Irrigation Technology: What You Need to Know

Devices used in irrigation systems are considered part of irrigation technology.

FREMONT, CA: Irrigation technology consists of irrigation-related devices. Essentially, irrigation is the artificial application of water to the soil. This technique has been utilized for ages, with the first known irrigation systems dating to antiquity. There is always a water-moving device involved in irrigation procedures, such as pumps, sprinklers, and canals. Depending on the type of irrigation applied and the environment being irrigated, irrigation technology might vary. For instance, qanats, one of the earliest irrigation canals, are still used today. Qanats consist of numerous vertical wells drilled into mountains or big slopes, all flowing into an underground canal with a slope. The mouth of these canals locates at the base of the irrigated field.

Even though there are many different kinds of irrigation in the modern world, they all need two main things: a way to pump the water and spread it. It uses a specific type of irrigation technology depending on the irrigation process. Surface and localized irrigation are two of the most common types. Localized irrigation includes drip, sprinkler, center pivot, and lateral move irrigation, and each process needs a different set of tools and a different amount of water. No matter how it works, the goal of any irrigation system is to spread water evenly over a whole field.

Surface irrigation: is one of the most common and easy ways to water plants. Water either flows naturally to the land or is pumped there. Once on the land, it moves around by gravity. Most of the time, the fields are divided into sections and flooded. Mounds of soil are used to control the water level. These mounds can be broken or built to raise or lower the water level.

Drip irrigation: For localized irrigation, water flows with the help of special equipment. Water is usually sent to crops through low-pressure pipes, and there are many ways to use it. Drip irrigation, which uses small amounts of water droplets instead of a spray, is one of the most common types of localized irrigation. Most modern drip irrigation systems have pipes above the plants, which can be a problem when it's time to harvest.

Sprinkler irrigation: is another common type of localized irrigation. As the name suggests, water is spread over crops and plants by a stationary sprinkler system that uniformly sprays water. In some cases, fields are too big for stationary sprinklers, so sprinkler systems on movable trusses go back and forth across the areas. It makes it easier to spread water evenly without putting in an extensive, stationary sprinkler system.