Assessing the effectiveness of locally made clay pot as an irrigation device.
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Date
2011
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
Among traditional irrigation systems, pitcher irrigation is one of the most efficient.
Water seeps out of a buried pitcher due to the pressure head gradient across the wall
of the pitcher directly into the root zone of the irrigated crop. The pressure gradient
results from a positive pressure head inside the pitcher and negative pressure head at
the outer surface of the pitcher which is in contact with soil. Pitcher irrigation is a
cost effective traditional technique, which is easy for small scale farmers to
comprehend with. This study considered the effectiveness of locally made pitchers as
a micro-irrigation device using beans and amaranths crops. The experimental design
was 2x3 factorial arrangements of treatments in a split plot design. The main-plots
were two different initial soil moisture contents i.e. soil moisture content at field
capacity (31 %, vol.) and 26 % (vol.). The sub-plots were three different plant
densities i.e. 4 plants/pot, 6 plants/pot and 8 plants/pot and were replicated three
times giving a total of 18 combination treatments. A positive relationship was found
between seepage rate and actual evapotranspiration for all pitchers (R = 0.37)
showing a sign of auto-regulative capabilities. Under beans, the pitchers were not
effective in water saving in all the combination treatments because of high water loss
through deep percolation because of poor pot characterization. However under
amaranths the pitchers were effective in optimizing the water applied. The water
applied was not statistically different (P < 0.05) for all the treatments. These results
show that clay pots had low application efficiency. However the pots can still be
used on amaranths, with a plant density of 16 plants/pot and at initial soil moisture
content of 26 % (volume).
Description
Dissertation
Keywords
Traditional irrigation systems, Pitcher Irrigation, Clay Pot Production, Water productivity