Drip Irrigation Method Research Articles

Problems experienced by farmers in arecanut cultivation

The studies were conducted on problems experienced by farmers in arecanut cultivation. Observation was found that 16 per cent of yield gap between demonstration plot and actual farmers plot yield in arecanut. The total yield gap between potential yield and actual yield was 32 per cent. Majority of the big farmers (66 %) and small farmers (50 %) were medium level of adoption. Majority of the big farmers fully adopted the practices like spacing, pit size, number of seedlings per acre and drip irrigation methods, whereas technologies fully adopted by small farmers were pit size (86 %), number of seedlings per acre (74 %) and spacing (66 %). Cent per cent of small and big farmers have not applied weedicide. More than 70 per cent of small farmers have not adopted technologies such as improved variety selection, good quality seedling selection procedure, recommended dose of inorganic fertilizers and red palm weevil management, more than half of the big farmers did not adopt seedling selection procedure, pulse crops as intercrops and red palm weevil management practices. High cost and non availability of labour, erratic supply of electricity and low price for the produce were the major production constraints perceived by the arecanut growers. A great majority of big and small farmers opined that providing continuous power supply, fixed price for the produce, create awareness programmes for control of pest and diseases were the major suggestions to overcome the production constraint of arecanut by the farmers.

Una red de sensores inalámbricos para la automatización y control del riego localizado

Uno de los objetivos de la agricultura de precisión, es el riego de acuerdo con las necesidades particulares de cada porción del suelo de cultivo. En este trabajo, se describe el diseño e implementación de una red de sensores inalámbricos que es capaz de obtener mediciones de humedad del suelo de diferentes zonas de un cultivo de fresas y, según los datos recogidos, determina el tiempo de riego y la zona particular que se debe regar utilizando el método de goteo. Los requerimientos de agua para los cultivos se estimaron teniendo en cuenta la capacidad de campo y el umbral de riego; ambas fueron encontradas para cada zona del cultivo en periodo de producción. La comunicación entre los nodos de la red se basa en la pila de protocolos ZigBee, y el prototipo final es un sistema de control de riego de encendido/apagado en lazo cerrado, que incluye una banda de histéresis. Los resultados de la implementación de la red y el sistema de control muestran un incremento en la eficiencia del uso de agua, además de una mejora en la calidad de los frutos con respecto al método de riego tradicional.

Computational Fluid Dynamic Simulation of Pipeline Irrigation System Based on Ansys

Strawberry plants (Fragaria × ananassa Duch) are one commodity that has great economic value. Strawberries are grown in cold regions in Indonesia such as in Malang, Ciwidey, and Garut. Besides a cold location, strawberry plants also need adequate water and proper irrigation methods. The drip irrigation (DI) method is able to conserve water and can reduce the risk of illness in the strawberry due to pollution by dirty water. In this study, drip irrigation modeling will be conducted using the existing CFD methods in ANSYS. The purpose of modeling is to get the water pressure needed to circulate water in a strawberry field with a flow rate of 0.95 l/h at each outlet of irrigation drip. This simulation modeling will be used to irrigate 600 strawberry plants in 320 m2 of the total area. From the simulation results obtained, 600 strawberry plants require pressure to be maintained at the pressure tank of 1.019 bar.

Sustaining Chili Pepper Production in Afghanistan through Better Irrigation Practices and Management

