SANF GREENMENS PVT LTD- Let’s Examine The Benefits Of Drip Irrigation System For Your Farmland

The purpose of irrigation is to artificially apply water to land for agricultural production. Effective irrigation will affect the entire growth process, from seedbed preparation, germination, root growth, to nutrient utilisation, plant growth and regrowth, yield and quality. To gain the most out of your irrigation efforts, the producer has to maintain uniformity. It is the producer with whom the control over how much water to supply and when to apply it lies, but it is the irrigation system that determines uniformity.

A good amount of knowledge of equipment, plant species, system design, growth stage, root structure, land formation, and soil composition is required in order to come to a decision about the right irrigation system for your operation, which should encourage plant growth and minimize salt imbalances, soil erosion, and water loss.

Necessity of Irrigation:

1. Irrigation is very important to supply water to plants in view of uncertainty of monsoon rainfall,
2. supplemental irrigation is required to make up for the uneven distribution of rainfall,
3. supplementation of water as irrigation is essential to cultivate high yielding crops that produce heavy biomass and economic yield,
4. difference in water holding capacity of the soil. For example, sandy soil has low water holding capacity which necessitates frequent irrigation.

Benefits of Irrigation:

Irrigation allows primary producers,

1. to grow more crops and pastures,
2. to produce higher quality crops, since water stress can have a significant impact on the quality of farm produce,
3. to extend the growing season,
4. it acts as an insurance against seasonal changes and drought,
5. to gain the most out of fertilizer applications, as fertilizers are required to be watered into the ground to aid in plant growth,
6. you can leverage market incentives for unseasonal production,
7. maximize use of areas that would otherwise be less productive (areas too dry to grow crops/pastures),
8. to decrease your dependency on supplementary feeding (grain, hay) in grazing operations due to the more consistent supply & higher quality of pastures grown under irrigation,
9. boost the market value of your property. Undeniably, an irrigated land’s value is more as it supports higher crops, pasture and animal production.
10. to save cost from the more effective use of fertilizers and obtain greater financial benefits as a result of more effective agricultural productivity, in terms of both quantity and quality. Irrigation mainly increases the availability of water supply, which in turn increases the income of the farmers.

When it comes to choosing an irrigation system, there are certain factors that need to be taken into consideration, which are as follows:

1. Soil type
2. Topography of the land
3. Availability of water
4. Availability of power source
5. Sources of water
6. Size of area to be irrigated
7. On farm water storage capacity
8. Availability of labour/financial resources

Critical stages for irrigation:

• Rice- Initial tillering, flowering
• Wheat- Crown root initiation, tillering, jointing (most critical stage), booting, flowering, milk and dough stages
• Pulses- Flowing and podding
• Peas- Pre bloom stage
• Berseem- After each cutting
• Gram- Pre flowering and flowering
• Pigeonpea- Flower initiation, pod filling
• Barley- Boot stage, dough stage
• Maize- Early vegetative, taseling and silking stage

There are two main ways that farmers use agricultural water to cultivate crops: rain-fed farming and irrigation, where the former is the natural application of water to the soil through direct rainfall, while the latter (irrigation) is the artificial application of water to the soil through various systems of tubes, pumps, and sprays.

There are many different types of irrigation systems, which depend upon how the water is distributed throughout the field. Some of the common types of irrigation systems include

1. Surface irrigation (no mechanical pump involved)
2. Localized irrigation
3. Drip irrigation
4. Sprinkler irrigation
5. Center pivot irrigation (water is distributed by a system of sprinklers moved on wheeled towers in a circular pattern, more common in United States)
6. Lateral move irrigation
7. Sub-irrigation
8. Manual irrigation

Irrigation can be carried out by two different methods:

Traditional Methods- Irrigation is done manually in this method. Some examples include pulley system, lever system, chain pump to name a few.

Modern Methods- The modern method makes up for the shortcomings of traditional methods and thus helps in the proper way of water usage, and it involves two systems namely sprinkler system and drip system.

