When I started farming for a living, I realized that there were more than a few things I needed to work on. For starters, I needed to go through and think carefully about my schedule, and then I needed to read up on the biology of plants. I worked hard to understand agricultural topics, and before I knew it, my crop was thriving. It took a lot of work, but I was really pleased that I was able to get everything sorted out. This blog is here to help other people to understand agricultural problems and to address them efficiently in a timely manner.
Farming—no matter the scale—requires you to constantly monitor the resources you are putting into the ground to ensure that the harvest growing from it is valuable enough to generate a profit. This includes everything from seeds and fertilizers to the labor you invest in sowing your crops.
Water is also an important resource, and it is one that has become increasingly expensive in the last decade or so. Thanks to the long-term droughts occurring in several parts of the country and the increased demand growing population centers impose, many farmers are unable to even access enough water to tend their crops—no matter what they are willing to pay.
Accordingly, the farming community is embracing water-saving strategies in nearly every way possible. Some farmers are collecting and re-directing whatever rainwater they can, while others have tried shifting to crops with lower water requirements.
But one of the most promising ways in which farmers are trying to save water relies on altering their irrigation strategies. Specifically, many farmers are employing drip irrigation.
Drip Irrigation Benefits
Drip irrigation is a technique that uses a series of small-diameter tubes or pipes and small micro-sprayer heads to deliver water directly to the root zone of your crops. Control equipment (including things like adjustable valves and timing devices) allows you to adjust the amount of water delivered to the plants.
Drip irrigation systems save water in a number of ways, including:
Drip Irrigation Suitability
While drip irrigation can be a valuable technique for reducing water consumption, it is not ideal for all crops or situations. For example, drip irrigation systems are most effective for crops planted in rows, including vegetables or fruit trees, but they are poorly suited for growing grasses and similar crops (wheat, corn, millet, etc.). Additionally, because drip irrigation systems often require significant initial investments, they are usually only used for high-value crops.
It is also important to realize that drip irrigation systems typically require frequent inspection and maintenance to ensure they are working properly. Accordingly, they are not ideal for farms in which labor is at a premium.
For more information on farm equipment that could be of benefit to you, contact a company like Big Springs Equipment.
Share19 January 2017
