RESEARCH ADVANCES IN MICRO IRRIGATION IN INDIA - Management, Performance, and Applications of Micro Irrigation Systems - page 40

To make this advanced technology accessible to small and marginal farmers, In-
ternational Development Enterprises (IDE) - USA, has developed a low cost system
and is being extensively fi eld tested in the farmers' fi eld. Cost of this system is being
reduced by eliminating the use of sophisticated parts, replacing with low cost substi-
tutes without sacrifi cing the quality and performance. The IDE has reduced the cost by
80% by making the system portable (by shifting the lateral lines) and doing away with
emitters/drippers but using holes and sockets or by providing microtubes in the lateral
line to deliver water and also by using low cost fi lters. In case the system cannot be
portable, due to the height or coverage of the crop, the reduction is about 50-60% by
irrigating 4 or 6 rows of crop from each lateral line, which is affordable by the farmers
even without subsidies. It is very diffi cult and cumbersome to the small and marginal
farmers to get the Government subsidy and that too it is not available throughout the
year. This technology was used in the early 70's by the author in Coimbatore District
of Tamil Nadu, when there were no drip irrigation manufacturers in the Country and
most of the research work was done using the material available in the market. The
system will catch up very well if the required drip irrigation quality material and ac-
cessories are available in the local market. Furthermore research is going on in the
country to reduce the thickness of the lateral pipes to bring down the cost and to opti-
mize the lateral lengths to have uniformity of water application for low head systems.
3.7 FUTURE PROSPECTS OF MICRO IRRIGATION
The studies conducted and information gathered from various sources has revealed
that drip irrigation is technically feasible, economically viable and socially acceptable.
Drip irrigation can be implemented in most of the areas irrigated by open/tube wells,
which make about 35% of the total irrigated area in the country. The drip irrigation
can be extended to the waste lands after planting tree crops including fruit trees; hilly
areas; semiarid zones; coastal sandy belts; water scarcity areas; and command of the
community wells
At present, on an average Rs. 100,000 to 150,000 per hectare is being invested for
the new irrigation projects. As water is becoming increasingly scarcer, adoption of
micro irrigation system offers potential for bringing nearly double the area under irri-
gation with the same quantity of water without any expenditure. It has been considered
as a boon for wide spaced perennial crop namely Mango, Coconut, Oilpalm, Banana,
Grapes, Pomegranate, Ber, Citrus, Tea, Coffee, and Cardamom. It is also suited for
vegetables, fl owers and other commercial crops cotton, banana tobacco and sugarcane.
The area under micro irrigation at present is about two M-ha. The potential area
is estimated as 27 M-ha by the Indian Task Force on Drip Irrigation. Hence, there is
a great future for the rapid expansion of micro irrigation in India in the coming years.
It is expected that the projected area of 20 M-ha (20% of the irrigated area) will be
brought under micro irrigation in the next 15 to 20 years.
3.8 PERSPECTIVE PLAN FOR MICRO IRRIGATION RESEARCH
Drip irrigation in the world is under varying degrees of development. In Israel, the en-
tire area is irrigated through drip. In USA, large areas under citrus, grapes, sugarcane,