Traditional vs. Drip Irrigation: Which Method is Right for You?

What is the need of Plant?

Plant needs water & Nutrients to grow & get desired yields. Plants uptake water, nutrients through roots. Irrigation plays an important role to provide essential moisture for seed germination & plant growth.

There are major four types of Irrigation methods in open field i.e. Flood Irrigation, Ridges & Furrow methods, Sprinkler Irrigation, Drip Irrigation. 

Average Water use efficiency of Irrigation methods is given in the Below table.

What is the Correct Place to Irrigate the Plant?

Water & fertilizers need to be supplied at the Root zone of Crop.

Drip Irrigation: Water is applied directly to the root zone, minimizing wastage and ensuring efficient nutrient absorption.

Traditional Irrigation (Flood, Sprinkler, Furrow, etc.): Water is spread over a larger area, often leading to higher evaporation and runoff losses.

What is Field Capacity?

Field capacity is the amount of water soil can hold after excess water drains away. It represents the maximum water available for plant uptake.

• Drip irrigation helps maintain soil moisture close to field capacity, preventing overwatering.
• Traditional irrigation can lead to waterlogging or drought stress due to uneven water distribution.

Peak Water Requirement: -The peak water requirement is the maximum water demand of a crop during its growth cycle. Drip irrigation ensures plants receive adequate water during peak periods without wastage. Traditional irrigation may cause stress due to inconsistent supply.

According to the World Bank, converting from flood irrigation to drip irrigation can increase farm income by 30-70% while reducing water consumption by 50-60%.

Below Table shows the Comparison between Drip Irrigation Vs Traditional Method of Irrigation.

Drip irrigation is a need of hour

As we know that About 71% of Earth’s surface is covered with water.

Oceans hold almost 96.5% of water available on Earth, besides 3% hold by glaciers. Fresh / Usable water (Ground & Surface) available on Earth is a small fraction, i.e. 0.56%. Out of fresh/available eater 70% water is used for agriculture & 22% Industrial & 8% for Municipal.

It is the need of hour that we should go for precision Irrigation as World is facing many issues like increase in Population, food scarcity, Climate Change, Groundwater depletion, Alternative uses of water etc.

With Traditional methods we can’t maintain soil health for future generations. In most countries a calculated amount of water is given by the government to farmers to avoid excess usages.

It is necessary to upgrade the technology in Irrigation Management by farmers.

Time has come when farmers have to think beyond Drip Irrigation & adopt Precision Irrigation & fertigation Methods by using Digital farming solutions for better yield & return on Investments so that agriculture can be done like a profitable business.