1. 40 Introducing: Drip Irrigation By Prof. Alon Tal, BGU

2. I FAO - October 2005, “39 countries face serious food shortages” (25 in Africa, 11 in Asia/Near East 2 in Latin America 1 in Eur.) World’s farmers face water deficit: 160 billion m 3 /yr (amount used to produce 10% of world's grain.) Conclusion: Irrigated agriculture needs to play significant role in addressing food & nutrition gaps

3. I Water and Agriculture, In 2000, agriculture accounted for 67% of world's total water withdrawal -- 86% of consumption (UNESCO, 2000) In Africa and Asia, 85-90% of all the freshwater used is for agriculture Global demand for food, by 2025, expected to increase water demand agriculture 1.2 times, industry 1.5 times domestic consumption 1.8 times

4. I Irrigation practiced on > 250 million ha worldwide. This = 17% of cultivated lands. But irrigated lands produce 40% of agricul. outputs! Ironically: rate of expansion of irrigated lands since late 1970s has declined heavily.

5. Top 10 countries utilize 67% of world’s agricultural areas

6. Conventional irrigation hypothesis: soil moisture remains equally available to crops until plant roots deplete it to some residual low value called “the permanent wilting point” (Veihmeyer and Hendrickson, 1950). Implications: regimen of infrequent irrigation designed to wet soil periodically to maximal “field capacity” and then let crop roots deplete soil moisture to wilting point” of plants before irrigating again.

7. I Micro-irrigation: “an irrigation method that applies water slowly to roots of plants, by depositing water either on the soil surface or directly to the root zone, through a network of valves, pipes, tubing, and emitters.” Components of micro irrigation system Application of smaller amounts of water w/ frequency

8. End of 1950s – low cost plastics makes it possible. 1959: Simcha Blass introduces first system. Previous systems: water released through tiny holes, blocked easily by tiny particles, Blass innovation: water released through larger and longer passageways -- using friction to slow water flow rate inside plastic emitter. 1965 Netafim Corporation established at Kibbutz Hatzerim. Israel’s 50 th anniversary: voted “best invention.”

9. On-line and In-line Drippers

10. Micro Sprinklers/Sprayers

11. Filters

12. Control Equipment

13. I During past 30 years, diffusion of micro irrigation systems increased from 1.1 in 1986 Mha to more than 6 Mha in 2006.

14. I Micro Irrigation Coverage: Americas: (1.9 Mha) Europe (1.8 Mha) Asia (1.8 Mha) Africa (0.4 Mha) Oceania (0.2 Mha).

15. I Micro Irrigation - Usage: Primarily to increase production of high value: fruits, vegetables, herbs and commercial flowers

16. Drip Irrigation: Benefits Evaporation reduced relative to sprinklers Irrigates steep landscapes. Eliminates drift during wastewater reuse. Allows for precise chemigation. Delivers to root zone. Automation = optimization

17. Drip Irrigation: Benefits Water use per yield drops dramatically. Improved quality of production Less fertilizer and weed control costs Environmentally responsible: reduced leaching & run-off Labor saving

18. Drip Irrigation: Disadvantages Expensive Requires managerial skills Waste: plastic tubing and "tapes" generally last 3-8 seasons before being replaced Clogging of radia Plant performance: Studies indicate: many plants grow better when leaves are wetted

19. Israel Water Authority, 2008 Groundwater Salination: Not Eliminated

20. Protected agriculture Increasingly used in greenhouses Especially in hyper-arid zones. (internationally: 0.75 Mha & growing) Evapotranspiration minimized. Cooling in summers /warming on winter nights required. Drip irrigation makes it feasible.

21. Subsurface drip irrigation: The Next Generation Conserves water while: controlling weeds, minimizing runoff and evaporation, increasing longevity of laterals and emitters, easing use of heavy equipment in field, and preventing human contact w/ low-quality water. labor saving (avoids seasonal installation).

22. Economics India: payback period for sugarcane crop using micro irrigation: 1.4 years. “Affordable Micro Irrigation Technologies” (AMITs) now used in developing countries. Available as packaged kits suitable for small fields (0.02 to 0.4 ha). Presently, AMITs used on 50,000 hectares by >250,000 smallholders.