Methods and Benefits of Irrigation
The practice of putting water into the soil at constant intervals is referred to as irrigation. Irrigation methods have been grouped into four. One type of irrigation is the surface method. In this method of water is spread to all the other ground parts by gravity. The water is introduced to the furrows or basins in the farm by using of siphons, gated pipes or turn out structures and is allowed to spread all over the field. For this method to be done the land must be flat and gently sloping and the soil must have a medium to a soft texture. The other method is sprinkler irrigation. This method involves sprinkling of water to the air and let it get to the plants like rain. Equipment such as pipes and sprinklers are needed for the method, therefore, making it quite expensive. The advantage of the method is that it can be applied in all terrains.
Another irrigation method is the use of drip. In this method water is applied through emitters direct to the soil inform of drops or streams. The advantage of this method is that it can be used in all soil types. The other irrigation method is the subsurface irrigation. Water is put below the soil surface in this irrigation method. Depending on the depth of the water table this may vary. In the society today irrigation has been of great benefit. The greatest advantage of irrigation is that it has helped to protect crops against drought. Crops are able to thrive well and therefore great harvest is experienced. Irrigation has helped to improve food security in countries and therefore reducing hunger-related mortality.
The other benefit of irrigation is that it helps to preserve soil nutrients. Leaching can be caused by runoff water which is brought about by manual watering. The another benefit of irrigation is to reduce the time needed by a plant to grow. Plants become greener and thus can make food faster through photosynthesis. This helps to save on the time that could be wasted if the plants developed stunted growth. The another benefit resulting from irrigation is minimal weed growth retain the land. Only areas that have crops will be facilitated with water in the case of an irrigation system. T his aids in reducing the chances of weed growth in the farm. One is also able to manage time as a result of irrigation. One is able to manage the time that would have been consumed through manual watering of the plants.
Irrigation has helped in turning land that was initially not productive into great use. This helps to reduce land wastage since more land is put into use. It is not difficult to practice land irrigation since one can as well use groundwater-surface water and recycled water instead of tap water. Irrigation materials are not hard to get since apart from them being available in the market they are also present in online markets. There are various online outlets that have ventured wholely into online marketing of irrigation tools at relatively cheap prices that will favor the clients.