"This edition provides the latest technology in the design of surface, sprinkler, and microirrigation systems along with basic information about soils and current information on estimating crop water requirements. New chapters have been added on planning systems, environmental issues, efficiency and uniformity, chemigation, and use of wastewater for irrigation."--Preface
Drip irrigation is the best way to help any plant flourish and survive tough times, especially short or long droughts. Pick the wrong "stuff " and you easily can feel overwhelmed. Robert Kourik's Drip Irrigation for Every Landscape and All Climates clearly explains how to use less water yet increase the yields of vegetables and promote the growth and flowering of all plants--trees, shrubs, and container plants--in any climate, even where it rains irregularly. In the tradition of the original groundbreaking book, this fully revised edition incorporates new information essential for gardeners, including how to manage limited water supplies with precision and efficiency, without the clutter of hundreds of widgets and gizmos, and the knowledge is shared in Kourik's inimitable, friendly, down-to-earth, and easy-to-understand style. Drip Irrigation for Every Landscape and All Climates,reveals how to: Utilize drip irrigation for everything you grow--trees, shrubs, hanging plants, container plants, and vegetable and flower gardens --and save up to 50 percent of your water compared to sprinklers. Use a streamlined configuration of hardware and tubing. Choose the best, sturdiest hardware that will last for decades in your home landscape and vegetable garden. Pick tubing that has no emitters punched on the outside--these have a tendency to break off--and use this tubing buried beneath the surface to irrigate without losing any water to wind or evaporation. Roll out a drip system in a very short period of time, avoiding tedious hours punching in emitters or adding smaller tubing to reach each plant. Capture and reuse gray water and cistern water for irrigation. Construct a system in which the main parts are effectively hidden or can be simply attached to an existing garden faucet. Individual projects are carefully detailed and include: how anyone can construct a system by attaching it to an existing garden faucet or the main water supply, constructing larger assemblies for big gardens, irrigating all sizes of potted plants, easy ways to irrigate a vegetable garden, and how to lay out tubing for the best health of trees and shrubs.
Of all the confrontations man has engineered with nature, irrigation systems have had the most widespread and far-reaching impact on the natural environment. Over a quarter of a billion hectares of the planet are irrigated and entire countries depend on irrigation for their survival and existence. Considering the importance of irrigation schemes, it is unfortunate that until recently the technology and principles of design applied to their construction has hardly changed in 4,000 years. Modern thinking on irrigation engineering has benefited from a cross-fertilization of ideas from many other fields including social sciences, control theory, political economics and agriculture. However, these influences have been largely ignored by irrigation engineers. Drawing on almost 40 years of experience of irrigation in the developing world, Laycock introduces new ideas on the design of irrigation systems and combines important issues from the disciplines of social conflict, management, and political thinking.
Irrigation methods and components Drawing techniques and presentation Sprinkler and drip irrigation methods and hardware Pipe characteristics and hydraulics Control systems CSI irrigation specifications
