MODERN IRRIGATION

TECHNIQUES

WHAT IS IRRIGATION?Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of crops.

“Irrigation is the primary consumer of water on earth” — Igor Shiklomanov

IRRIGATION IN THE PAST Farming was more focused on

subsistence rather than selling products in the market.

Labor intensive. Irrigated land used to be small. Highly dependent on weather. Inefficient.

Modern Irrigation More focus is now on selling the output. Machine intensive. More sophisticated. Rains are no longer the controlling force.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF

IRRIGATIONIN MODERN TIMES

SURFACE IRRIGATIONIn surface irrigation systems, the land is filled completely with water. In this way

crops like rice are able to get ample amount of water.

METHODS OF SURFACE IRRIGATION

• Controlled: Water is applied from the head ditch and guided by corrugations, furrows, borders, or ridges.

• Uncontrolled- wild flooding.

DISAVANTAGES-• Wastage of water• Soil erosion• Loss of minerals in soil

DRIP IRRIGATION Also known as trickle irrigation.Water is supplied at the roots of the

plants, drop by drop.Most efficient and effective way of

irrigation.Drip irrigation method can be either high

tech computerized or labor intensive.

Drip irrigation

SPRINKLER Water is piped through different locations

in the field and is then distributed by high pressure sprinklers or guns.

Sprinklers are mostly installed on permanent risers.

Some sprinklers which rotate are called rotors.

SPRINKLER

Center pivot irrigation is a form of sprinkler irrigation.

It consists of several segments of pipe which is joined together and is supported by trusses, mounted on wheeled towers with sprinklers positioned along it’s length.

It moves in a circular pattern and is fed with water from the pivot point at the center of the arc.

CENTER PIVOT

Center Pivot

Disadvantages of sprinkler

0 Costly to install0 Average cost is $26820 Also, large number of sprinklers have to be installed

in a field because area covered by a single sprinkler is not large.

0 Center pivot is also extremely costly.

Sub-Irrigation

• It has been used for many years where there is a lot of ground water available.

• It is a method of artificially raising the water table to allow the soil to be moistened from below the plants' root zone.

• Advantages are water and nutrient conservation, and labor-saving through lowered system maintenance and automation.

• It is similar to surface drip irrigation system.

COMPARISON

TRADITIONAL METHOD OF IRRIGATION

• Inefficient as crops don’t get water properly.

• Very cheap because there is no installation cost.

• Labor intensive.

MODERN IRRIGATIONAL TECHNIQUE

• Efficient because crops get correct amount of water. The best example is drip irrigation system.

• Extremely costly. A lot of investment has to be made to get a proper irrigational system.

• Machine intensive.

These days people prefer to use modern irrigational techniques because they are extremely efficient and effective.

Modern irrigational techniques are also pivotal in increasing the crop yield.

Also since these days farming is done with the help of fertilizers, crops need a certain amount of water to grow properly.

WHY IS EVERYONE USING MODERN IRRIGATIONAL TECHNIQUES?

MY VIEW ON USING MODERN IRRIGATIONAL TECHNIQUESAccording to me, modern irrigational

techniques should be used and promoted because they save a lot of water.

For example: drip irrigation, if done properly can save upto 95% of water.

Also modern irrigational methods are important because of scarcity of water and increasing demand for food crops.

Modern irrigational techniques are also cost effective, if done on a large scale.