, respectively. The process capability index showed that the head pressure of 300 kPa is inadequate since this index was less than 1. The process capability index showed to be able to diagnose whether the fertigation process maintains acceptable levels of water distribution uniformity. In all evaluations, CUC exceeded 90% and CVt was less than 10%, classifying the water distribution uniformity of the drip irrigation system as “Good” and “Excellent”, respectively.

Keywords:

Head pressure, fertilizer concentration, water distribution uniformity, Christiansen’s uniformity coefficient, coefficient of total variation, process capability index

---

Journal: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
Year: 2015
Volume: 13
Issue: 2
Category: Agriculture
Pages: 179-183

---

Full text for Subscribers

---

Information:

Note to users

The requested document is freely available only to subscribers/registered users with an online subscription to the Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment. If you have set up a personal subscription to this title please enter your user name and password. All abstracts are available for free.

Article purchasing

If you like to purchase this specific document such as article, review or this journal issue, contact us. Specify the title of the article or review, issue, number, volume and date of the publication. Software and compilation, Science & Technology, all rights reserved. Your use of this website details or service is governed by terms of use. Authors are invited to check from time to time news or information.

---

Purchase this Article:   20 Purchase PDF Order Reprints for 15

---

Share this article :