ABSTRACT
This work was carried out in the Center of Agricultural Sciences of the Federal University of Ceará, metropolitan area of Fortaleza. The uniformity of superficial and subsuperficial distribution of water applied by sprinkle irrigation was evaluated, through uniformity coefficients: Christiansen (CUC), Wilcox-Swailes (CUE), Hart (CUH), Criddle (CUD) and HSPA (UDH). The high uniformity values (> 85%) observed in the soil profile, even when the coefficients obtained on the surface were below the recommended minimal values, showed that the water inside the soil, when compared with the distribution levels at the surface, is more evenly distributed and little depends on the superficial uniformity. The evaluated uniformity coefficients can be used without distinction in the analysis of subsuperficial performance of the studied irrigation system, where low variation coefficients were observed, which did not occur in the analysis of superficial performance.
Key words:
irrigation; uniformity coefficients; superficial and subsuperficial distribution