Tag: water conservation and irrigation

The water that is fit for use is freshwater.

It is estimated that in a few years from now more than one third of the people in the world could face water scarcity.

The amount of water recommended by the United Nations for drinking, washing, cooking and maintaining proper hygiene is a minimum of 50 litres per person per day. This amount is about  two and a half buckets of water per person per day.

• The fresh crop has more moisture. Hence, they should be dried in the sun to reduce moisture before storage because if freshly harvested grains are stored they may get spoilt or attacked by organisms.

• Insects in stored grain can cause much damage. The farmer may lose up to a third of the stored grain. 
• Large scale storage of grains is done in silos and granaries to protect them from pests like rats and insects.

• Drip irrigation is an irrigation method that saves water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either onto the soil surface or directly onto the root zone, through a network of valves, pipes, tubing, and emitters. 

• The supply of water to the crops at different intervals is called irrigation. Lakes, rivers, dams, canals, etc. are the sources of water for irrigation.
•  Various traditional ways of irrigation are pulley system, chain pump, dhekli, and Rahat. 
• Traditional methods are cheaper but they are less efficient as compared to modern methods. The modern methods of irrigation include sprinkler systems, drip systems, etc. 
• In the sprinkler system, water is sprinkled on the crop by using a pipe and nozzle system. It resembles raining. In the drip system, waterfalls drop by drop just at the position of the root.

• The storage of food crops is an important step of agricultural practices. If the crop grains are to be kept for a longer time, they should be prevented from moisture, insects, rats, and microorganisms.