This blog contains information about Irrigation Systems. In the start, it defines Water irrigation and its importance. Then it explains Irrigation Systems in detail. It also elaborates the Factors to consider while choosing Irrigation Systems. Then it explains the Types of Irrigation Systems in detail. It also elaborates the Efficient Irrigation systems and its benefits. In the end, it explains the Benefits of Irrigation Systems. This blog contains Factors, Types and Benefits of Irrigation Systems.
What is Water Irrigation?
It is the artificial way of application of water on land. It is the process of delivering or supplying specific amounts of water to land for the growth of crops so the irrigation is very important for plants and crops to help them grow properly by supplying adequate amount of water to the desired crops.
Irrigation has been adopted by people from almost 5000 years. It is practiced by the people of different cultures around the world. Irrigation reduce the risks of crop damage and maintains the crop yield so this blog contains complete information about Irrigation Systems with detailed description.
What are Irrigation Systems?
Irrigation systems are the methods or techniques that we adopt to irrigate a piece of land. These techniques are wisely used according to the demand of water essential for crops. The amount of water varies among different crops and plants to grow properly.
Skilled farmers and agriculturists know about the crop type and amount of water needed to grow certain crop properly. Irrigation systems are chosen according to the demand of water to help the crop nourish properly and also supply the irrigation water according to its need.
The choice of irrigation system is an important step in growing and maintaining crops. If it is not suitable, so it can cause difficulties in keeping the crops healthy and well irrigated. We will discuss about the factors that influence in choosing irrigation systems.
Factors to consider for Irrigation Systems:
Following are the factors to consider for choosing the Irrigation System for certain crops:
i. Type of Crop:
The irrigation system highly depends on type of the Crop. Some crops needs little water and some needs large amount of water. Some crops needs water absorbed in the soil while some needs standing water for nourishment and proper growth. In this way, first step to choose irrigation system is to know about the demands of water of certain type of crop.
ii. Water Source:
Another factor to consider during irrigation practices of crops. Different sources of water have different compositions and characteristics. For example, the water from tubewell contains high mineral content, canal water contains chemicals, domestic waste and sometimes sewage. We should know and understand the need of crop and the type of water available for the crops for better health.
iii. Soil Characteristics:
We should select the irrigation system for the crops according to the soil characteristics present in the considered soil. These characteristics includes availability of nutrients, water holding capacity, soil salinity, etc. All these characteristics effects the need of water for the crops and the water should supply according to the need of soil and crops accordingly.
iv. Climate:
The climate has a great influence on crop nourishment and water absorption by the crops. It effects the water utilization of the land area. For example, the hot and warm places have high evaporation rates, so most of the water is evaporated. While in cold or arid regions, the evaporation rates are low and most of the water is absorbed by the crops. In this way, climate should be priority while choosing the irrigation system for crops.
v. Budget:
Another important factor that influences the irrigation is the budget. The budget is the total amount that a farmer can invest on a crop yield. This can be a little amount or a big amount. The irrigation system should be decided according to the budget of the farmer and available resources so this will help in adopting suitable irrigation system according to the budget and all other important factors.
These factors should be considered in choosing the suitable irrigation system for crops. This blog contains Factors, Types, Efficient Systems and Benefits of Irrigation Systems.
Types of Irrigation Systems:
Following are some types of Irrigation systems:
1. Manual Irrigation:
It is the method in which a farmer supplies the water of adequate quantity manually so this does not include any machinery and it only requires a water source. It delivers water through pipes or water cans. This is the simplest and difficult way of irrigation.
2. Surface Irrigation:
This method uses gravity as a medium to supply water to the soil so as it uses large pipes with holes in it and the water comes from them and irrigate the land. As gravity pulls the water towards the land so the water irrigates the land properly.
3. Overhead Irrigation:
It is a permanent sprinkler irrigation and pivot irrigation so as this system uses machinery and sprinkling devices having pumps in it to provide water to the crops in the form of drops with a certain pressure. We can call it as overhead irrigation.
4. Drip and Sub-drip irrigation:
It is the irrigation system that uses tubes along side the plants to deliver water to the roots of the plants. Its responsibility is to avoid wastage of water and supplies water to the roots of the plant directly so this technique is best in the condition of water scarcity.
5. Sprinkler Irrigation:
Sprinkler irrigation is much similar to overhead irrigation so as it allows the water to supply in the form of drops. This type of irrigation uses sprinkling devices and these devices supply water to the land evenly in drops form. This technique uses little amount of water to irrigate a large land area and thus proves useful in the situation of Water crisis.
6. Micro Irrigation:
This irrigation system is a low-pressure and low-flow rate type of irrigating the land so Micro irrigation makes sure that the crops or plants are getting adequate water to the root zone of the plants. This irrigation uses less water as compared to other irrigation systems and avoid overflowing of water on land.
7. Underground Irrigation:
It includes the installation of underground pipelines in the depth of the soil beneath the crops. This technique also makes sure to supply the water directly to the roots.
8. Canal System:
Most of the developing countries uses canal system to irrigate their croplands. This system produces by creating channels of water directly from the river so the agricultural lands and farmlands coming in its way, are being irrigated from the water of canals. Pakistan uses canal system for its most of the irrigation so Pakistan has one of the largest canal systems in the world.
9. Tubewell System:
Tubewells are the water resources that uses groundwater to irrigate the land. It contains huge pumps and storage to pump groundwater from the depth of the earth and then irrigate the land from it. This system is widely used in Pakistan, where canal system is inaccessible. It has a drawback of over-exploitation of groundwater and lowering the region’s water table.
10. Flood Irrigation:
This type of irrigation is the method in which the cropland is flooded with water that is supplied randomly. Flood irrigation is suitable for the crops which need standing water to grow and nourish properly i.e. Rice. Otherwise it is an inefficient method of irrigation.
11. Lawn and Garden Irrigation:
Lawns and gardens are the personalized green spaces found in our homes. The sufficient and necessary supply of water is obvious to protect and conserve them so we can use overhead irrigation system, harvested rainwater, drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation to irrigate the lawns and gardens. The supply of water should be according to the climatic conditions and seasons. We should also maintain water supply according to the species of flora found in our lawns.
These are some of the Irrigation systems that are common.
Efficient Irrigation Systems:
The drip irrigation system, overhead irrigation system, and so are sprinkler irrigation systems are efficient among all of the mentioned irrigation systems. It is because of the following reasons:
There is less chance of water wastage in these systems.
These systems supply water to the crops in efficient ways.
There is no need to use any flooding technique of irrigation system.
Only necessary water is used.
It does not deteriorate the quality and also quantity of crops even with lesser supply of water.
Other irrigation systems uses a large amount of water for irrigation.
We can get similar results with greater efficiency.
These methods helps us to fight with Water Scarcity. etc.
This blog contains Factors, Types and Benefits of Irrigation Systems.
Benefits of Irrigation Systems:
Following are the benefits of Irrigation systems:
- Mitigates and manage the effects of insufficient rainfall periods.
- Suitable irrigation systems improves the quality and so the quantity of the crop.
- Regulates the crops and maintains its growth at high levels.
- Helps to supply adequate amounts of water for the certain crop.
- It prevents soil erosion by supplying enough amount of water to hold the land.
- These methods helps in minimizing the water loss of the land.
- It addresses salt imbalances that harms the plant growth.
- This promotes health and quality of plants at a great extent.
- Irrigation systems also supports landscape maintenance.
- It helps is regulating the conditions of water deficiency in the soil.
These are few benefits of Irrigation Systems. This blog contains water irrigation, factors considered for selecting irrigation system, Types and also the Benefits of Irrigation Systems.
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