District joint director of agriculture in Coimbatore, R Chitradevi said on Saturday that the agriculture department has issued a work order to bring 3,768 acres of farmland under drip irrigation at a cost of Rs 11.49 crore in the financial year 2021-22. He added that the drive has benefitted 1,395 farmers.
He added that the target was to bring down 5,325 acres of farmland under drip irrigation in the financial year and 2,158 farmers have applied for the same scheme for about 6,254 acres of land.
Block-level officials have approved the scheme for 1807 farmers, covering about 4,771 acres of land.
The officer added that a 100 percent subsidy was offered to the small and marginal farmers and others also benefitted from 75 percent subsidy under the scheme.
Drip irrigation is a brilliant farming practice that helps conserve both the water and the nutrient contents of the soil that enriches the soil for a good yield.
Coconut, which is a major crop in the district, has shown an increase of 25 percent in yield when cultivated using drip irrigation.
Chitradevi said that the farmers can also cut down the cost of labor by adopting drip irrigation. She also added that weed and pest attacks were lower on farmlands that used drip irrigation while cultivating crops.
Drip irrigation is a method of water irrigation in which water passes through a filter and into customized drip pipes with spaced emitters. A particular slow-release system distributes water straight into the soil near the roots through the emitters.
Drip irrigation can help achieve water conservation by lowering evaporation and deep drainage if it is correctly designed, installed, and managed.
This method of irrigation delivers water and nutrients directly to the plant's roots zone, in the right amounts, at the right time, so each plant gets exactly what it needs, when it needs it, to grow optimally.
