What is Irrigation?

Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall. Additionally, irrigation also has a few other uses in crop production, which include protecting plants against frost, suppressing weed growing in grain fields and helping in preventing soil consolidation. In contrast, agriculture that relies only on direct rainfall is referred to as rain-fed or dryland farming. Irrigation systems are also used for dust suppression, disposal of sewage, and in mining. Irrigation is often studied together with drainage, which is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given area.

Types of Irrigation

Various types of irrigation techniques differ in how the water obtained from the source is distributed within the field. In general, the goal is to supply the entire field uniformly with water, so that each plant has the amount of water it needs, neither too much nor too little.

• Surface Irrigation
• Localized Irrigation
• Drip Irrigation
• Sprinkler Irrigation
• Centre Pivot Irrigation
• Lateral move (side roll, wheel line) Irrigation
• Sub-Irrigatiion
• Manual Irrigation using Buckets or Watering Cans
• Automatic, Non-Electric Irrigation using Buckets and Ropes