Water management and utilization is an ongoing problem in developing countries with semi-arid to arid climates such as Afghanistan. The lack of effective irrigation systems are oftentimes the most limiting factor for maximizing agricultural productivity in these countries. In Afghanistan, the most widely used irrigation methods are basin/border for cereal crops and furrow for vegetables and grapes, although drip irrigation is a technology that could be used to significantly improve water use efficiency (WUE) in horticultural crop production. Therefore, three irrigation methods (basin, furrow, and drip) were evaluated for their influences on chili pepper production and WUE at the Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) Badam Bagh Agricultural Research and Demonstration Farm in Kabul over the 2009 and 2010 growing seasons. Results from this study indicated that both drip and furrow irrigation provided similar high chili pepper plant growth and yield responses compared to the low amounts provided by basin irrigation (p ≤ 0.05). The drip and furrow irrigation methods provided a similar low incidence of Phytophthora blight disease, as 4% and 7% of chili pepper plants were visually afflicted by this disease, respectively, while an astounding 69% of chili peppers grown with basin irrigation had symptoms of this disease. Drip irrigation resulted in the best overall WUE (p ≤ 0.05), as this water delivery method utilized the least amount of water and provided the highest chili pepper yield. Furrow irrigation provided a lower WUE compared to drip, but was greater than that of basin irrigation. Although this study indicated that drip irrigation had the greatest WUE for chili pepper production, furrow irrigation is still the method of choice by farmers in Afghanistan to provide water to this crop. The associated costs with pressurized drip irrigation systems are too expensive for farmers to purchase and maintain, which has led to the widespread use of surface irrigation. Moreover, the resistance of growers to change to newer and more advanced technologies is commonplace in many developing countries, and without some type of improvement to current water management practices at the farm level, there is a bleak outlook to maximize agricultural productivity in these areas of the world with limited rainfall and minimal water resources. Although it is essential to sustain this important resource through better irrigation management practices, on-farm agricultural economics are often more important than the needs of future generations and the environment.

Water pillow irrigation versus drip irrigation with regard to growth and yield of tomato grown under greenhouse conditions in a semi-arid region

Increasing world population entails an increase in agricultural productions. Climate change and resultant global warming points out more efficient use of soil and water resources. Irrigation is the most significant input in agriculture to increase yield levels. Therefore, efficient water use is a critical issue in irrigation practices to have ‘more crop per drop’. Water pillow is a new irrigation method with quite high irrigation water efficiency. In this study, efficiency of water pillows irrigation method was investigated in tomato irrigation under greenhouse conditions and results were compared with drip irrigation. Amount of applied irrigation water was measured as 416.3mm in water pillows and 798.7mm in drip irrigation. The value in water pillows was 52% less than drip irrigation. The total yield was 360.11tha−1 in water pillows and 306.62tha−1 in drip irrigation method. Average yield per plant was 11.31kg in water pillows and 9.63kg in drip irrigation. The differences in yields of treatments were found to be significant (P<0.05). Weed development was observed in drip irrigation, but not observed in water pillows. Physico-chemical analyses on tomatoes from water pillows and drip irrigation revealed that tomatoes irrigated with water pillows had better pH, titration acidity, brix, total dry matter and color values than the tomatoes irrigated with drip irrigation.

Improvements of soil salt characteristics and nutrient status in an impermeable saline–sodic soil reclaimed with an improved drip irrigation while ridge planting Lycium barbarum L.

Takyric solonetz is spread widely across the arid area of northwest China. The extremely poor soil structure and low hydraulic conductivity (Ks < 0.1 mm day−1) hinder its amelioration. The purpose of this study was to investigate the soil salt leaching characteristics, nutrient contents, and distributions in the impermeable saline–sodic soil reclaimed with an improved drip irrigation method, and to explore the impacting mechanisms of agronomic practices involved on the amelioration. A 3-year field experiment was conducted to investigate the success of planting Lycium barbarum L. in the highly saline–sodic wasteland of takyric solonetz using drip irrigation. The soil beneath the drip emitters near the plants was replaced with sand in niches that were 0.2 m in ground diameter and 0.2 m deep. Five treatments based on soil matric potential (SMP) were designed to find the optimal irrigation schedule: −5 kPa (S1), −10 kPa (S2), −15 kPa (S3), −20 kPa (S4), and −25 kPa (S5). A significant improvement was found in soil infiltration capability, which was demonstrated by the increasingly enlarged wetted area beneath the drip emitter. This improvement was resulting from the combined affects of all the agronomic practices involved, including drip irrigation, sand-filled niches, film mulching. After 3 years, soil salt leaching rates in S1–S5 root zones were 68.16 , 39.45 , 26.56 , 25.14 and 10.40%, respectively, indicating that the higher SMP improved soil salt leaching. The increased soil ECe/SAR ratio reflected the amelioration of soil physical properties. After planting, the soil nutrient status considerably improved. N fertilizer, which often was leached away, should be applied in the latter half of an irrigation event. Available P content in the soil was relatively low and it was necessary to apply adequate P fertilizer to meet crop growth needs, while the studied soil was rich in K and moderate supplement of K fertilizer was proposed. After 3 years, S2, S3, and S4 produced the significantly higher dry fruit yields (∼900 kg ha−1), which were close to those produced by local farmland. Our findings indicated that an improved drip irrigation made the reclamation of an impermeable saline–sodic soil possible. The key operations included drip irrigation, sand-filled niches beneath drip emitters, ridge tillage, film mulching, and the use of thresholds to control SMP.

