Question

State any two drawbacks of conventional methods of irrigation.

Answer 1

1. Traditional irrigation methods waste a significant amount of water.
2. Crops often experience cyclic flooding and water stress due to excessive irrigation at one time, followed by a 10 to 15 day dry period. Crop moisture availability varies over time. This leads to low agricultural yields.
3. Low-lying fields receive excessive water, leading to chronic waterlogging. Crops suffer from waterlogging, leading to low yields.
4. In fields, 10-15% of land is used for preparing channels and distributes, reducing the effective area of cultivation.
5. Salt accumulation has led to agricultural land abandonment in India’s dry and semi-arid regions. Excessive irrigation and inadequate water management lead to water-logging and salt buildup over time. Increased soil salinity has rendered the soils unfit for cultivation.