This work had the objective to study a superficial water source utilized in a trickle irrigation system. The principal physical, chemical and biological parameters of the irrigation water that caused problems of obstrution in emitters: pH, turbidity, suspensded solids, dissolved solids, EC, hardness, Langelier index, algae and bacterium were analysed during the year. The evaluation criterion of the impurities present in the irrigation water were based on the studies conducted by Bucks & Nakayama (1986), in order to give quantitative orientation of risk of obstruction of drippers in trickle irrigation systems. The chemical factors which showed moderate clogging risk to the emitters were: pH, total iron and sulphite concentration. All the other analysed parameters resulted in values that did not present obstruction risk to the emitters. A correlation was found between the physical parameters-turbidity and suspended solids and the biological parameters- algae and total suspended solids.
trickle irrigation; water quality; clogging