Land suitability assessment for optimum management of water consumption in precise agriculture

Optimum irrigation management is an important factor in precise agriculture. The main objective of this research is to compare different irrigation methods based upon a parametric evaluation system in an area of 41,200 ha in the Rasht region, north Iran. Once the soil properties were analyzed and evaluated, suitability maps were generated for surface, sprinkler and drip irrigation methods using a geographic information system and remote sensing. Parametric methods including Storie and Khidir, were used for land suitability evaluation to propose suitable irrigation system. Khidir method was more accurate than Storie method. The obtained results of khidir method showed that for 40,487.3 ha (98.3 %) of the study area the drip irrigation method was suitable. Capability ratings were the highest in all soil series for drip irrigation. The results demonstrated that by applying drip irrigation method instead of sprinkler and surface irrigation methods, the arability of 40,487.3 ha in the Rasht region would improve. The comparison of the different types of irrigation revealed that drip irrigation system was more effective and efficient than the surface and sprinkler irrigation methods and improved land suitability for irrigation purposes. It is of note, however, that the main limiting factors in using surface, sprinkler and drip irrigation methods in this area were drainage and soil texture.

Influence of irrigation depth and interval under drip irrigation method on productivity of rabi groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in water scarce regions

Due to depletion of underground water, the farmers have been facing many problems in irrigating the crops by traditional methods. In such situations, the drip method ofirrigation proved efficient. However, to identify optimum irrigation depth and suitable irrigation interval under drip method of irrigation to rabi groundnut, field experiments were conducted during rabi 2006-07 to 2007-08 with two irrigation depths viz., 10 mm and 15 mm each scheduled at 3 intervals i.e. on 2nd day, 3rd day and 4th day and were compared with traditional check-basin method. In both the years, significantly higher pod yield was recorded with 10 mm depth of irrigation, scheduled on every third day which was at par with 15 mm depth given on 3rd day and 15 mm depth of irrigation on 2nd day. Significantly lowest groundnut pod yield was with check basin method at IW/CPE 1.0, which was 187% and 21% lower than that of 10 mm depth scheduled on 3rd day during 2006-07 and 2007-08, respectively. Highest field water use efficiency was with 10 mm depth of irrigation scheduled on 3rd day during 2006-07 (7.7 kg/hamm) and 10 mm depth scheduled on 4th day during 2007-08 (5.0 kg/hamm). When the quantity of irrigation water available is equal to that of check basin method, irrigations could be scheduled with 10 mmdepth of water on every 4th day so that 136 times additional area could be brought under similar set of irrigation treatment. Thus, the reduction in pod and haulm yields with this treatment could be compensated by bringing additional area through diverting the saved water.

EVALUATION THE OPERATION OF A DRIP IRRIGATION SYSTEM IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOIL

Drip Irrigation Method is the best method that has been used in the world among the other irrigation methods because of its good and high uniformity. This method distributes water to the field using a pipe network and transforms it to the plant by emitters. In spite of the advantages of drip irrigation method, the system has many problems, such as the impact of soil type, silt and discharges distribution. To achieve the goals of using a drip irrigation system, it must be designed and operated properly so that rates and location of delivery of water to the root zone is suitable for crop requirements. Generally, the criterion for drip irrigation system operation is based on soil texture. Soil wetting is one of the most important parameters to determine the deep percolation rate and the efficiency of the system. Knowledge of soil wetting pattern and its movement plays a large role in deciding depth and spacing of pipes, design of irrigation scheduling and improving the efficiency of the drip irrigation system. The objective of this study is to develop an approach to operate the drip irrigation system in sandy and clay soils by a computerized method regarding the type of crops, its consumptive use, type of soil, frequency of irrigation and water distribution in the network .The study adopts two approaches as follows: The field work approach and the theoretical approach. In the field work approach, soil analysis of the physical and chemical properties of the soil which affect the soil quality as well as its suitability for growing plants are determined. For the theoretical approach the well known software CROPWAT is used for the calculation of crop water requirements and irrigation requirements depending on soil, climate and crop data. Measurements of the consumptive use, discharge, velocities, wetted soil width, wetted soil depth, frequency of irrigation for the two types of soil with silt content calculated. The designed discharge was found to be higher in clay soil than sand soil because it saves the water for a long time through a small area as it is little porous. Increasing silt rate for each type of soil, cause to increases the amount of irrigation water requirement. As the wetted soil width depends on emitter discharge and soil type, it will be increase with soils in high silty clay compared with the low silt and bigger as compared to sandy soils.

