The aim of this research was to determine which technique is the most appropriate for the infiltration rate definition for the design of sprinkler irrigation systems. The water infiltration data was obtained according to a net having variable spaces between infiltration test points of 1.5, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 96 m, summing 97 test points. The discussions of results obtained by means of definition techniques, i.e. mode, harmonic mean, median, geometric mean, and simple arithmetic mean, square mean, cubic mean and bisquare were based on a larger number of attributes, such as techniques for classical statistics and geostatistical analysis. The equation model for the infiltration rate used was the Kostiakov. The simple arithmetic mean, which is considered the most used technique for definition of infiltration rate for sprinkler irrigation project, should not be used. The median and the geometric mean are the most recommended in sugar cane cultivation, however the median presented a higher number of desirable attributes. In the studied area, the adopted value of the infiltration rate for design must be between 30 and 44 mm h-1, when considering Md ± s² (<IMG SRC="/img/revistas/rbeaa/v13n6/m.gif" ALIGN="absmiddle">).
soil water; sugarcane; water availability
