While irrigation has provided a number of important benefits the potential drawbacks of over/under watering include,
Under-watering
1. Loss in market value through yield reduction
2. Reduction in fruit size and quality
Over-watering
1. Unwanted vegetative growth
2. Losses of valuable water to the watertable
3. Irrigation water travelling over soil can cause erosion. The excessive displacement of the top soil can also affect soil fertility (and hence crop yields), it may also clog drainage ditches and streams (silting), harm aquatic habitats, foul waters used for recreational activities, and increases the need for water treatments.
4. Irrigation can cause pesticides, pathogens and weeds to spread during irrigation
5. Cause runoff
6. Increased operational costs (labour, pumping, cost of water)
7. Leaching of nutrients (eg. salt, phosphorus) may lead to algal growth, salinity an nitrate build ups (poisoning) elsewhere in the catchment
8. Downgraded product quality and reduced yield.
9. Higher operational costs for the producer (hence, reduced profits)
10. Pressue on water resources with the Increasing demand for water use by urban dwellers.
Peoplesmind
Ā© Dr. Adarsha Gowda,
Chairperson of Entrepreneurship & Consultancy
Heqd, Dept of Food Science,
Dept of Food Processing,
St Aloysius (Deemed to be University)
Mangaluru, Karnataka, India.