Irrigation is the artificial application of water to land or soil to assist in crop growth. Historically, irrigation was labor intensive and dependent on weather, but modern irrigation is more machine intensive, market-focused, and allows farmers to control water supply independent of rains. There are several irrigation methods, including surface irrigation where land is fully flooded, sprinkler irrigation where water is distributed through sprinklers, and drip irrigation where water is supplied drop-by-drop directly to plant roots, making it the most efficient method. While modern irrigation techniques are more costly to install initially, they are also more efficient and effective at delivering the right amount of water to increase crop yields.

2. “Irrigation is
the primary
consumer of
water on earth”WHAT IS
— Igor
IRRIGATION?
Irrigation is the artificial
Shiklomanov
application of water to the
land or soil. It is used to assist
in the growing of crops.

3. IRRIGATION IN THE PAST
 Farming
was more focused on subsistence
rather than selling products in the market.
 Labor intensive.
 Irrigated land used to be small.
 Highly dependent on weather.
 Inefficient.

4. Modern Irrigation
 More
focus is now on selling the output.
 Machine intensive.
 More sophisticated.
 Rains are no longer the controlling force.

6. SURFACE IRRIGATION
In surface irrigation systems, the land is filled
completely with water. In this way crops like rice are
able to get ample amount of water.

7. METHODS OF SURFACE IRRIGATION
• Controlled: Water is applied from
the head ditch and guided by
corrugations, furrows, borders, or
ridges.
• Uncontrolled- wild flooding.
DISAVANTAGES• Wastage of water
• Soil erosion
• Loss of minerals in soil

8. DRIP IRRIGATION
 Also known as trickle irrigation.
 Water is supplied at the roots of the plants, drop
by drop.
 Most efficient and effective way of irrigation.
 Drip irrigation method can be either high tech
computerized or labor intensive.

9. Drip irrigation

10. 


Water is piped through different locations in
the field and is then distributed by high
pressure sprinklers or guns.
Sprinklers are mostly installed on permanent
risers.
Some sprinklers which rotate are called rotors.

11. SPRINKLER

12. 


Center pivot irrigation is a form of sprinkler
irrigation.
It consists of several segments of pipe which
is joined together and is supported by
trusses, mounted on wheeled towers with
sprinklers positioned along it’s length.
It moves in a circular pattern and is fed with
water from the pivot point at the center of the
arc.

14. Disadvantages of sprinkler
0 Costly to install
0 Average cost is $2682
0 Also, large number of sprinklers have to be installed
in a field because area covered by a single sprinkler is
not large.
0 Center pivot is also extremely costly.

15. Sub-Irrigation
• It has been used for many years where there is a
lot of ground water available.
• It is a method of artificially raising the water
table to allow the soil to be moistened from
below the plants' root zone.
• Advantages are water and nutrient conservation,
and labor-saving through lowered system
maintenance and automation.
• It is similar to surface drip irrigation system.

16. COMPARISON
TRADITIONAL METHOD OF
IRRIGATION
MODERN IRRIGATIONAL
TECHNIQUE
• Inefficient as crops don’t get
water properly.
• Very cheap because there is
no installation cost.
• Labor intensive.
• Efficient because crops get
correct amount of water.
The best example is drip
irrigation system.
• Extremely costly. A lot of
investment has to be made
to get a proper irrigational
system.
• Machine intensive.

17. 


These days people prefer to use modern
irrigational techniques because they are
extremely efficient and effective.
Modern irrigational techniques are also
pivotal in increasing the crop yield.
Also since these days farming is done with
the help of fertilizers, crops need a certain
amount of water to grow properly.

18. MY VIEW ON USING MODERN
IRRIGATIONAL TECHNIQUES
 According to me, modern irrigational techniques
should be used and promoted because they save a lot
of water.
 For example: drip irrigation, if done properly can save
upto 95% of water.
 Also modern irrigational methods are important
because of scarcity of water and increasing demand for
food crops.
 Modern irrigational techniques are also cost effective,
if done on a large scale.