Sunflower Water Requirements Using Single and Dual Crop Coefficients

A field experiment of drip-irrigated Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) was conducted at the Experimental Farm, Faculty of Agriculture (Saba-Basha), Alexandria University, Egypt during 2013 growing season to develop seasonal Kc values for drip irrigated sunflower. In this context the objectives were: 1. to analyze the ability of the FAO-56 single and dual crop coefficient models for assessment the regional evapotranspiration and water requirements, 2. to estimate an adequate water quantity needed for the sunflower. The sunflower variety Sakha 53 was cultivated at 28th April and harvesting was done at 8 August, 2013. Seeds were sown at 4-5 seeds in each hill with a spacing of 0.3 m within each row and 0.6 spacing, then thinned to one plant after 2 weeks from sowing. After emergence, the plots were irrigated by the drip irrigation method. All field practices were done as usually recommended for sunflower cultivation. The irrigation treatments based on replenishment of soil water depletion according to reference evapotranspiration (ET0). The irrigation treatments were; irrigation at 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100% of ET0. The results indicated that seasonal sunflower evapotranspiration (mm) has higher value with field irrigation approach and the lower value was for standard FAO single approach. The seasonal evapotranspiration (single crop coefficient approach) was less than the seasonal evapotranspiration of dual crop coefficient approach. It appears that ETc estimation of sunflower crop is more accurate by dual crop coefficient approach than those produced by single crop coefficient approach because of using more parameters and taking the soil practices and crop characteristics in consideration. The basal crop coefficient values cannot be proposed for all climates and regions because of different climatic conditions and crop management practice under different regions. The present study recommended that for the present conditions and the same other conditions, the irrigation of sunflower crop must be done according to the dual crop coefficient approach because it is more accurate than single crop coefficient and close up to the field conditions.

Soil Microbial Community Composition in a Peach Orchard Under Different Irrigation Methods and Postharvest Deficit Irrigation

The San Joaquin Valley produces more than 250 unique crops and much of the U.S. fruits, vegetables, and nuts. One of the main limiting factors for production in this region is reduced availability of water. Deficit irrigation is a management practice where plants receive less than full irrigation but only at certain growth stages to minimize yield loss or long-term impacts to the crop. Given the multiple roles of soil microorganisms in the soil system, it is important to asses any impact of deficit irrigation on soil microbial communities. In the present study, full and deficit irrigation treatments were applied for 7 years using furrow, microsprinkler, and surface drip irrigation systems in a peach orchard. In the seventh year, soil samples were collected before and after implementation of deficit irrigation treatments to investigate effects on soil microbial community biomass and composition. Results showed that the proportion of Gram-positive bacteria and actinomycetes were significantly higher in furrow irrigation, whereas fungi and Gram-negative bacteria were lower in proportion under furrow irrigation as compared with microsprinkler and drip irrigation methods. Canonical variate analysis showed that soil microbial communities markedly differed after deficit treatment in furrow and microspray irrigation, but remained similar in surface drip irrigation in deficit and full irrigation. This may be due to frequent irrigation in surface drip where soil surface remained moist most of the time as compared with furrow and microsprinkler irrigation methods where irrigation was less frequent.

Irrigation water sources and irrigation application methods used by U.S. plant nursery producers

AbstractWe examine irrigation water sources and irrigation methods used by U.S. nursery plant producers using nested multinomial fractional regression models. We use data collected from the National Nursery Survey (2009) to identify effects of different firm and sales characteristics on the fraction of water sources and irrigation methods used. We find that regions, sales of plants types, farm income, and farm age have significant roles in what water source is used. Given the fraction of alternative water sources used, results indicated that use of computer, annual sales, region, and the number of IPM practices adopted play an important role in the choice of irrigation method. Based on the findings from this study, government can provide subsidies to nursery producers in water deficit regions to adopt drip irrigation method or use recycled water or combination of both. Additionally, encouraging farmers to adopt IPM may enhance the use of drip irrigation and recycled water in nursery plant production.

