Drip Irrigation And Sprinklers Systems Are Best Irrigation Methods

As beign a manager in a civil engineering company I had tackled many irrigation projects. In my observation I found Drip Irrigation and Sprinkler Irrigation systems are growing well in different regions around the world. As every body know that irrigation is the artificial appilication of water to grow up crops and vegitation I dont need explain what is irrigation. There are many irrigation methods applied around the world in which surface irrigation is the most applied method of irrigation around the world. Surface irrigation is a method of supplying the water to the soil by using the gravity through canal systems. Water flows simply following the surface with the gravity in surface irrigation. In this method the water has to be stored in reservoirs located above the highest irrigable land.

In surface irrigation it is very necessary to have a suitable location to reserve water that is sufficient to irrigate the crops for entire cropping period. In surface irrigation we cannot regulate the utilization of water optimized to the requirement of the crop. So the wastage of water will be there considerably. Drip Irrigation and Sprinkler Irrigation systems are those methods of irrigation in which water is utilized conservatively and are the best alternatives for Surface Irrigation.

What is Drip Irrigation?
Drip irrigation is a method in which the water is delivered directly to the roots of the plants. The water is carried through the pipes to every plant and delivered drop by drop in to the root zone in Drip Irrigation. In Drip Irrigation the water is effectively utilized by minimizing the evaporation losses. The runoff of water in non-root zones of the plants also can be minimized in this method of irrigation. Fertilization can also be done very efficiently by adding fertilizers to the water directly. The initial cost for establishing the Drip Irrigation system is costly but it is most cost effective in long durations.

What is Sprinkler Irrigation?

Sprinkler Irrigation as the name suggests is a method of irrigation in which water is distributed to the plants by sprinkling water with high pressure through sprinklers and water guns. Sprinkler systems are installed by identifying suitble central sprinkler locations in field. The water is distributed to the area around the sprinklers that rotate by means of rotors driven by ball and gear mechanism. Some sprinklers are installed on movable platforms and does not work based on rotors and the sprinklers are moved across the fields. Sprinkler irrigation is used where there is no need of continuous supply of water to the crop which minimizes the wastage of water. Sprinklers systems are used mostly for developing gardens and landscapes these days.

In Drip Irrigation and Sprinkler Irrigation the reservoirs does not need to be above the field elevation. The water can be lifted from lower elevations by pumps as per the demand of the water requirement. As the utilization of water is very optimum in these methods of irrigation these are very cost effective in long term applications. Drip Irrigation and Sprinkler Irrigation are most effective in hilly terrains and low rain fall areas where conservation of water is most costly. Today many nations are implementing these methods of irrigation for developing new irrigation areas and a rapid growth is found in implementation of both these irrigation methods.