Drip irrigation system is the most preferred and recommended modern method by farmers. Reasons are aplenty:

This type of system localizes the watering and fertilization process and delivers just the exact amount of water and nutrients to the plant, as in this system water is made to travel through a system of tubing, pipes and valves and is released as a steady “drip” of moisture near the base of the plant.

Some of the advantages include

1. Efficient water use due to precise delivery of water, nothing goes for a waste. As a result, these systems use up to 50 per cent less water in comparison to traditional watering methods.
2. Lowers disease risk by keeping foliage dry, thus reducing damp conditions which are a breeding ground for disease.
3. There are fewer pests, since water is placed in a specific area around the plant, thus starving the weed seeds of nourishment.
4. Ensure better plant health, as this system allows plants to receive water uniformly. Water gets well into the root zone, which ensures rapid growth of plants.
5. Lastly, the system saves a lot of time by eliminating the need to move sprinklers or hoses around to make sure everything gets watered.

Let us throw some light on fertigation:

Fertigation is a method of applying fertilizer in which fertilizer is injected into the irrigation water by the drip system, and is mainly used for soil amendments, water amendments and other water-soluble products. This system allows the fertilizer solution to be distributed evenly. Due to the high availability of nutrients, the efficiency increases. Both liquid fertilizer and water soluble fertilizers can be used in this method. The best thing about employing this method is that fertilizer use efficiency is increased from 80 to 90 per cent.

Benefits of fertigation:

1. By this method, you can supply nutrients and water near the active root zone, which results in greater absorption by the crops.
2. Get 25-50 per cent higher yield due to even distribution of water and fertilizer to all the crops.
3. This method will enable you to save water, fertilizer, time, labour, and energy use is also reduced substantially.

SANF has always been a firm believer of using natural farming methods. We can help you set up a robust Melia Dubia farm, in doing that we employ the following steps:

We start off by working on infrastructure first. In infrastructure,

1. we first prepare a road inside the farmland for ease of moving with vehicles like bikes, tractors, etc. from one end to the other (so that the farmland isn’t disturbed in any way),
2. then move towards fencing (SANF strongly recommends solar power fencing, there can be 8-12 galvanized wires (depending on the size of your land), which is strong, rust-resistant and multi-purposeful with a longevity of 12-15 years. We have ms hot dipped Galvanized posts minimum 90 microns which can last for 15 years easily. These metals posts are 8.5 ft in length, 6.5 ft above ground level. These main posts will be grouted firmly in the ground at each corner with two supports at an average span of 100 metres. Get in touch for further details.),
3. bore well (water purpose)

• 2 inches bore-water with help of flood irrigation can cultivate up to 5 acres of Melia Dubia plantation,
• 2 inches of bore-water with help of drip irrigation can cultivate 10 acres of Melia Dubia plantation,
• In Melia Dubia plantation, proper watering is vital when growing plants in initial stage,

1. then we set up drip irrigation,
2. then we set up a godown or warehouse for storage purpose to easily access equipment, important machinery, fertilizers,
3. Lastly, we’ll install a small lab in your farmland, where we will produce natural fertilizers. SANF follows natural farming methods only, we completely rely on the fertilizers that we prepare ourselves.

A bore well is a well that is drilled into the earth for retrieving water. Bore well recharge technique is one of the most affordable solutions of water harvesting in comparison to other water harvesting solutions. Moreover, it’s very easy to set up a bore well as it requires natural materials available locally and hence can be done at a very low cost. The biggest benefit is once it is set up (once bore well is recharged), it will never dry up. It is a permanent solution as with every year that you use it, the underground water tables will refill themselves with the rain water and the bore well will be up and running. Get a permanent closure to your water-scarcity problem with this technique.

# Drip irrigation system

# Higher yields with drip irrigation system

# Drip irrigation system for your farmland

# Efficient fertilizer use with fertigation

# Choose drip irrigation system for greater financial returns