If the container
spacing in a typical nursery bed is one foot by 2 feet in an unjammed situation, and the container has
a top diameter of 10 inches, what is the theoretical interception efficiency
for the crop? A similar question could be asked for a greenhouse crop on a bench.
Using areas, instead of
water volume, is a fairly easy method to make this calculation. A data file
can be created for various containers and their typical spacing. The number
calculated is a theoretical value but is the best estimate available quickly.
If
the container spacing is 1 foot by 2 feet, then the centers of the containers
will be the points at the corners of a rectangle 1 foot by 2 feet.
Draw this
out on paper and you will see that each corner of the rectangle has one-quarter
of a container in it. Putting these four corners together gives one container
top; there is one container in each 1 foot by 2 foot rectangle drawn over the
growing area.
Draw this out to prove it to yourself. Square
Container Spacing illustrates the top container and ground areas used for
this computation.
The most difficult calculation
is determining the open area on the top of the container; the open area is calculated
using the outside diameter of the top of the container. The area of a circle
is the constant (Pi= 3.14) x (diameter / 2) 2. The (diameter divided by 2) is
substituted for the radius of the circle.
This equation can also be expressed
simply as:
Area of a circle = 0.785
x diameter (feet) x diameter (feet).
Convert the diameter, given
in inches to feet, by dividing by 12. If using inches is easier for you, then
divide the result by 144 to convert to square feet. Just be careful to watch
the units! Thus, in our example,
Top container area = 0.785
x 0.83 (10/12) x 0.83 = 0.54 square feet
The area of the ground area (rectangle)
is length times width.
Ground area = 1 foot x 2 feet = 2 square feet.
The Interception Efficiency
equals the top container area divided by the total surface area times 100 to
convert to percentage.
Interception Efficiency,
% = (top container area divided by ground area) x 100.
=
(0.54 / 2)(100) = 0. 27 x 100 = 27 %
So, for this spacing, about 27% of the overhead-applied water will fall into the containers and 100
- 27 = 73% will fall onto the ground. Part of the 73 percent will evaporate,
some may infiltrate, and the rest will runoff from the site.
Extra: Container volume
calculation: This is useful information to calculate the
number of containers that can be filled by a cubic yard of substrate.
- Measure both the top
and bottom diameters of the container, as many containers are tapered.
- Calculate the both the top and bottom areas.
Sum these two areas and divide by two to get an average.
- Multiply the averaged
area times the container height to get the container volume. The number of containers
filled by a cubic yard of substrate can be calculated.
- Divide the cubic yard
by container volume to get number of containers filled. Remember to use conversion
units: 27 cu ft = 1 cu yd and 1,728 cu in. = 1 cu ft.