
Farm Irrigation
- 1st Edition - January 1, 1997
- Imprint: Butterworth-Heinemann
- Author: Neil Southorn
- Language: English
- eBook ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 0 8 - 0 5 4 8 6 5 - 4
There is no doubt that irrigation makes a major contribution to agricultural production, making a whole range of crops viable in an otherwise unreliable climate and helping insure… Read more

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Request a sales quoteThere is no doubt that irrigation makes a major contribution to agricultural production, making a whole range of crops viable in an otherwise unreliable climate and helping insure against drought. However irrigation does not automatically guarantee a profit and acclaim, it is a high cost exercise, using water from increasingly scarce supplies, and contributes to environmental concerns of the community. Many of the pressures facing some irrigators have been caused by a lack of understanding in the past of best practices necessary in design, installation and management.
Alternative methods of irrigation are presented, emphasising the characteristics of each that may make them suitable (or unsuitable) for particular situations. The range of crops under irrigation is very wide, and so too is the range of methods available to get water to them. Horticultural crops are included as well as broadacre crops. This section is followed by technical information of the various components that make up an irrigation system, and their installation.
Irrigation is concerned with providing the optimum soil moisture conditions for plant growth. So to is drainage, in that too much water in the soil will retard growth. Many of the concepts surrounding irrigation are applicable to a consideration of drainage, so the book discusses that technology as well.
Alternative methods of irrigation are presented, emphasising the characteristics of each that may make them suitable (or unsuitable) for particular situations. The range of crops under irrigation is very wide, and so too is the range of methods available to get water to them. Horticultural crops are included as well as broadacre crops. This section is followed by technical information of the various components that make up an irrigation system, and their installation.
Irrigation is concerned with providing the optimum soil moisture conditions for plant growth. So to is drainage, in that too much water in the soil will retard growth. Many of the concepts surrounding irrigation are applicable to a consideration of drainage, so the book discusses that technology as well.
Part A: Irrigation PlanningWhy irrigate?; Water requirements for irrigation; The environment of irrigated crops: understanding soil moisture and the evapotraspiration stream; Site selection - avoiding pitfalls and problems; Irrigation scheduling: estimating when to water and how much to apply; Some background irrigation concepts: reliability, uniformity, efficiency, peak irrigation requirements.Part B: Application MethodsSpray irrigation; Surface irrigation; Micro-irrigationPart C: Reticulation and Delivery ComponentsPipelines; Pumps; Power supply; ChannelsPart D: DrainagePrinciples of drainage; Drainage methods
- Edition: 1
- Published: January 1, 1997
- No. of pages (eBook): 144
- Imprint: Butterworth-Heinemann
- Language: English
- eBook ISBN: 9780080548654
NS
Neil Southorn
Affiliations and expertise
Lecturer, Orange Agricultural College, University of Sydney