Integration of Sprinkler Technology and Precision Irrigation for Enhanced Resource Management in Crop Production: A Review

Abstract

The non-judicious allocation of water resources at the farm level, predominantly through traditional irrigation methods, presents a critical challenge to global sustainability, particularly given that the agricultural sector consumes in excess of 70% of available freshwater. Enhancing application efficiency through the deployment of advanced pressurized techniques, specifically sprinkler irrigation, is an essential strategy for mitigation. This review systematically assesses the evolution of sprinkler technology and its critical convergence with precision irrigation (PI) methodologies. A modified literature exploration, based on PRISMA 2020 guidelines, was used wherein only primary field studies published after 2005 were included and review articles and simulation-only studies were excluded. Citation chaining was additionally used to identify key irrigation engineering papers. Findings confirm that traditional sprinkler systems achieve a remarkable 39% reduction in water consumption and elevate water productivity by over 14.1% when contrasted with surface gravity systems. Furthermore, the technological apex is reached when sprinkler application is coupled with PI automation and sensor integration. Such systems realize an additional 20−30% water saving and contribute to significant crop yield increases, ranging from 20% to 27.5%. Critical technological domains analyzed include the optimization of mechanical systems (Center Pivot and Linear Mover), the innovation in low-pressure hydraulic nozzles, and the development of responsive control systems, such as Model Predictive Control (MPC). The study underscores that future research must prioritize developing easily adoptable, cost-effective advanced control algorithms and refine nozzle hydraulics to reliably minimize wind drift and evaporation losses, which often compromise application efficiency.