110
L. Łab˛ edzki et al.
The reason seems not to be the technique itself, that will hinder the progress
of irrigation in Poland, but rather the economics as well as water availability in
sufficient quantities and acceptable quality. The emerging problem tends to be the
improvement and accomplishment of irrigation systems to make possible the use of
modern energy- and water-saving solutions.
Long-term irrigation research and gained practical abilities exhibited water use as
much more efficient in pressurized irrigation than in surface irrigation. For this reason,
the inevitable search for more advanced techniques and accessories has revealed
following solutions:
– micro sprinkling with low-discharge emitters and minisprinklers,
– drip irrigation (surface and subsurface directly into the root zone),
– compensated drippers,
– automatic valves and controllers,
– media and automatic filtration.
The above mentioned solutions and devices should be enhanced for a wide use.
Besides, a routine of fertigation procedure has to be introduced to the most of irrigated areas. Highly soluble and liquid fertilizers ought to be applied as compatible
to the actual technology. As a fully controlled process, irrigation by automatic valves
and computerized steering units deserves attention. Modern irrigation and drainage
equipment will enable better control and monitoring of water status of agricultural
land, which will be translated into higher effectiveness of water intake. A regional
network of agro-meteorological stations should strive to deliver real-time weather
data to farmers along with the guidance regarding operational irrigation/drainage
scheduling. Besides weather monitoring, soil water content control utilizes tensiometers, pressure chamber patterns, electrical resistance sensors, to secure more precise,
site- specific local adaptation. Vegetation indices, such as leaf water potential, stomatal resistance, infrared canopy temperature deserve to be used to achieve better
accuracy in water dosage.
In the contemporary times, the advanced irrigation technologies and equipment
are available in Poland and can be purchased and implemented in a farm by many
private companies, either domestic or the representatives of foreign companies (e.g.
from Israel, USA, Italy). They provide a complete service for investment, initially
from advisory and design consultation and ending with the maintenance and service.
The only barrier to acknowledge in the common implementation of modern irrigation
devices is their cost.
Currently, as it was already mentioned, under the economic circumstances and
tendencies in Poland, the irrigation of most field crops is considered to be unprofitable
measure. It should be noted, however, that the irrigation of potatoes, vegetables and
orchards proved to enhance profits to some degree [12, 14, 19]. It can be foreseen that
the link between the investment and operation costs of irrigation and farther profits
will gain new connotation. From one side, the lowering of prices of irrigation gear
could be expected; from the other side, the market prices of agricultural products
will cause irrigation bringing more profits to farmers. One should acknowledge such
developments as: productivity effectiveness, the use of different types of irrigation
L. Łab˛ edzki et al.
The reason seems not to be the technique itself, that will hinder the progress
of irrigation in Poland, but rather the economics as well as water availability in
sufficient quantities and acceptable quality. The emerging problem tends to be the
improvement and accomplishment of irrigation systems to make possible the use of
modern energy- and water-saving solutions.
Long-term irrigation research and gained practical abilities exhibited water use as
much more efficient in pressurized irrigation than in surface irrigation. For this reason,
the inevitable search for more advanced techniques and accessories has revealed
following solutions:
– micro sprinkling with low-discharge emitters and minisprinklers,
– drip irrigation (surface and subsurface directly into the root zone),
– compensated drippers,
– automatic valves and controllers,
– media and automatic filtration.
The above mentioned solutions and devices should be enhanced for a wide use.
Besides, a routine of fertigation procedure has to be introduced to the most of irrigated areas. Highly soluble and liquid fertilizers ought to be applied as compatible
to the actual technology. As a fully controlled process, irrigation by automatic valves
and computerized steering units deserves attention. Modern irrigation and drainage
equipment will enable better control and monitoring of water status of agricultural
land, which will be translated into higher effectiveness of water intake. A regional
network of agro-meteorological stations should strive to deliver real-time weather
data to farmers along with the guidance regarding operational irrigation/drainage
scheduling. Besides weather monitoring, soil water content control utilizes tensiometers, pressure chamber patterns, electrical resistance sensors, to secure more precise,
site- specific local adaptation. Vegetation indices, such as leaf water potential, stomatal resistance, infrared canopy temperature deserve to be used to achieve better
accuracy in water dosage.
In the contemporary times, the advanced irrigation technologies and equipment
are available in Poland and can be purchased and implemented in a farm by many
private companies, either domestic or the representatives of foreign companies (e.g.
from Israel, USA, Italy). They provide a complete service for investment, initially
from advisory and design consultation and ending with the maintenance and service.
The only barrier to acknowledge in the common implementation of modern irrigation
devices is their cost.
Currently, as it was already mentioned, under the economic circumstances and
tendencies in Poland, the irrigation of most field crops is considered to be unprofitable
measure. It should be noted, however, that the irrigation of potatoes, vegetables and
orchards proved to enhance profits to some degree [12, 14, 19]. It can be foreseen that
the link between the investment and operation costs of irrigation and farther profits
will gain new connotation. From one side, the lowering of prices of irrigation gear
could be expected; from the other side, the market prices of agricultural products
will cause irrigation bringing more profits to farmers. One should acknowledge such
developments as: productivity effectiveness, the use of different types of irrigation