Micro Irrigation System

Irrigation System 

The irrigation system is the technique of channelizing water through man-made systems for crop production. Particularly important for areas where there is a scarcity of rainwater. Hence even during less rainfall, it doesn’t let agricultural productivity fall. The irrigation system enables farmers to grow multiple crops and increases crop productivity and farmers’ income.

Types of Irrigation:

Following are the various types of irrigation methods used are

• Surface irrigation
• Sprinkler irrigation
• Centre Pivot Irrigation
• Manual irrigation
• Localized irrigation
• Drip irrigation

However, in India rainwater supply is seasonal and some regions may get an overflow of water and some may not even get sufficient rainwater. In such a scenario Micro-irrigation Systems work best in saving water and efficiently supplying water to plants. Though, remember that there should not be an excess of irrigation as it can spoil crops.

Conventional System of Irrigation:

It is the most affordable and oldest method of irrigation, some of them are still being followed in many regions. Some methods are:

• Check Basin Method
• Furrow Irrigation Method
• Strip Irrigation Method
• Basin Irrigation Method

Conventional irrigation is also referred to as the Surface irrigation method. These are extremely simple ways with almost no technique involved. Out of these ‘Check basin’ method is regarded best in traditional irrigation. Although all these methods are inexpensive, there is immense wastage of water and the efficacy is less.

Micro-Irrigation System:

It is a slow process of supplying continuous small quantities of water above or below the soil surface of the land. Especially very effective on lands where flooding method for irrigation is not possible. Recently it has become popular due to its low-cost budget and watering efficiency. Most importantly it saves water, reduces soil erosion, and cuts down the growth of weeds, and the cost of cultivation.

There are mainly two types of Microirrigation:

1. Drip irrigation system
2. Sprinkler irrigation system

Drip Irrigation System or Trickle Irrigation System:

The water is supplied to the root areas of plants or crops drop by drop or by a micro jet. The emitters fixed disperse water using vortexes, orifices, or long flow paths which allows only limited water discharge. These emitters can be buried in the soil or simply placed on the ground. It is suitable for wider spacing crops and can be conveniently used on windy days. Some types of drip irrigation systems are: Surface drip irrigation, Sub-surface drip irrigation, Family drip, Online drip, and In-line drip.

Sprinkler irrigation:

It is a method to provide water to crops in a rainfall format. It suits most rows, fields, and tree crops. It doesn’t suit a windy region. The sprinkler water pressure should be at a certain level otherwise irrigation won’t give effective results. Some types of sprinkler irrigation are: Centre pivot, Towable pivot, Rain gun, Impact Sprinkler, Pop-up Sprinkler, and Linear move sprinkler.

Other types of Microirrigation system

• Bubbler irrigation: It is a very effective system where a substantial amount of water supply is required in the fastest possible way. So, it can be installed in areas where water requirement is high. It dispels water in small streams and fountains, at the rate of approximately 230 litres per hour. 
• Spray Irrigation: Most commonly used system due to its usage flexibility in delivering water to any size area. Such as a jet spray can be used on any field on a lawn or on large farms.

Benefits of Micro-Irrigation over Conventional System of Irrigation:

1. Saves water: As compared to the conventional surface irrigation method micro irrigation reduces water wastage, growth of unwanted weeds, Soil erosion, and overall cost of the cultivation.
2. Land Adaptability: Micro-irrigation can be used on all kinds of land whether it is undulating terrain, rolling topography, hilly areas, barren land, or areas having shallow soils. Unlike the traditional flooding method which cannot be applied to all areas.
3. Uniform Water supply and low consumption of fertilizer: High uniformity of water application gives better and uniform water and nutrients supply to all the plants. This results in low consumption of water and fertilizer which eventually produces more high-quality crops.
4. Preserves Electricity: As it reduces the consumption of water correspondingly it cuts down the electricity usage required to lift water from the source of water. Thus it reduces water requirement and saves a lot of energy.  
5. Cost-effective: Overall reduction in demand for electricity, fertilizer, precision farming and production increase leads to effective cost decline.
6. Controlled through automation which reduces labour costs and improves the crop quality: There are techniques to pre-set time schedule to open and close the valve of the irrigation set up. These can be automated at any time of the day or night and for any duration of time. and the automatic control technique directly reduces the labour cost.
7. Crops become salt tolerant: The micro-irrigation method keeps the soil moist near the root and thus controls the salt concentration. As a result, the plant becomes saline tolerant and continues to grow without losing its productivity.
8. Productivity Increase:  Mini-irrigation methods surely increase crop yields compared to traditional ways of irrigation. The increase in productivity can vary from 20% to 90% for different crops, such as wheat productivity can go up to 45%, Soyabean 40%, and Gram 20%.
9. Prevents weeds and infestation: The systematic irrigation methods of micro-irrigation prohibit the growth of weeds. It limits the wet area, and conditions for the proliferation of any disease or infection in the field are curtailed. 
10. Environment friendly:  The  Micro-irrigation system saves precious water very efficiently, averts pollution of underground water resources, saves energy (electricity), and allows long-term use of plastic components. The lesser energy demand reduces the amount of coal, oil, natural gas, or other fuels required to create that energy. Thus, it helps to maintain the environment by controlling the release of carbon dioxide, one of the major contributors to global warming. 

Irrigation In India:

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare data shows that the net irrigated area in the country is 68.649 million hectares, which is 42.4% of the total geographical area of the country. The agricultural land covered under the micro-irrigation system is 12.908 million hectares. Therefore the total irrigated land in the country under the micro-irrigation system is only 19%. 

However, Micro-irrigation has not yet been enforced effectively across India. As per last year’s data, 27 states (including UT) in India have less than 30% micro-irrigation system and within these states, 23 states have less than 15% Micro-irrigation. Only Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra have more than half of their net cultivable area under micro irrigation. Surprisingly Uttar Pradesh is the largest producer of Sugarcane, a water-intensive crop, but it has only 1.5% area under micro irrigation, similarly, Punjab has only 1.2 %.

Conclusion:

Looking at the feeble development of the Micro-irrigation system in India. In 2020, the Agriculture Minister said that the government has set the target to bring at least 100 lakh hectares of land under micro irrigation in the next five years. The Government of India also came up with the vision of “Har Khet Ko Pani/ More crop per drop” and it focuses on using sprinkler & drip methods of irrigation. Though the micro-irrigation system in India is still in an emerging state. There is a long way ahead which requires awareness programmes, demonstrations, and training across India.