From Clay Pot Irrigation to Subsurface Drip Irrigation for Sustainable Agriculture in Arid and Semiarid Region

Pot irrigation is a traditional technology consists of using clay pots and porous capsules to improve irrigation practices by increasing storage and improving the distribution of water in the soil. It is not new; Buried clay pot irrigation has been used for small-scale agricultural irrigation in the arid and semi-arid regions to grow a wide range of annual and perennial plants in China, Pakistan, India, Iran, Mexico, and Brazil. In Mexico buried clay pot irrigation enabled two corn crops to be grown in a season with yield sufficient to feed a family from 400 square yards of garden. This ancient irrigation system has been modernized and reapplied in water-scarce areas. This technology is gaming acceptance among agricultural communities in arid areas. It is well developed as a technology for use in household gardening, but it is only applicable to small-scale agriculture. Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) system developed based on the specifications of buried clay pot irrigation system. Farmers in Iran started to use SDI for pistachio during last decade. The SDI has many advantages for irrigated agriculture in arid and semi arid regions such as Iran. Compared to clay pot irrigation system, SDI is applicable for any scale of agricultural fields. In this paper the advantages of subsurface irrigation in arid and semi arid regions will be discussed based on the on-farm study. Subsurface irrigation decrease water use at farm level and improve water use efficiency. There is a high degree of water application control with the potential for high uniformity of application. The system will bring food security, sustainable irrigated agriculture, and economical efficiency of agriculture in these regions

کلیدواژه ها:

Traditional irrigation system ، pot irrigation ، porous capsules ، subsurface drip irrigation ، water use efficiency