Relative efficiency evaluation of drip and basin methods of irrigation in banana

Abstract

Well planned and efficiently utilised irrigation systems help to keep the food production in pace with the increasing population. Hence it is essential to design and adopt an efficient low cost economic irrigation system tailored to fit the local potential and needs. Out of the efficient methods of irrigation, drip method is the most promising. Drip irrigation is comparatively new to our country and needs popularisation. The relative efficiency and feasibility of a low cost drip irrigation system fabricated with the cheapest and locally available materials in relation to the conventional basin method of irrigation is tested in this experiment taking banana as the indicator crop. Plants were irrigated at the rate of 5, 10, 15 and 20 litres per day in both the methods of irrigation. Oil drums of 200 litres capacity were used as storage tanks for the drip irrigation system. 25 mm and 12 mm (dia) black low density polyethylene pipes were used for main and lateral lines respectively which were embedded at a depth of 20 cm below the ground surface. Micro-tubes of 2 mm diameter were used as drippers or emitters. The heart of this drip system was the distributor developed in K.A.U. which could deliver irrigation water at a slow rate of 1 to 2 litres per hour from each micro-tube. Physical characteristics of the soil and bio-metric observations of the plants were taken during the experiment. It was observed that there was no significant difference in the yield of plants under the drip and basin methods of irrigation. Similar results were obtained by Sivanappan et al. (1976) and Chennappa, (1977). The economy of the system was studied and it was found that, by adopting drip method of irrigation, there is a net saving of Rs. 4302 per year in one hectare. Weed growth was found to be less in the plots irrigated by drip method. Special skill is not required for the fabrication, installation, maintenance and operation of the K.A.U. drip irrigation system.