What is seepage irrigation? What are equipments used? and what is its effect on the crops?

Question

What is seepage irrigation? What are equipments used? and what is its effect on the crops?

Answer 1

Seepage irrigation is a low pressure, low consumption irrigation that uses decreasingly smaller lines from the source to the plant.

Depending on how much is being watered, lines come from a 1  inch or 3/4 inch line that starts at a manifold (multiple line connection) or a main feed line. Depending on need this may branch again to secondary lines, somewhat smaller in general. From there a couple of different systems can be used. One is a special "soaker" hose is used that is made out of a (recycled) material that makes it very porous with literally hundreds of pores per foot. That is placed frequently under a thin layer of mulch or soil and passes over the root system of a plant, sometimes in multiple passes or circles for added coverage. It can be left on the surface, though, and makes off season recovery and maintenance easier. I found that if left too long it gets clogged with roots and other growth and has to be scrubbed well, especially under mulch. The other method is a drip system that uses thin "spaghetti" lines that are punched into the thinner feed line at increments of plant spacing. These lines are about a 1/4 inch OD give or take and do well for an individual plants needs, sometimes as many as three or four rows served from a feed line. The problems with this system is that "spaghetti" lines need to be all about the same length or they run low quantity if too long (or none) and shoot high volume if too short. When one of the hundreds of little lines malfunctions, typically you won't know till a plant wilts or does poor, and recovery for off season storage can be a real challenge if not gone about systematically. This type of "spaghetti" system works not only in a field system but also in overhead systems with hanging pots or any raised growing system, and the components for the main and feed lines, as well as the 1/4 inch are all very inexpensive polyethylene, whereas the porous "soaker" hose is much more costly even though it is usually recycled (automobile tires?) material.

Both of the above are good in that they limit water use to the minimum, provide a way to also add fertilizer in smaller amounts just where needed, and keeps the plant leaves drier which helps to limit disease like leaf fungus from being too wet too often (also keeps disease inoculum from movement by splash irrigation contamination).

Answer 2

Sub-irrigation

Sub-irrigation also sometimes called seepage irrigation has been used for many years in field crops in areas with high water tables. It is a method of artificially raising the water table to allow the soil to be moistened from below the plants' root zone. Often those systems are located on permanent grasslands in lowlands or river valleys and combined with drainage infrastructure. A system of pumping stations, canals, weirs and gates allows it to increase or decrease the water level in a network of ditches and the control the water table thereby.

Sub-irrigation is also used in commercial greenhouse production, usually for potted plants. Water is delivered from below, absorbed upwards, and the excess collected for recycling. Typically, a solution of water and nutrients floods a container or flows through a trough for a short period of time, 10-20 minutes, and is then pumped back into a holding tank for reuse. Sub-irrigation in greenhouses requires fairly sophisticated, expensive equipment and management. Advantages are water and nutrient conservation, and labor-saving through lowered system maintenance and automation. It is similar in principle and action to subsurface drip irrigation.

Answer 3

Seepage irragation can be explained on a small scale. Imagine you have a garden or flower bed . Take an old garden hose and poke holes in it every 6 to 8 inches plug the end and lay  it throgh the garden or flower bed. hook the good end to a faucet and turn it about halfway on allowing the water to seep through the poked holes. After leaving overnight move the hose to the next row. Now imagine the same thing on a larger scale. It provides the crops with a slow steady soaking.