Datta Irrigation Company | Drip Irrigation
Drip irrigation provides slow, even application of low-pressure water to soil and plants using plastic tubing placed in or near the plants’ root zone. It is an alternative to sprinkler or furrow methods of irrigating crops. Drip irrigation can be used for crops with high or low water demands. Drip irrigation can help you use water efficiently. A well-designed drip irrigation system loses practically no water to runoff, evaporation, or deep percolation in silty soils. Drip irrigation reduces water contact with crop leaves, stems, and fruit. Thus, conditions may be less favorable for disease development. Irrigation scheduling can be managed precisely to meet crop demands, holding the promise of increased yield and quality. Growers and irrigation professionals often refer to “subsurface drip irrigation,”. When a drip tape or tube is buried below the soil surface, it is less vulnerable to damage due to UV radiation, cultivation, or weeding. With water use efficiency is maximized because there is even less evaporation or runoff.
Agricultural chemicals can be applied more efficiently through drip irrigation. Since only the crop root zone is irrigated, nitrogen already in the soil is less subject to leaching losses, and applied fertilizer can be used more efficiently. In the case of insecticides, less product might be needed. Make sure the insecticide is labeled for application through drip irrigation, and follow the label instructions. Drip systems are adaptable to oddly shaped fields or those with uneven topography or soil texture; these specific factors must be considered when designing the drip system. Drip systems also can work well where other irrigation systems are inefficient because parts of the eld have excessive infiltration, water puddling, or runoff. Drip irrigation can be helpful if the water is scarce or expensive. Because evaporation, runoff, and deep percolation are reduced, and irrigation uniformity is improved, it is not necessary to “overwater” parts of a field to adequately irrigate the more difficult parts.
The precise application of nutrients is possible using drip irrigation. Fertilizer costs and nitrate losses can be reduced. Nutrient applications can be better timed to meet plants’ needs. Drip irrigation systems can be designed and managed so that the wheel traffic rows are dry enough to allow tractor operations at any time. Timely application of herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides is possible. Proven yield and quality responses are possible through careful irrigation scheduling made possible with drip irrigation. Yield and quality benefits have been observed in onion, hops, grapes, cauliflower, melon, tomato, cotton, and other crops. You might need to redesign your weed control program.
Drip irrigation might be unsatisfactory if herbicides need rainfall or sprinkler irrigation for activation. However, drip irrigation can reduce weed populations or reduce weed problems in arid climates by keeping much of the soil surface dry. Tape depth must be chosen carefully to accommodate crop rotations and for compatibility with operations such as cultivation and weeding. Drip tape or tubing must be managed to avoid leaking or plugging. Drip emitters are easily plugged by silt or other particles not filtered out of the irrigation water.
Emitter plugging also can be caused by algae growing in the tape or by chemical deposits at the emitter. Filtration, acid injection, and chlorine injection remedies to these problems are addressed in “System management and maintenance,”. For more information to visit - https://www.dattadrip.in