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.
"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
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
IRRIGATION FUNDAMENTALS is a comprehensive text on the basic principles and practices of applied agricultural irrigation. Written over a period of more than 10 years, it is based on the authors'' extensive experience in farming, consulting, research, teaching, and other related agricultural activities. The book is for use by teachers of introductory courses in irrigation, farmers who have some basic technical knowledge, and for administrators who need a general understanding of irrigation as an aid for policy decisions in water resource development and planning. Various factors that influence crop yield and production including climate, fertility, water, drainage, and agronomic practices are addressed. The various irrigation methods such as border, basin, contour, furrow, sub, sprinkle, and drip or trickle are described; and conditions are given for selection of the appropriate method to use. Recent developments and new technology are included herein when they have obvious practical applications, but for the most part the material presented in this book is based on well established principles and practices. Much of the content is very practical and much is essentially nontechnical. Nevertheless, some of the material covered in this book goes beyond the basic concepts in an attempt to better describe the relationships and techniques employed by irrigation scientists and irrigation engineers.From the Preface: The future of the world depends very much on how we manage natural resources. Since the year 1900 there has been a ninefold increase in global carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels, and the world population has increased about 3.7 times in this century. Vast areas of forests have been destroyed, and irrigated lands now produce 40% of the food supply. Due to depletion of groundwater reserves and an increase in population, irrigated area per capita is declining. Consequently, the irrigation of additional alluvial lands is a strategic necessity for all of humankind. Much of the alluvial lands cannot be made productive without prior development of water resources through flood control, drainage, and irrigation. The production of electricity through hydropower and the production of alcohol fuel from irrigated crops, as has been practiced for many years in Brazil, can slow the increase in carbon emissions. Such diverse developments are typically not separable; rather, they must be considered as integral parts of a comprehensive development plan. The conservation of natural resources and increasing productivity of irrigated lands are also strategic necessities. Much of the current technology is highly transferable and crop yields can be significantly increased on lands already under irrigation.The authors have worked in many countries in connection with resource inventories, teaching, and the planning, development and use of irrigation as a tool for increasing production and providing employment. They have written extensively and have been honored for their achievements. They have considerable experience with everything from primitive low-technology irrigation developments to highly developed irrigation in the USA and in dozens of countries around the world. Both of the authors have dedicated their careers to teaching, research, and consulting in agricultural irrigation and water resources development and planning. It is their hope and expectation that this book will provide incentives for investigating and documenting land and water resources, improving development, increasing crop yields, conserving resources, and improving the environment. From the Table of Contents:Chapt. 1 - INTRODUCTION: Irrigation Fundamentals: - - A Definition of Irrigation - - Statistical Perspectives of Agricultural IrrigationChapt. 2 - FACTORS INFLUENCING CROP PRODUCTION: - - Introduction - - Temperature, Radiation, and Evaporative Potential - - Climate Change - - Soil Fertility and Fertilizers - - Water Availability and Distribution - - Soil Aeration and Drainage - - Plant Density, Spacing and Leaf Area Index - - Crop VarietyChapt. 3 - AGRICULTURAL SOILS: - - Introduction - - Soil Texture and Structure - - Soil Classification and Evaluation - - Bureau of Reclamation Land Classification - - Soil Age and Topography - - Soil Chemistry - - Infiltration Rates - - Soil-Water Relationships - - Equations for Soil Water Content - - Soil Water Potential - - Measuring Soil Water ContentChapt. 4 - EVALUATING IRRIGATION RESOURCES: - - Introduction - - Climate - - Hydrology - - Human and Other Factors - - Integrated DevelopmentChapt. 5 - IRRIGATION METHODS: - - Introduction - - Graded Border Irrigation - - Basin Irrigation - - Contour Levees - - Furrow Irrigation - - Sub-Irrigation - - Sprinkle Irrigation - - Drip or Trickle Irrigation - - Selecting an Irrigation Method - - Land Grading and Leveling - - Laser-Leveling Equipment and Practices - - Computing Diagonal Slopes - - Irrigation System EvaluationChapt. 6 - CROP WATER REQUIREMENTS: - - Introduction - - Direct Methods - - Indirect Methods - - Potential Evaporation - - Reference Evapotranspiration - - Extraterrestrial Solar Radiation - - Irrigation Requirements - - Crop CoefficientsChapt. 7 - IRRIGATION SCHEDULING: - - Introduction - - Allowable Water Depletion - - Monitoring Soil Water - - Scheduling Irrigations - - Rice Irrigation
