Types of Irrigation -Irrigation is the process of artificially applying water to crops to meet their water needs. Nutrients can also be provided by crops through irrigation. Various sources of water for irrigation are wells, ponds, lakes, canals, tubular wells and even dams. Irrigation provides the moisture needed for growth and development, germination and other related functions.
Frequency, rate, quantity and time of watering are different for different crops, and also depend on soil types and seasons. For example, summer crops need more water than winter crops.
Types of irrigation
Different types of irrigation are used to improve yields. These types of irrigation systems are practiced on the basis of different types of soils, climate, crops and resources. The main types of irrigation that farmers follow are:
The importance of irrigation
Insufficient and uncertain precipitation has a negative impact on agriculture. Droughts and famines are caused by low rainfall. Irrigation helps to increase productivity even with a small amount of precipitation. Productivity on irrigated lands is higher compared to non-irrigated. Multiple harvests are not possible in India because the rainy season is specific to most regions.
However, the climate supports cultivation throughout the year. Irrigation plants make it possible to grow more than one crop in most parts of the country. Irrigation contributed to the cultivation of most of the fallow lands. Irrigation has stabilized production and yields. Irrigation increases the availability of water supply, which in turn increases farmers’ incomes.
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Irrigation is the process of bringing water to land at regular intervals through canals and other artificial methods, to enhance agricultural growth and maintain the landscape during periods of low average rainfall.
Advantages of drip irrigation
- Reduces weed growth: One of the very noticeable benefits of drip irrigation is that it specifically penetrates the plants you want to water, and due to the nature of the system, it is difficult for this water to stray too far. This means that weeds in your soil will not benefit from this irrigation system, which will ultimately reduce the total.
- Water efficiency: In terms of water efficiency, there is not even a competition. Drip irrigation is the best use of water. Not only does it consume much less, the water it uses is less prone to evaporation.
Disadvantages of drip irrigation
- Precise installation required: Drip irrigation is extremely effective at what it does, but only with proper installation. Unfortunately, an improperly installed drip system can easily create drought conditions, causing your plants to grow shallow rather than deep. Obviously, this is the opposite of the expected effect, so when setting up a drip irrigation system, make sure you have professional help.
- Requires maintenance: Another disadvantage of drip irrigation systems is that it requires more maintenance than other sprinkler systems. Drip irrigation equipment is vulnerable to several problems, such as debris, mineral accumulation, and physical injury from external forces, such as lawn mowers. That is why we offer a large selection of drip irrigation components; You will never want to end up with a broken system.
Advantages of surface irrigation:
- The simplest and cheapest: Surface irrigation – the oldest method of watering, and does not require complex technology. While modern hands have greatly improved the process by providing advanced technologies that improve surface watering to tee, the bottom line is that you have a lot of variety, and if you want cheap and easy, you have that opportunity.
- Best use of rainwater: With surface irrigation systems, you have usually made changes to your land to provide it. It really comes down to shaping your property so that the natural flow of water reliably irrigates your plants. For this reason, surface irrigation areas are very effective in using rainwater; the land is already optimized for water runoff.
Disadvantages of surface irrigation:
- Depending on your terrain: For surface irrigation to work, you need to provide your area with the right condition, either by creating furrows for the passage of water or, depending on a small natural slope, for gravity to do its job. Unexpected changes or disturbances in your land can impair the effectiveness of this irrigation.
- Overwetting: One of the risks of surface irrigation is that too much water enters your crops, which can drown the roots and become unproductive. Care must be taken to ensure that the surface watering system does not overfill the plants with water.
Different methods of irrigation
- Manual irrigation
This is when water is distributed on the ground by hand and watering can. This is an ancient method of watering, but it is still used, especially in developing countries. It is cheap, but very time consuming, and its efficiency is low because of the uneven distribution of water. In addition, there is a high probability of water loss.
- 2. Sprinkler system
This is a modern method of watering, and it uses sprinklers. The pump is connected to pressure-generating pipes and water is sprayed through the nozzles. They spray water on crops like raindrops, helping to achieve an even distribution of water. It is efficient and best served in areas with unlimited water.
Sprinklers can be installed permanently, temporarily or installed on a moving platform. For example, in Libya and Saudi Arabia, irrigation is the most common – 100% and 64% respectively.
Unfortunately for the system, the water used must be safe for animals and humans, the distribution of water can be uneven, weeds receive as much water as crops, and can easily erode soils if water accumulates.
- 3. Dropper or jet system
In a drip or jet system, water is fed drip, directly to the roots, through a hose. Drip irrigation is considered to be one of the most effective irrigation methods because it focuses water on the plant itself.
It is also best suited for areas with water shortages. Drip irrigation can use any type of water, including processed and non-potable, on any type of soil and in any climate. This minimizes soil erosion, is energy- and cost-effective, and minimizes weed growth because the water targets the crop itself.
- 4. Surface irrigation
It is here that water is watered under the soil surface. This can happen naturally or artificially. In the first case, water flows from water pipes or canals, moving through the subsoil and irrigating crops nearby.
As for the latter, artificial water supply channels are provided underground, and water is supplied to crops through capillarity. It is an expensive means of irrigation, but it provides high profits and greater profits.
- Perennial irrigation
Irrigation water is diverted from the river to the main canal through the construction of a drainage pipe. This is known as direct irrigation because the water comes directly to the crops. If a dam is built and water is collected and stored, it is called irrigation. Direct irrigation is the simplest and most economical form of perennial watering.
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The importance of irrigation
- Compensation for lack of precipitation
Watering begins when there is insufficient rainfall or when there is uncertainty as to when it will rain. Without an alternative to rain or irrigation, crops are adversely affected, which can lead to food shortages or crop / plant deterioration.
- Increasing the number of arable or agricultural productive land
Some parts of the world are naturally dry. Irrigation has led to the transformation of such lands into arable land. Today, about 18% of the world’s land is irrigated. Irrigation is also responsible for removing the maximum of fallow lands, which traditionally remain without work after the harvest, until the next cultivation season.
- Helps meet food needs
Expanding irrigated land has forced desert ecosystems such as Jordan and Israel to adopt agriculture to increase demand for food, not necessarily dependent on rain. Such areas use groundwater from wells and aquifers, and this allows them to meet global food needs by producing food crops such as cereals, potatoes and vegetables.
In addition, countries and regions that practice top-level irrigation and large-scale irrigation are best known for exporting food, which brings economic benefits to such a region or country.
- Allows multiple pruning
In most tropical countries, the rainy seasons are specific, making it impossible to grow several crops at once. Moreover, their water needs are different, and excess watering spoils crop production. Optimal irrigation makes it possible to grow several crops at the same time in most regions of the country.
- It is effective
When crops or plants are watered irregularly and with only one hose, it is not consistent, and they simply get only one pass. This means that hard-to-reach areas, and those where there is no constant rainfall, may not receive enough water. A well-designed irrigation system provides even hard-to-reach areas of land with efficient irrigation systems such as drip irrigation.