Productivity of Potato(Solanum TuberosumL.) as Influenced by Wide Raised Bed Planting Patterns Under Drip Irrigation

Field studies were conducted during three consecutive years 2007–10 on light textured (Typic-Ustocrept) soils at Central Potato Research Institute Campus, Modipuram, Meerut (UP) to study the effect of raised bed planting patterns on the productivity of potato under drip method of irrigation. The results revealed that the triple row raised bed planting pattern at 120 cm spacing (1, 25, 000 plants/ha at 20 x 20 cm inter & intra-row spacing alongwith single lateral placed on each bed) under drip irrigation produced 29% higher yield (39.5 t/ha) and saved 42% irrigation water followed by paired row raised bed planting pattern at 90 cm spacing (1, 11, 111 plants/ha at 20x20 cm inter and intra-row spacing alongwith single lateral placed on each bed) than furrow method of irrigation, which produced 30.5 t tubers/ha. The similar trend was also noticed in case of net tuber yield as well as medium size tuber yield. The triple row raised bed planting pattern at 120 cm spacing gave maximum gross return of Rs. 1, 81, 300/ha closely followed by paired row raised bed planting pattern at 90 cm spacing (Rs.1, 70, 900/ha). The B: C ratio was also higher (2.68) with triple RBP at 120 cm spacing than furrow method of irrigation (Rs.1, 32, 050/ha gross return & B: C ratio of 2.53). The paired and triple row raised bed planting patterns also minimized the cost of drip installation by 35–40% against conventional planting with drip irrigation.

Effect of drip and furrow irrigation methods on yield and water use efficiency in cotton

Adoption of drip irrigation method offers opportunity for efficient use of water and higher economic yield of cotton under irrigated conditions in arid and semi-arid regions. A field experiment was carried out at the Soil Research Farm of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during 2014 for evaluating the different methods of irrigation for enhancing water use efficiency in cotton. The experiment was consisted of three methods of irrigation (drip, furrow and flood irrigation) and four cultivars of cotton viz., Bt (MRC-7017), Bt (RCH-134), American (H-1236) and Desi (HD-123). The results indicated that drip irrigation significantly increased plant height, number of bolls per plant, boll weight, and number of monopods and sympods per plant. The application of irrigation with drip and furrow methods resulted in increase in seed cotton yield over flood method. The seed cotton yield was recorded highest of 2671 kg/ha of American (H-1236) followed by 2510 kg/ha of Bt (MRC-7017), 2287 kg/ha of Desi (HD-123) and 2151 kg/ha of Bt (RCH-134) in drip irrigation. The water use efficiency (WUE) was found highest in drip irrigation as compared to other methods in all the four cotton cultivars. The highest WUE of 0.58 kg/m3 was found in American (H-1236), followed by Bt (MRC-7017), Desi (HD-123) and lowest in Bt (RCH-134). The results conclude that drip irrigation has potential to increase the seed cotton yield and water use efficiency in arid and semi-arid region of the state.

Efficacy of Various Application Methods of Fluensulfone for Managing Root-knot Nematodes in Vegetables.

