Irrigation / Watering

To irrigate is to water crops by bringing in water from pipes, canals, sprinklers, or other man-made means, rather than relying on rainfall alone. Places that have sparse or seasonal rainfall could not sustain agriculture without irrigation. In areas that have irregular precipitation, irrigation improves crop growth and quality. By allowing farmers to grow crops on a consistent schedule, irrigation also creates more reliable food supplies.

Ancient civilizations in many parts of the world practiced irrigation. In fact, civilization would probably not be possible without some form of irrigation. The earliest form of irrigation probably involved people carrying buckets of water from wells or rivers to pour on their crops. As better techniques developed, societies in Egypt and China built irrigation canals, dams, dikes, and water storage facilities. Ancient Rome built structures called aqueducts to carry water from snowmelt in the Alps to cities and towns in the valleys below. This water was used for drinking, washing, and irrigation.

Modern irrigation systems use reservoirs, tanks, and wells to supply water for crops. Reservoirs include aquifers, basins that collect snowmelt, lakes, and basins created by dams. Canals or pipelines carry the water from reservoirs to fields. Canals and pipelines, just like the ancient Roman aqueducts, often rely on the force of gravity. Pumps may also move water from reservoirs to fields.

Crops are irrigated by several methods: flooding an entire field, channeling water between rows of plants, spraying water through large sprinklers, or letting water drop onto plants through holes in pipes.

Letting water drop onto plants through holes in pipes, known as drip irrigation, is considered one of the most efficient methods of irrigation. Drip irrigation focuses the water onto the plant itself. Other methods can waste water by letting it absorb into the ground where there are no plants. Water can also evaporate into the air when sprayed through sprinklers.

(From https://www.netafim.com/en/drip-irrigation/)

Drip Irrigation

Drip irrigation is the most efficient water and nutrient delivery system for growing crops. It delivers water and nutrients directly to the plant's roots zone, in the right amounts, at the right time, so each plant gets exactly what it needs, when it needs it, to grow optimally. Thanks to drip irrigation, farmers can produce higher yields while saving on water as well as fertilizers, energy and even crop protection products.

How does it work?

Water and nutrients are delivered across the field in pipes called dripperlines featuring smaller units known as drippers. Each dripper emits drops containing water and fertilizers, resulting in the uniform application of water and nutrients direct to each plant's root zone, across an entire field.

Why do farmers prefer drip irrigation?

The reason is simple. Drip Irrigation not only delivers greater ROI compared to other of irrigation methods, it also gives farmers an efficient and simple way to operate their farms.

  • Higher consistent quality yields
  • Huge water savings: no evaporation, no run off, no waste
  • 100% land utilization - drip irrigates uniformly in any topography and soil type
  • Energy savings: drip irrigation works on low pressure
  • Efficient use of fertilizer and crop protection, with no leaching
  • Less dependency on weather, greater stability and lower risks

Why do plants prefer drip irrigation?

Just like people, plants like to get their water and nutrients in a balanced way. Nobody wants to eat a month's worth of food in one day, and the same goes for plants. Which is why drip irrigation applies water and nutrients frequently and in small doses, ensuring optimal growing conditions that helps produce the highest yields possible.

Here's why plants are more productive with drip irrigation:

  • High availability of water and nutrients
  • Doses of water and nutrients tailored to plant's development needs
  • No saturation and good soil aeration
  • Avoids high salinity caused by excessive fertilizer application
  • No wetting of foliage that can result in fungal diseases

Why the world needs drip irrigation

By 2050, there'll be 10 billion people living on our planet, and 20% less arable land per person to grow enough calories. Include increasing water scarcity, and it's clear why we need a way to increase agricultural productivity and resource efficiency. That's where drip irrigation fits in, changing the economics of global agriculture by allowing farmers to produce more calories per hectare and cubic meter of water.

  • Reduce impact of drought and climate change on food production
  • Avoid contamination of ground water and rivers caused by fertilizer leaching
  • Support rural communities, reduce poverty, reduce migration to cities

FAQs

Which crops are suitable for drip irrigation?

Any crop can be grown using drip irrigation. From field crops such as corn soybean or sugarcane, to vegetables and tree crops. Either growing in soil or in a soilless media. On a flat field or on sloping terrain – drip irrigation fits all topographies. The only decision is choosing the right drip configuration based on your crop and field conditions.

How efficient is drip irrigation?

Drip irrigation is known to be the most efficient irrigation methods with 95-100% water use efficiency. This is compared to sprinkler systems that have 80-85% water use efficiency or flood and furrow that are 60-70% efficient. Efficiency is related to the effectiveness of the system on crop performance and eventually on yield and profitability of the farmer.

Is drip irrigation expensive?

Farmers looking to invest in a drip irrigation system should calculate ROI versus alternative irrigation methods. Because drip irrigation delivers significant increases in crop yields while saving on inputs (water, fertilizer, energy and labor), it can pay for itself in a relatively short period of time and give farmers more profit in their pocket.

Future of Irrigation

During the twentieth century, the amount of irrigated land in the world doubled. An estimated 18 percent of the worlds cropland is now irrigated. This expansion has occurred mainly in Asia, Africa, and South America. Even desert ecosystems like those in Jordan use irrigation. Jordan uses a variety of irrigation techniques with groundwater from wells and aquifers.

To help meet the worlds demand for food, more farmland and more irrigation may be needed. Many experts fear that the expanding use of irrigation in some areas will deplete aquifers, reducing the amount of freshwater available for drinking and hygiene.

The Aral Sea, in Central Asia, has been almost completely emptied by irrigation. In 1918, the Soviet government decided that the two rivers that fed the Aral Sea, the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, would be diverted to irrigate crops of cotton, melons, and citrus in the deserts of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Canals were poorly built, and much of the water went to waste. Before large-scale agriculture was introduced in the 1940s, the Aral Sea had an area of 68,000 square kilometers (26,255 square miles). Today, the Aral Sea is three separate lakes, with a combined area of fewer than 17,000 square kilometers (3,861 square miles).

The Aral Sea ecosystem has been nearly eliminated. The areas once-thriving fishery has been destroyed. Huge fishing vessels now sit abandoned in the middle of the salty desert.

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are working with environmental organizations to preserve what is left of the Aral Sea while still allowing farmers to irrigate their crops. Kazakhstan, for example, built a dam to retain water in the North Aral Sea, one of three lakes now in the area. Fish are slowly returning. Improved irrigation canals from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya also reduce the amount of water lost to agriculture.