Abstract:
Irrigation plays an important role in various development project of our
country. The existing method of surface irrigation method is less efficient and we are
confronted with many problems regarding soil and water. Expansion of irrigation
system is also essential for increasing food production. Now the adoption of micro
irrigation systems has started in areas having water scarcity, poor quality water and
undulating terrain.
Micro irrigation, which includes mainly drip irrigation and micro sprinklers, is
an effective tool for conserving water resource. The micro irrigation has so many
potential benefits,but it has certain limitations such as high initial cost, problems
related to clogging, salt accumulation etc. With the objective of solving these
problems, a user-friendly irrigation method „wick irrigation‟ was developed for
vegetable cultivation in homesteads especially terrace cultivation by Centre for Water
Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) during the past many years.
This method is cheap and at the same time water efficient. The scientific principle
behind this irrigation method is capillary action.
This field study is conducted to evaluate the performance evaluation of
different wick materials in wick irrigation system. The performance is compared on
the basis of water uptake rate, moisture content, biometric observation such as plan
height, stem girth, number of branches, root length, lateral root distribution, root wet
weight, root dry weight and the yield parameters like total yield, number of fruits, and
diameter of fruit.From the study, it could be concluded that the wick made up of glass
wool (T3) showed better performance in biometric and yield parameters, water
uptake rate and soil moisture on the soil. It also observed that the wick made up of
cotton (T1) was on par with the results from glass wool (T3). Considering the easy
availability, ecofriendly nature of cotton and analysis of cost effectiveness, the cotton
canbe used as an alternative material for glass wool.