Fluensulfone is a new nematicide in the flouroalkenyl chemical group. A field experiment was conducted in 2012 and 2013 to evaluate the efficacy of various application methods of fluensulfone for control of Meloidogyne spp. in cucumber (Cucumis sativus). Treatments of fluensulfone (3.0 kg a.i./ha) were applied either as preplant incorporation (PPI) or via different drip irrigation methods: drip without pulse irrigation (Drip NP), pulse irrigation 1 hr after treatment (Drip +1P), and treatment at the same time as pulse irrigation (Drip =P). The experiment had eight replications per treatment and also included a PPI treatment of oxamyl (22.5 kg a.i./ha) and a nontreated control. Compared to the control, neither the oxamyl nor the fluensulfone PPI treatments reduced root galling by Meloidogyne spp. in cucumber. Among the drip treatments, Drip NP and Drip +1P reduced root galling compared to the control. Cucumber yield was greater in all fluensulfone treatments than in the control. In a growth-chamber experiment, the systemic activity and phytotoxicity of fluensulfone were also evaluated on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), eggplant (Solanum melongena), cucumber, and squash (Curcurbita pepo). At the seedling stage, foliage of each crop was sprayed with fluensulfone at 3, 6, and 12 g a.i./liter, oxamyl at 4.8 g a.i./liter, or water (nontreated control). Each plant was inoculated with Meloidogyne incognita juveniles 2 d after treatment. There were six replications per treatment and the experiment was conducted twice. Foliar applications of fluensulfone reduced plant vigor and dry weight of eggplant and tomato, but not cucumber or squash; application of oxamyl had no effect on the vigor or weight of any of the crops. Typically, only the highest rate of fluensulfone was phytotoxic to eggplant and tomato. Tomato was the only crop tested in which there was a reduction in the number of nematodes or galls when fluensulfone or oxamyl was applied to the foliage compared to the nontreated control. This study demonstrates that control of Meloidogyne spp. may be obtained by drip and foliar applications of fluensulfone; however, the systemic activity of fluensulfone is crop specific and there is a risk of phytotoxicity with foliar applications.

Response of Drip Irrigation and Plastic Mulch on Quality of Sapota(Achras Zapota)Fruits

The field experiment was conducted to study the response of sapota (Achras zapota) crop under drip irrigation and plastic mulch. Different amounts of irrigation water application through drip and ring basin irrigation methods along with plastic mulch treatments were experimented with five replications. The Sapota crop water requirement was estimated using reference evapotranspiration data and crop co-efficient for different crop growth stages. Reference evapotranspiration was estimated using FAO-56 Penman Monteith approach. The irrigation water was applied at 60%, 80%, and 100% of the crop water requirement using drip and ring basin irrigation system. The quality analysis of sapota fruit was performed to investigate the effect of different treatments. Economic analysis was carried out to study the economic feasibility of using drip irrigation and plastic mulch for sapota cultivation. The water requirement of sapota crop varies between 10.71 L per day per plant in winter and 34.43 L in summer for the treatment of 100% water requirement of the sapota plant. The physical properties like fruit weight, volume, dimension, peel-pulp ratio was found to be increased due to increase in amount of irrigation water application from 60% to 100% using drip irrigation. A small decrease in true density of fruit was observed with the increase of size of fruit. The pH of fruit increased with decrease in irrigation water application through drip system. The TSS, total sugar and reducing sugar were estimated to increase with reduced irrigation water application. Sweetness of the fruit increased with reduced irrigation water application. Increase in Sapota fruit yield varied from 7.62% to 41% in mulched treatments. Increase in fruit yield by 21.05% for the drip treated plants was over ring basin. Based on the water use efficiency, benefit-cost analysis and fruit quality analysis 80% irrigation requirement supplied through drip system along with plastic mulch treatment can be recommended for Sapota irrigation.

Comparative economics of Banana cultivation in Anand district of Gujarat

The comparative economics of banana cultivation under drip and conventional irrigation methods was studied by collecting data from 60 drip farms and 60 non-drip farms of Anand district during 2009–10. Though the investment on drip irrigation system for banana crop was expensive ( 84115/ha), the total cost of cultivation in drip farms ( 150098/ha) was slightly less than that in non-drip farms ( 151735/ha). The yield (13.94 per cent) and net profit (52.76 per cent) of banana in drip farms were higher as compared to non-drip farms. Input-Output ratio over cost-c2 under drip and flood method of irrigation was 2.10 and 1.71, respectively. The Cobb-Douglas production function was employed to establish the input-output relationship. The sum of regression co-efficient (Σbi's) was 1.072 and 1.109 for non-drip and drip banana farms, respectively indicating increasing return to scale. MVP/FC ratios were also worked out to examine the resource use efficiency more reliably. It was found that the resources viz, plantlets (tissue culture), irrigation and area were underutilized in drip farms indicating these inputs were not optimum in context to other inputs in order to get maximum profit and therefore, there is yet some scope to increase productivity in the study area of drip farms of banana.

