Agricultural irrigation is the artificial application of water to crops, often used in areas with infrequent rainfall. Water sources include groundwater, rivers, springs, lakes, wells or surface water. There are various methods including manual, surface, subirrigation, sprinkler (center pivot and lateral displacement), and spot irrigation.
Agricultural irrigation is the application of water to crops by artificial means. Irrigation is mostly used in areas with infrequent rainfall or potential drought conditions to ensure that crop soil receives adequate water for growing crops. The water used in agricultural irrigation can come from various sources, such as groundwater, rivers, springs, lakes, wells or surface water.
Manual irrigation is one of the most basic types of agricultural irrigation. Farmers or laborers use watering cans to saturate their crops by hand. Because hand watering is often time-consuming and physically taxing, it tends to be used for small farms or in poorer areas.
Before advances in irrigation technology were made, surface irrigation tended to be the most widely implemented irrigation system for large-scale irrigation. In surface irrigation, small channels are dug along the length of the cultivated area and the water is poured into the top of the channels. Surface irrigation does not use pumps or other mechanisms and relies on gravity to distribute water among crops through channels.
Subirrigation is a method often used for open field crops such as peppers or tomatoes. The method applies water to crops from below the soil surface. A system of pipes is buried under the roots of the crops and water is pumped up into the roots to ensure that the roots receive the correct amount of water.
To irrigate crops from above, farmers can use the sprinkler method. Agricultural sprinkler irrigation uses overhead sprinklers or high pressure sprinkler guns to apply water to crop fields. There are also two types of specialized sprinkler irrigation: center pivot and lateral displacement.
Center pivot irrigation uses an automated system of sprinklers attached to fixed towers in the center of the growing area. The sprinklers rotate in a circular motion to distribute water evenly over the entire growing area. The center pivot is often used in flat, spacious crop areas.
While center pivot irrigation is a fixed irrigation method, lateral motion irrigation does not use centrally fixed sprinklers. A pipe system has a wheel and sprinkler on each individual pipe. Sprinklers are mechanically turned by hand or may have a built-in turning mechanism. Sprinklers move across fields and may require reconnection or replacement of water pipes as sprinklers move away from their original location. Lateral-shift agricultural irrigation tends to be more cost-effective than other methods, but requires constant supervision.
Spot irrigation uses a low pressure system to gently water crops in small batches. A dripper can deliver water in drops directly to the root area. Water can also be applied through low pressure underground piping systems. Because spot irrigation is so controlled, it can reduce over-application of water and prevent waste.
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