Imagine having a refreshing drink of water brought to you every time you wanted it. That happens to thirsty plants irrigated with a subsurface drip irrigation system.
This environmentally friendly technology employs an underground network of sturdy, flexible black tubes to carry water to plant roots, exactly where they need it the most.
About a decade ago, U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists in Fresno, California, extensively tested subsurface drip irrigation on tomatoes, cotton and corn. Their investigations remain among the most comprehensive of their kind, documenting that below-ground systems can provide higher yields while using less water than other systems.
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Subsurface drip irrigation allows growers to send precise amounts of water and fertilizer to roots. A buried drip system can conserve water by allowing growers to apply it more accurately compared to overhead sprinklers.
This precision helps growers avoid overirrigating crops and reduces the risk that irrigation water will carry unused nutrients into the underground water supply, where they might become pollutants.
Less water is lost to evaporation because it is protected from direct exposure to sun and wind.
As well, irrigation water applied underground keeps the soil surface dry and makes it less hospitable for plant-damaging microbes that thrive in moist soil.
The scientists’ findings are important because competition for high quality water continues to heat up between farms and cities.