More Crop and Profit per Drop of Water: Drip Irrigation for Empowering Distressed Small Farmers

In the light of the rapid decline in the irrigation water potential and increasing demand for water from different sectors in India, there is a need of the emergence of small-scale irrigation technology to conserve scarce water resources. Drip irrigation is one such technology that has been introduced to reduce water consumption in the agriculture sector, leading to sustainability of this sector. It allows farmers to cultivate crops without moisture stress even under water-scarce conditions, thereby increasing farm productivity. Earlier studies have analyzed the economics of drip irrigation in the case of high-value crops, which are mostly cultivated by rich farmers. Drip irrigation is also suitable for cultivating vegetable crops that are mostly cultivated by small farmers. However, in the Indian context, research on the effectiveness of drip irrigation is rare for these crops. We show that farmers cultivating green chilli could reduce the use of water by about two-thirds and increase productivity by more than half by adopting the drip irrigation method, compared to the same crop cultivated under conventional flood irrigation. The farm profitability too is impressive. The discounted cash flow analysis shows that the investment in drip irrigation for green chilli cultivation is economically viable even without the state subsidy. Despite such favourable outcomes, poor awareness prevailing among small farmers prevents adoption of drip irrigation. We suggest that there is a need to spread the benefits of cultivating vegetable crops under drip irrigation through a quality extension network on a continuous basis through various means. It would curtail the distress of the small farmers as well.

Best suited fertigation schedule and its effect on growth, yield, quality and uptake of nutrients of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) under Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative method

A field experiment was conducted at experimental farm, Sugarcane Research Station, Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu during 2013 to 2014 in sugarcane cv. CoC (SC) 24 plant crop to standardize the fertilizer schedule with 100, 125 and 150% of the recommended NPK through surface and sub-surface drip fertigation on growth characters, yield and yield attributing characters, plant nutrient content and uptake pattern of nutrients by sugarcane under Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative (SSI) method. The results of the experiment revealed that sub-surface drip irrigation system increased the cane yield and uptake of nutrients than surface drip irrigation method. Maximum tiller population of 176520/ha was recorded with sub-surface drip irrigation with 150% recommended dose of fertilizers followed by sub-surface fertigation with 125% recommended dose of fertilizers (163320/ha). Application of 150% recommended levels of NPK produced maximum cane yield (132.69 t/ha) followed by 125% recommended NPK (129.69 t/ha) and on a par with each other. Irrigation and fertilizer did not significantly influence the CCS content. Fertigation of 125% recommended dose of NPK recorded higher sugar yield of 16.62 t/ha. The higher benefit: cost ratio of 3.01 per rupee invested was observed in treatment received 125% recommended NPK under sub-surface drip fertigation system. The highest NPK uptake of 193.92, 91.57 and 375.89 kg/ha was noticed by the 150% recommended NPK. The 125% recommended NPK @ 375: 125: 250 kg/ha was the suitable type and level of fertilizer for obtaining high yield and quality of sugarcane under SSI system of sugarcane planting. SSI is the first step towards standardization of sugarcane cultivation focusing on improving productivity while reducing the agriculture foot print on planet earth.

Comparative economic analysis of drip irrigation vis-a-vis flood irrigation system on productivity of Bt. cotton in Haryana

The present study was conducted to assess the response of drip method of irrigation (DMI) over flood method of irrigation (FMI) on productivity of Bt. cotton in Sirsa district of Haryana in year 2013. Forty farmers were selected on random basis from villages namely Jodhpuria, Kharia, Panniwala mota and Gigorani. The study revealed that DMI system not only reduces cost of cultivation (25 %) but also increases the productivity (27.2 %) over FMI of cotton crop. Water and electricity saving are the significant advantages of DMI farmer were able to save 2.95 H.P hours of water per hectare, which was about 33 percent saving over FMI. The major constraints faced by the producers in the production of Bt. cotton were non-availability of good quality seeds in time, lack of technical know-how, high fixed capital and imbalanced use of fertilizers. In marketing of cotton the major problem reported was under-pricing of produce, lack of storage facilities, high transportation cost and lack of credit facilities. Some of factors which inhibiting the adoption rate of micro irrigation system are subsidy is not easily available for farmers, labour-intensive operation, free electricity and low price of canal water, low quality drip material and after sale service is not satisfactory, fear about system clogging, least suitability for marginal and small farmers were observed. Therefore, it is need of hours that cotton cultivation by DMI should be promoted through appropriate policy interventions that not only helps in saving scare natural resources but also increase area and productivity of the cotton in the state.