What is Irrigation? How to Explain Importance of Irrigation in Agriculture?

Irrigation

What is Irrigation? How to Explain Importance of Irrigation in Agriculture?

The agricultural practice of applying measured amounts of water to land to help in crop production, as well as to develop landscape plants and lawns, where it may be referred as watering, is known as irrigation. Agriculture that is exclusively dependent on direct rainfall and excludes irrigation is referred to as rain-fed agriculture. Over 5,000 years ago, irrigation became a crucial aspect of agriculture, and numerous cultures all over the world have independently developed it since then.

In arid locations and during times of below-average rainfall, irrigation aids in the growth of agricultural crops, the upkeep of landscapes, and the revegetation of disturbed soils. In addition to protecting crops from the effects of frost, irrigation can also be used to control weed growth in grain fields and avoid soil consolidation. Additionally, irrigation systems are employed in mining, dust control, animal cooling, and sewage disposal. Drainage, or the removal of surface and subsurface water from an area, is typically studied in conjunction with irrigation.

Various irrigation techniques are listed below. The methods used to supply the plants with water differ. The plants should receive the exact amount of water they require, neither too much nor too little, by having the water applied as evenly as possible. Additionally, irrigation can be regarded as either "full irrigation," in which crops hardly ever depend on any input from rainfall, or as supplemental irrigation, as is the case in many regions of the world. Full irrigation is less frequent and usually only occurs when crops are cultivated in semi-arid regions outside of rainy seasons or in arid landscapes with extremely low rainfall.