Drip kit saves over 70% water in kitchen garden irrigation
Kitchen garden farmers using cans for irrigation can now save more than 70 per cent of water with a bucket drip irrigation kit, which uses 50 liters for two days on a plot of 200 seedlings.
Drip irrigation is one of the most economical ways of irrigating large piece of land. The drip lines are laid along the rows and holes are made at the points where crops are to be grown. This means that water will only reach the crop’s base, not everywhere as it happens with cans.
Alex Kinyili of Twiga Chemical Industries said the bucket drip irrigation kit can sufficiently supply water to 200 crops on a 30 square metre plot.
The Bucket Kit costs Sh4,880.
“Small-scale farmers may not have much money to invest in an elaborate irrigation system. It has been established that they rely on watering cans, which are not only tedious in moving along the rows, but also waste a lot of water because they are not precise,” he said.
If a seedling dies and it is not replaced, the hole is sealed with a cello tape to prevent wastage.
One may require up to 120 liters of water for two rounds of can irrigation.
“This is a new product targeting small-holder farmers who want to increase yields via economical irrigation. Similar products in the market are for large scale producers, and their costs are unattainable. Their large drip line networks cannot be of use to those with small pieces of land, which they may segment for various crops or other uses,” Kinyili said.
Besides the water container and piping network, farmers are given tokens of a herbicide and a pesticide.
The system relies on gravity to push the water around the 4m by 7.5m or 2m by 15m plot.
This article was derived from : https://farmbizafrica.com/machinery/1912-drip-kit-saves-over-70-per-cent-water-in-kitchen-garden-irrigation
