Irrigation system

can use saline water

An irrigation system which can use saline water (up to 1,000 parts of salt to every one million parts of water), and which is said to use between 25 per cent, and 50 per cent, less water than other irrigation systems, is now available from a new Australian firm, Iplex Plastic Industries Pty. Ltd.

Developed in Israel in the early ’6o’s, the system is known as “trickle irrigation”. Under the system, water, blended with fertiliser, is trickle fed through plastic piping to the roots of a plant. The water is fed either continuously or intermittently, accord ing to the needs of the plant.

In Israel trickle irrigation has pro duced crops three times the size of crops produced by conventional irrigation systems, and surveys have shown that the quality of crops is improved when they are under trickle irrigation.

For any soil

When saline water is fed through the trickle irrigation pipes, accumula ted salts are carried outside the root feeding zone.

Trickle irrigation is said to be suitable for any type of soil—though naturally some soils are better than others. According to Iplex, excellent results have been recorded in sandy and medium to heavy soils.

Though this system can un doubtedly save money and increase yields—in Israel at any rate—it needs to be approached with some caution.

According to Barry Larkman, market development officer of ICIANZ Ltd., further tests will be required before it is known whether the system is suitable for all low rainfall areas.

Besides that, it costs an average of $4OO to $5OO an acre to install a trickle irrigation system in fruit orchards and about $7OO to $BOO per acre for vegetables. To justify this outlay, the manufacturers of the system point out that it has been known to increase yields by more than 100 per cent., in some instances, and over 30 per cent, in most cases.