Irrigation

• Water is important for proper growth and development of plants and is absorbed by the roots from soil. The level of water in soil is maintained by rain. However the rainfall doesn’t occur all the time so supply of water in fields is required to be managed so as to improve the productivity.
• The process of supplying water to crops through different sources at different intervals by human efforts is called irrigation.
• The time and frequency of irrigation varies from crop to crop.
• Ensuring that the crops get water at the right stages during their growing season can increase the expected yields of any crop.

Sources of irrigation:

Wells:

• There are two type wells, namely dug wells and tube wells.
• In a dug well, water is collected from water bearing strata.

Dug Well

• Tube wells can tap water from the deeper strata.  From these wells, water is lifted by pumps for irrigation.

Tube Well

Canals:

• This is usually an elaborated and extensive irrigation system.
• In this system canals receive water from one or more reservoirs or from rivers. The main canal is divided into branch canals having further distribution to irrigate fields.

Canal

River Lift Systems:

• In areas where canal flow is insufficient or irregular due to inadequate reservoir release, the lift system is more rational.
• Water is directly drawn from the rivers for supplementing irrigation in areas close to rivers.

River Lift System

Tanks:

• These are small storage reservoirs, which intercept and store the run – off of smaller catchment areas.
• Fresh initiatives for increasing the water available for agriculture include rainwater harvesting and watershed management.

Traditional Methods of Irrigation:

• Moat (pulley-system)
• Chain pump
• Dhekli, and
• Rahat (Lever system) pictures

Chain Pump

Dhekli

• Pumps are commonly used for lifting water. Diesel, biogas, electricity and solar energy is used to run these pumps.

Modern Methods of Irrigation:

Sprinkler System:

• The perpendicular pipes, having rotating nozzles on top, are joined to the main pipeline at regular intervals.

When water is allowed to flow through the main pipe under pressure with the help of a pump, it gets sprinkled from the rotating nozzles on the crop as if it is raining. Sprinkler is very useful for sandy soil.

Sprinkler System

Drip system:

• The water falls drop by drop at root position. So it is called drip system.

Drip System