Drip Irrigation In Desert Gardens

Drip irrigation in desert gardens has a long history, dating back millennia.

Burid clay pots were filled with water and food plants were grown around them. The water seeped slowly through the clay pots to the surrounding soil, and to the roots of the plants.

Also known as trickle irrigation or micro-irrigation, drip irrigation waters plant roots very slowly. As ancient as it may be, drip irrigation has taken on increased importance in agriculture, especially in desert and arid areas of the world.

The history of modern drip irrigation goes back to 1860, where agricultural scientists started using pipes made of clay, creating a dual system of drainage and irrigation.

Colorado State University researcher E. B. House began directly watering root zones of plants in 1913.

Modern drip irrigation employs pipes, tubing, valves and emitters, which minimize water usage while maximizing water getting to root systems of plants.

After World War II, and the development of modern plastics, micro-tubing began to be introduced into commercial greenhouses both in the U.S. and in Europe.

However, real breakthroughs came with the introduction of new technology in Israel by Simcha Blass and his son, Yeshayahu. The Blasses first installed the process at a kibbutz in 1959.

Prior to the Blass breakthrough, water was released through tiny holes in tubing. But these tiny holes were easily blocked by tiny particles of earth, sand and other debris. The Blass invention used friction instead of the tiny holes to slow the water down.

By the late 1960s, the process had spread to North and South America and Australia.

Now, drip irrigation is being used throughout the world, particularly in high-risk poverty and desert areas to increase yield and conserve precious water.

In Masvingo, Zimbabwe, a drip irrigation project run by a farming community is providing that community with vegetables and other crops. Because of drip irrigation, farmers are able to raise three crops annually, of which at least one is vegetables.

Drip irrigation is also being used in China, Turkey, India, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, Egypt, and a number of other third world countries, much of it under the aegis of the World Bank, USAID, Engineers for a Sustainable World, the United Nations and a variety of other organizations.

These projects are taking place in areas which are defined as desert or semi-desert. See The World’s Water Supply at Risk.

Documented results include:

• Increased field access because of drier furrows
• Improved crop yield and quality
• Crop production savings because of reduced run off
• Fertilizer can be delivered directly to the root zone of the plant, making it more efficient and cost-effective
• Water conservation
• Less evaporation
• Precision irrigation
• The watering is uniform, so plants tend to all be uniform in size, less stunted growth
• Energy savings
• Decreased disease and weed pressure

Another major advantage is that in areas which were suitable for growing limited varieties of vegetables or grains are now able to grow many different varieties, thus increasing variety of food eaten.

In the Zimbabwe project, water usage was decreased by two to three times the initial amount.