Molecular Oscillation Technology: New Phenomenon to Reduce Emitter Clogging in Trickle Irrigation

Abstract

The Merus ring which is made by Merus Company in Germany is a new device that can be installed on a feed pipeline to reduce emitter clogging in trickle irrigation. Merus technology works using specifically modulated molecular oscillations or lattice oscillations and is not based on the use of fields created by electric coils or magnets. This study was performed in a field belonging to Isfahan University of Technology (Iran) to investigate the effects of the Merus ring on emitter clogging. Two main treatments of irrigation water, with and without the Merus ring, and three subtreatments of irrigation water salinity were used. The results showed that the irrigation water treatment had a significant effect on average emitter discharge at the 1% level. The average emitter discharge was higher for the treatment with the Merus ring compared to the treatment without the Merus ring. For both irrigation water treatments, the average emitter discharge decreased during the experiment, but the decrease was higher for the treatment without the Merus ring. Moreover, the irrigation water treatment had a significant effect on the distribution uniformity of the emitters at the 5% level. The distribution uniformity was higher for the treatment with the Merus ring compared to the treatment without the Merus ring. Therefore, application of the Merus ring is recommended to achieve lower emitter clogging, higher distribution uniformity, and better irrigation performance.