MICRO IRRIGATION AND FERTIGATION PRACTICES IN CHILLI (CAPSICUM ANNUM) - Management, Performance, and Applications of Micro Irrigation Systems - page 164

13.1 INTRODUCTION
Water and fertilizer are the two costliest inputs in agriculture. Apart from the econom-
ics consideration it is also well known that the adverse effect of injudicious use of
water and fertilizer on the environment can have far reaching implications. There is,
therefore, a need for technological options, which will help in sustaining the precious
resources and maximizing crop production without any detrimental impact on the en-
vironment. Micro-irrigation is the only option to replace the conventional irrigation
method to achieve water-use efficiency.
Among the various technique developed for application of water, drip irrigation
also referred to as trickle irrigation or micro irrigation is gaining popularity as per-
haps the most effi cient method of water application [4]. The area under drip irrigation
was over 355,000 hectares in 2002. Presently, adoption of drip irrigation in India is
increasing and about 600,000 hectares area is covered under drip irrigation under vari-
ous crops [2]. As water, labor and land preparation becomes costlier; this technique of
water application is bound to replace conventional systems. It has been reported that
the savings is irrigation water using this technique over conventional methods can
range from 40 to 70% [6].
Globally, India is leading country in context of area covered in chili production
making it most dominant player in the world chili market. Water is an important in-
put for growing this crop during this season. Pepper is most susceptible horticultural
plants to drought stress because of the wide range of transpiring leaf surface, high
stomatal conductance [1] and having a shallow root system [7]. For higher yield, an
adequate water supply and relatively moist soils are required during the entire grow-
ing season. Low water availability prior to fl owering of pepper reduced the number of
fl owers and retarded the occurrence of maximum fl owering. The water defi cit during
the period between fl owering and fruit development reduced fi nal fruit production [9].
So, chili crop requires good and precise amount of water for higher yield and quality.
In this direction, drip irrigation offers great opportunity for precise application of wa-
ter and nutrients to the crop. The system has proved its superiority over other conven-
tional method of irrigation, especially in fruits and vegetable crops owing to precise
and direct application of water in the root zone [3, 13]. Sivanappan and Padmakumari
[17] compared drip irrigation and furrow irrigation systems and found that 1/3rd to
1/5th of the normal quantity water was enough for the drip irrigated plots compared to
normal quantity of water applied to plots under surface irrigation in vegetable crops.
Furthermore, there is good potential for adoption of drip irrigation and use of water
soluble fertilizers with drip system, that is, fertigation technique for achieving better
productivity and quality in different crops. The micro irrigation also enables use of
fertilizers, pesticides and other soluble chemicals along with the irrigation water more
economically and thus enhancing quality of produce and yield [15]. Micro-irrigation
is a highly effi cient method of water application to crops, which substantially saves
water and fertilizer, increases yield besides improving quality of produce and reduc-
ing labor. In the recent years there has been a serious concern of global shortage of
water. It is estimated that in India by 2025, 33% of India's population will live under
severe scarcity conditions [5] . Low temperature and frost injury during winter season