Drip irrigation

Although water is one of India’s most scarce natural resources, we use 2 to 4 times more water to produce a unit of major food crop than does China and Brazil. We have invested in flood irrigation method (canal and tube wells) which is highly inefficient way of using water.

Also despite being water scarce, we are virtually exporting water by exporting water guzzling crops such as paddy, sugarcane, cotton also meat (not exactly crop). India now exports about 1 per cent of total available water every year (demand of 13m people).

Drip irrigation is a type of micro irrigation method in which perforated pipes are placed either above or slightly below ground and drip water on the roots and stems of plants, directing water more precisely to crops that need it. It reduces consumption of fertiliser (through fertigation ) and water lost to evaporation, and higher yields than traditional flood irrigation.

Fertigation is the process of introducing fertiliser directly into the crop’s irrigation system. Problem in adoption of drip irrigation is high initial cost of purchase and the skill required for maintenance.

The solution is increase in yields and reduction in costs of power and fertilisers use can help farmers recover the fixed cost quickly. Hence, provision for credit to farmers to adopt this technology. But there are teething troubles in agri finance, according to Civilsdaily.

Drip irrigation is very efficient and helpful in water saving. But its application is limited to largely spaced plants, mostly fruit trees and in a limited way in crops like sugarcane and vegetables. Drop irigation may not work in a wheat field. When plant density is more and water is to be saved (flood irrigation avoided) sprinkler irrigation is used.

A set of sprinklers shower quantified amount of water over the crop canopy just like a shower/ rain. Amount of water just sufficient to suitably wet the root zone soil of the crop is used. It is most useful in undulating land planted with high density crops like wheat, pearl millet, explains a writer at Quora.

As per available information, during the last three years (2013-14 to 2015-16), 14.3 lakh hectare area have been covered under drip and sprinkler irrigation systems (Drip Irrigation- 9.04 lakh hectare, Sprinkler Irrigation- 5.26 lakh hectare) in the country including Punjab and Haryana.