The pros and cons of drip irrigation

Many varieties of irrigation can be found; it would pay you to discover all of the choices fastidiously earlier than making a dedication.

It is well-known, for instance, that drip irrigation makes use of much less water than different methods. Some farmers select it primarily based on this truth alone, and find yourself paying the worth for not doing their homework.

A farmer instructed me lately that he deliberate to make use of this method on his broccoli and cauliflower.

I identified to him that, though he would certainly save water, he wanted to maintain his brassicas cool throughout heatwaves for these crops to carry out, and drip irrigation didn’t carry out this important operate.

Spray irrigation, against this, wets the leaves and soil floor, and evaporation of this water has a dramatic cooling impact. Some farmers apply a light-weight irrigation each day throughout a heatwave to forestall stress.

I instructed the farmer there was one other good motive to keep away from drip irrigation: he would lose out on the market. A heatwave causes yields to drop, leading to shortages and therefore larger costs. If the farmer used drip irrigation, he wouldn’t solely compromise his crop, but additionally lose out on larger costs!

Advantages
Of course, when used on the proper crop, drip irrigation has a quantity of key benefits:

• It can function at a decrease stress;
• If you’re rising a crop like pumpkin and watermelon with a large spacing, you don’t waste water on areas the place there is no such thing as a root system to take it up;
• It is right for crops the place wetting the leaves could cause illness. This makes it the favoured system for tomatoes and crops grown in tunnels;
• It is important when plastic mulch is used to cowl the soil.

Dripper tubes are available varied varieties. A low-cost choice is a flat tape that has skinny partitions and a brief lifespan. It is economical when used for a once-off operate.

Round dripper traces, alternatively, are available varied wall thicknesses; the thicker the wall, the higher it resists harm, and the longer the lifespan of the road. Lines like these can final for a few years.

A phrase of warning: drip irrigation is vulnerable to blockages and due to this fact requires clear water. And if you happen to farm in an space equipped by water with a excessive mineral content material, calcium can construct up within the tubes. In this case, you’ll need to flush the tubes with an acid answer when obligatory.

Flow charges
Drip irrigation methods have totally different stream charges and opening positions. Ideally, the drippers must be aligned with the vegetation within the row; this makes it simpler to maintain them moist after transplanting.

As the foundation system expands, it turns into much less of a difficulty.

When beginning off with a dripper, it’s not straightforward to find out the diploma of wetting by merely glancing on the soil floor. An onion-shaped moist space develops within the soil profile below the dripper.

In sandy soils, this takes the form of an extended onion; in clay soils, it’s formed like a flat onion. This is because of capillary motion; with clay soil, the soil particles are shut collectively, permitting the water to maneuver a lot additional sideways by means of capillary motion than within the case of sandy soil.

Take cautious be aware of how the soil is wetted after irrigation. All too usually, inexperienced persons need to see extra proof of wetting on the soil floor and can simply over-irrigate, inflicting leaching of vitamins. Rather under-irrigate the primary time and alter as wanted.

Bill Kerr is a vegetable specialist and a breeder of a variety of greens.