Precision farming of different horticultural crops by the application of drip irrigation for the Hi-tech horticulture unit at Pusa

Abstract

Precision farming methods help us ensure judicious use of the available resources. One of the methods being the drip irrigation method for the precise application of water to the plant roots. Already existing 18 poly/net houses were selected for the study and was designed for the drip irrigation system, which consisted of 12 different crops. The design was based on the friction loss method and was calculated using the Hazen-Williams formula. The 2 lph drippers could be used for all of the crops, except tomato and mango crop, where 4 lph and 14 lph drippers were recommended, respectively. The diameter of the laterals used for all of the crops was calculated and was found to be 12 mm, except for the tomato crop, where 16 mm diameter laterals was recommended. The diameter of all the submain lines was calculated and was found to be 50 mm. The mains diameter recommended was 50, 75 and 90 mm. The total dynamic head and total discharge of the drip irrigation system was found to be 48 m and 88.72 m3/hr, respectively. Finally, the size of the pump required to irrigate all the 18 poly/net houses simultaneously was found to be 22.5 hp.