What is Irrigation?

Irrigation is the practice of artificially applying water to otherwise dry land during summer. Gardeners use hoses and sprinklers to water flowerbeds, vegetable gardens and lawns. This is irrigation at its most basic. Large scale irrigation is where market gardeners, farmers, orchardists and grape growers apply water at critical times to assist plant growth and therefore produce quality crops.

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Irrigation water can come from nearby rivers or under ground water (groundwater) or storage ponds specifically designed to collect high river flows during winter. Pipes, channels and wells dug into the ground allow water to be taken from its source to the farms, vineyards and orchards where it will be used. Today a diverse range of ever-evolving technologies exist to efficiently apply irrigation water to crops. How much water is used depends on the type of crop, the soil in which the crop is being grown and the amount of rainfall in that area.

 

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Did you know?

Worldwide rainfall (precipitation) averages 800mm per year. New Zealand experiences 2.5times that amount  with average precipitation of 2000mm per year. We are water rich!