CHINA'S XINJIANG FILM-MULCHED DRIP IRRIGATION TECHNOLOGY: A STANDARD-BASED ASSESSMENT OF WATER AND ENERGY SAVING

Abstract

Film-mulched drip irrigation, widely associated with the irrigated oases of Xinjiang, China, is more than the placement of drip tape under plastic film. It is an integrated water-saving system that combines local water storage, pumping and control, filtration, fertigation, low-pressure laterals, weather and soil monitoring, and root-zone moisture management. This paper evaluates the technology using a literature-based IMRAD approach, standard engineering criteria, field photographs of typical components, and an illustrative hydraulic-energy calculation for a pumped irrigation unit. The analysis shows that the main energy benefit comes from two linked mechanisms: reducing the seasonal water volume and keeping the operating pressure only as high as needed for uniform emitter discharge. In the demonstration calculation, a film-mulched low-pressure drip option required about 191 kWh ha-1 season-1 for pressure lift, compared with about 807 kWh ha-1 season-1 for a high-pressure sprinkler scenario. Agronomically, the technology improves the soil hydrothermal environment, reduces nonproductive evaporation, supports precise fertigation, and can increase water productivity. Its sustainability, however, depends on filtration maintenance, pressure uniformity, salinity leaching, fertilizer balance, and responsible management of plastic-film residues.