Why Drip Irrigation is Gaining Popularity
- Improved crop yield and quality. Water and nutrients are spoon-fed to the crop uniformly and on the desired schedule.
- Water conservation. Drip irrigation helps stretch limited water supplies by reducing water runoff, deep percolation and/or over-irrigation due to poor application uniformity.
- Reduced costs. Water, fertilizer, energy, labor, chemicals, weeding, insurance, and field operations tend to cost less compared to alternative irrigation technologies.
- Improved logistics. Because crop wheel rows remain dry with drip irrigation, drip fields are typically more accessible regardless of the irrigation schedule.
- Reduced disease. Since water is not applied within the plant canopy, humidity and associated disease problems are reduced. Reduced puddling can also decrease the opportunity for E. coli to grow.
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I grew up in a small town with farms surrounding me, and I’ve always wondered what method of irrigation they used. This article was very informative on drip irrigation and I can see how it could be extremely efficient in producing crops. The part I really like in this article is how drip irrigation reduces disease in the water and plants.