Water Management in Horticultural Crops

Relative costs of irrigation methods

• The irrigation methods for most of the annual crops are of the combined form of seed bed cum irrigation methods. They last only for a season. No special materials are used.
  
• The cost depends on the labour requirement only. For perennial crops also the soil is used as irrigation structures (bunds) and is maintained by periodic rectification. Hence the cost for layout for three seasons may in general involve a higher cost than preparation for one season.
  
• The hi-tech irrigation systems like sprinkler and drip system involves many of the components of high cost and tend to be more expensive initially than the surface methods.
  
• The savings of water relative to surface irrigation and saving of energy relative to sprinkler irrigation can reduce the long term comparative operating costs of drip systems.