Much of the debate and discussion in the irrigation sector has been on increasing the supply of water to agriculture and this has led to bringing of more area under surface and groundwater irrigation and adequate attention has been paid to improving the efficiency of irrigation, i.e., ensuring that there is 'more crop per drop' of water. Agriculture data still measure productivity in kilos per ha even though in many areas the scarce resource is water, not land. It is in this context that micro irrigation emerges as a potential answer to the problem of increasing irrigated area with limited water resources available. As noted earlier, micro-irrigation comprises three technologies-drip irrigation, sprinkler irrigation and micro sprinkler irrigation. Three of them save conveyance losses and improve water application efficiency by applying water near the root-zone of the plant. Drip systems convey water in small quantities through drippers/micro-tubes while sprinklers are pressurized systems where a fountain or spray of water is released by the sprinkler connected by pipes, resulting in foliar irrigation.
In draught prone areas of western part of the State, economic and efficient use of irrigation water is necessary to have as much agriculture production as possible with minimum water use. In these areas pilot schemes using drip irrigation method have been proposed. Drip Irrigation system delivers water to the crop using a network of mainlines, sub—mains and lateral lines with emission points spaced along their length. Each Drip/ emitters, orifice supplies a measured, precisely controlled uniform application of water, nutrients, and other required growth substances directly into the root zone of the plan.
In vegetable producing areas of districts of northern part of the State, pilot schemes using sprinklers have been proposed on the consideration that rate of evaporation is comparatively less in those areas. Sprinkler Irrigation is a method of applying irrigation water which is similar to rainfall. Water is distributed through a system of pipes usually by pumping. It is then sprayed into air of entire soil surface through spray heads. It breaks up into small water drops which fall to the ground.
Micro sprinklers, spray jets, micro sprayers and misters can throw the water over a wide area, when low volume overhead irrigation is desired and for areas where drip emitters are not practical. Micro Sprinklers are used for irrigation of seasonal crops like vegetables, onions, potato, nurseries etc. Micro sprinklers, micro sprayers, spray jets, misters and foggers are available in a variety of styles and configurations and, like drip-emitters, operate at low-pressure from as low as 15 PSI to as high as 50 PSI.
