A study of water seepage from the subsurface ceramic pitcher in Andisol under different water
pressures was executed in a greenhouse of Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo, Japan.
While the soil volumetric moisture content and tomato yield decreased, WUE increased as the water
pressure decreased. The volumetric moisture content decreased with time in the later stage because
ceramic pitcher’s hydraulic conductivity became lower. Numerical simulation results obtained using the
HYDRUS-2D code agreed well with the experimental results. Consequently, it can be said that low
pressure irrigation can save water and improve water use efficiency. The subsurface irrigation system
utilizing ceramic pitcher would be a useful and practical technique for vegetable production in arid and
semi-arid regions.