Advantages of ground water Use of ground water for drinking purpose has various advantages:

1. Ground water generally does not get polluted, if it is away (at least 20 mtr.) from the sanitary works.
The water gets filtered while percolating through sand & stones. Therefore groundwater remains pure
and clean.
2. Since bore well is closed, no risk of getting contaminated.
3. Since it is closed no danger of children or animals falling into it.
4. Temperature of deep water remains stable. It feels cool in summer and warm in winter.
5. Since bore are deep, chances of water remaining available in summer are more.

Benefits of Subsurface Drip Irrigation

There are many benefits to subsurface drip irrigation including the highest water use efficiency of
any irrigation method. And studies show that crops grown under SDI can reduce water use up to
40% while increasing yields and/or quality compared to other irrigation methods. SDI also easily
adapts to smaller, irregular sized fields and topography which are difficult or impossible to irrigate
with other methods.

The benefits of SDI systems

System components and typical layouts

Installation

Start-up, operation and maintenance

SDI for specific crops; corn, cotton and alfalfa

Disadvantages

Groundwater is usually quite expensive to extract, and over utilisation can damage an aquifer
irremediably. Groundwater may be saline. Extraction of groundwater can cause subsidence.
Advantages: Groundwater is usually reliable even in times of drought. In water poor countries it may be
the only source. It is usually very pure and free of organic matter so require little treatment. For farmers it

may be the only local source of water in dry countries. Mineralised groundwater has value in spas and as
bottled water.

CROPS
Alfalfa
Why Drip Irrigation Makes Sense in Alfalfa Production
Yield increases of 25-40% whether you are producing Alfalfa to sell to dairies or growing your
own to feed your cows - can you afford not to give drip irrigation a serious look?
These yield increases are achieved by:

More stems per crown

Improved uniformity of water applied

Less crop stress with improved ability to meet the crop's daily demand

Improved soil moisture in soil status increases uptake of vital nutrients

Asparagus
ASPARAGUS PRODUCTION USING SUBSURFACE DRIP
IRRIGATION
Asparagus is a high-value specialty crop and the earliest producing spring vegetable. It currently is
priced as a gourmet item and will remain in this category until growing, harvesting, and processing
costs can be reduced. California is the leading asparagus producing state followed by Washington,
Michigan, New Jersey and Illinois. Still, many other areas have great production potential climatically
and geographically. Unlike most other vegetables, asparagus is a perennial crop which can be
productive for 15 years or more. Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) can result in significant water
savings and improved yield by producing a more uniform crop.

Netafim provides the following resource for a grower to learn more about SDI for asparagus
production.

Blueberries
BLUEBERRY PRODUCTION USING DRIP IRRIGATION

Corn
CORN PRODUCTION USING SUBSURFACE DRIP
IRRIGATION
Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) is a management tool that allows precise control over the root zone
environment of your corn crop. This control often results in consistently high yields. In addition,
better water and fertilizer management can help reduce fertilizer inputs, water needs, and runoff.
SDI has been used commercially for irrigating field corn since the early 1990's. In most applications,
one dripline irrigates two rows of corn and the dripline is buried 8 to 14 inches deep depending upon
soil type and germination conditions. The placement of the dripline every other row is the most
economic setup for field corn production. Netafim provides the following resources for a grower to
learn more about SDI for corn production

Cotton
COTTON PRODUCTION USING SUBSURFACE DRIP
IRRIGATION
Cotton is a crop grown all over the southern quarter of the United States from California to Florida. It
places this crop in areas of extreme rainfall in certain times to little or none in others.
Irrigated cotton responds well to careful management, resulting in consistently high yields. As the
efficiency of the irrigation system increases so does the plant's opportunity for yield. Cotton has
shown outstanding responses to Subsurface Drip Irrigation (SDI). SDI has given the grower ultimate
control of inputs resulting in higher returns. Yields have doubled in some areas when compared to
other forms of irrigation and have set record yields on farms with high management levels.

For a grower who wants to learn more about SDI for cotton production, Netafim has a Cotton
Production Manual. Readers will learn about drip system components, typical layouts, fertigation and
maintenance. It is meant as a guide to aid in the decision to move to drip technology and how to
manage this technology to obtain the desired results.

Peanuts

Soybeans

Tobacco
TOBACCO PRODUCTION USING DRIP
IRRIGATION
Drip irrigation in tobacco is not new. In the early 1990's, drip irrigation was successfully used in Flue
Cured tobacco in both South Carolina and Georgia. Yield increases have been obtained ranging
from 20% - 40% at the same time improving the quality, with a grade improvement of 10% - 20%.
In the last couple of years, drip irrigation has caught on in Kentucky and Tennessee with growers
who experienced dry weather when the tobacco plants were knee high. With production costs
between $4,000 and $5,000 per acre, no grower can afford to have the tobacco affected by drought.
An extended dry period during the critical growing stage of the crop will affect the yield and quality.
Benefits of drip irrigation include non-wetting of the leaves, less diseases especially black shank,
which can be spread through leaves and stems, also brown spot which appears to be worse after
overhead irrigation. The uniformity of a drip system is much better than with a traveler, especially in
wind conditions.
Netafim provides the following resources for a grower to learn more about drip irrigation for tobacco
production.

A Tobacco Production Manual - 16 page overview on how to use drip irrigation for tobacco. Readers
will learn about drip system components, typical layouts, water use, irrigation scheduling, system
start-up and maintenance. It is meant as a guide to aid in the decision to move to drip technology
and how to manage this technology to obtain the desired results.

Tomatoes