Subsurface drip irrigation for arable crops: An innovation that meets the challenges facing irrigated agriculture
In the face of more frequent water shortages and the ever-increasing deterioration of the environment, from now on irrigated agriculture will have to avoid the over-use of water resources and the pollution of the ground and surface waters and soils, while maintaining high yields. In the field, the subsurface drip irrigation technique (SDI) is one of the recent innovations adopted for arable crops by an increasing number of farmers subjected to water restrictions. The water and dissolved fertilisers are delivered as closely as possible to the roots via underground polyethylene tubes spaced at 35-40 cm and fitted with emitters spaced at 15 to 40 cm, which provide flow-rates of 0.5 to 3.0 l/h under a pressure of 0.5 to 1.5 bar.
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