Irrigation, often known as watering, is indeed an agricultural practice of applying regulated quantities of water onto the ground to aid in the development of commodities and to produce landscaping plants and lawns. Rain-fed agriculture is agriculture that doesn’t use water and instead depends solely on rainwater. Irrigation has become a major staple crop for almost five thousand years, but various cultures throughout the world have evolved it separately.
In arid places as well as during seasons of below-average rainfall, irrigation aids in the growth of the agricultural products, the maintenance of the landscape, and the revegetation of damaged soils. Watering also has additional purposes in crop cultivation, such as frost prevention, weed suppression in grain fields, and soil compaction prevention.
Problems related to irrigation
Notwithstanding huge investment and extension of irrigation systems, roughly a 60percent of a total planted area is still dependent on precipitation, which is a cause for considerable worry. Irrigation has a variety of issues that must be addressed.
Entire project delays:
Since the first 5 Year Plan, the inclination to launch ever more development ventures has resulted in a lack of proliferation of projects in our main and intermediate agricultural industries. There was also a lag in using existing potentials. Fields canals and watercourses, as well as land levelling and reshaping, have all been delayed in the majority of the works.
Water disputes between states:
In India, irrigation is a state matter. As a result, states design their respective river basin growth, bearing in mind their demands and requirements. All large rivers, though, are international. As a consequence, there are differences amongst states in terms of storing water, priority, and usage. Inter-state disputes over water delivery are exacerbated by a narrow different vantage point.
Irrigation development inequalities by region:
According to the Ninth Five Year Plan Document, water resource development via major, medium, and small schemes is only 28.6% in the North-Eastern area, while it is 95.3 percent in the Northern region. This demonstrates that the development differs greatly throughout the country.
Waterlogging and salinity:
Liquid logging was predicted to affect around 2.46 million ha in irrigation zones by a working committee formed by the Department of Water Affairs in 1991. Saline water has also harmed 3.30 thousand acres in the watered areas, according to the working committee.
Irrigation costs are rising:
From the first 5 plans towards the tenth 5 plans, the expense of supplying irrigated has increased.
Irrigation project losses:
While government irrigation systems had surpluses previous to liberation (1945-46) despite covering operational expenditures as well as other fees, the situation declined rapidly after liberation.
Groundwater drop:
There’s been a gradual fall in the water table in numerous sections of the nation in recent years, especially in the western dry zone, due to the overuse of groundwater and inadequate monsoon recharging.
Irrigation
Agricultural production irrigation. the application of water to land in a controlled manner. Some land has to be irrigated before it can be used for agricultural purposes. Irrigation is typically used to augment precipitation and improve productivity in other areas. In addition, some terrain somehow doesn’t require watering. While irrigation may be used for non-agricultural reasons to benefit the environment.
Changes to drainage and irrigation do not have to be mutually incompatible. May both be necessary to make sure crop output is at a high level for years. See water for further information on that role using draining methods in farmland.
Types of irrigation
Irrigation of the Surface
This was the most prevalent method of irrigation because it uses gravitation to deliver water to more than an area by matching the curve of the soil. In contrast, with irrigation systems, water goes down from the higher height, covering every one of the crops
It is only feasible if the region or area has enough liquid and therefore is organically sloping; alternatively, it’s incredibly time-consuming. It employs the trench method, in which pipes are utilised to distribute water down a hill over a pasture containing crops and vegetation — roughly 1 metre apart.
Irrigation in Specific Areas
Water was supplied to each unit at reduced pressure for targeted watering. Water is provided to every crop via tubes or even a piped system that runs across the area.
Because the liquid is delivered directly from around the bottom of the plant, one goal of this sort of treatment would be to only moisten a limited area, often the roots region of both the factory.
Drip irrigation
Drip irrigation, often known as trickle irrigation, is a method of targeted irrigated agriculture in which dewdrops are given at a rather flow rate straight to it or around the roots of plants.
Sprinkler irrigation
Sprinklers are being used for irrigation in a fashion that mimics natural rainfall, as the name implies. The system is set up in such a manner that water is applied evenly. Water is distributed from a centralised location inside the area, generally by pumping, using high-pressure showers or guns.
flood irrigation
Inundation irrigation, often called irrigation water, is a form of irrigation in which flood field conditions are purposely generated, causing the land to become entirely soaked. After this, found natural precipitation is strong enough to bring the crops to fruition.
Perennial irrigation
Perennial irrigation Water is diverted from a reservoir or spillways to the plants via a canal’s distribution network.
Conclusion
We have discussed the meaning of irrigation, the study of irrigation, types of irrigation, a quick study on problems related to irrigation, and a detailed study on irrigation.