Evaluation of Drip Irrigation System and Fertigation of Nitrogen in Sugarcane

Abstract

Water is the most critical input for agricultural productivity, and efficient water use is crucial to the development of sustainable agriculture. Efficient irrigation calls for practices that will minimize the available losses in storage, conveyance and applications and thus provide a higher percentage of water for actual use by the irrigated crops. Drip irrigation system which increases the water use efficiency to a greater extent is the proper means to manage the water scarcity regions to increase the crop productivity. Drip irrigation has proved to be a success in terms of less water and increased yield in a wide range of crops (Bhardwaj, 2001). This system is generally most successful for high income crops that would have shorter pay-back period. The use efficiency of both water and fertilizers could be increased substantially through drip irrigation and fertigation. Combined application of water and fertilizers is ideal for proper crop growth with the irrigation water acting as a carrier for the nutrients required by crops (Bhuvaneswari et al., 2019). In the present study, an attempt has been made to evaluate the relative efficiency of drip irrigation in sugarcane in conjunction with fertigation of nitrogen in sugarcane.