08:24, 09/06/2023
HAutomatic irrigation systems have helped many farmers save water, labor and investment costs, improve crop yields, and aim for sustainable agricultural production.
Previously, Mr. Truong Van Quan (Ea Tar commune, Cu M'gar district) had to pull the hose to water each durian tree, now he only needs to turn on the circuit breaker to water the whole garden. Quan's durian garden has been installed with an automatic irrigation system for three years. In the past three years, taking care of durian for Mr. Quan has been somewhat "leisure", because in the hot season, he is proactive in watering and cooling down the trees, thereby increasing crop productivity.
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| Automatic irrigation system for durian garden in Ea Tam commune (Krong Nang district). |
Mr. Quan shared: “During the important stages of durian trees such as flowering, fruiting, etc., I actively water them quickly and easily. In my opinion, the installation of an automatic irrigation system helps farmers save time, work and actively take care of crops. Now I just need to turn on the breaker and do other things, so far I just turn off the breaker.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Dang Phan Quoc Khanh (Ea Tam ward, Buon Ma Thuot city) has more than 2 hectares of chili peppers using a drip irrigation system. When he first started growing chili peppers, he was advised by a friend to apply technology to agriculture to reduce costs and increase productivity, so he boldly invested 20 million VND to install an automatic and effective irrigation system that surprised him. Previously, when looking at the water dripping, Mr. Khanh thought the plants would not have enough water and was very worried. However, after a period of observation, he found that the amount of water and fertilizer for the plants was just enough, reaching the roots to help the plants absorb well and not waste water. According to Mr. Khanh, watering and fertilizing plants now only need him to operate without having to hire more workers. His chili garden gives high yield with reduced investment costs, so it brings great profits.
Currently, farmers often use two automatic irrigation systems: drip irrigation system and sprinkler system. Drip irrigation system is applied to farmers who grow vegetables, short-term crops such as peppers, sweet potatoes, potatoes, eggplants, etc., which can be used for at least three years. The sprinkler irrigation system is applied to perennial crops such as coffee, durian, oranges, pomelos, etc., which can be used almost for a long time.
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| Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tien (Ea Wer commune, Buon Don district) only needs to open the irrigation valve to operate the drip irrigation system at the chili garden. |
According to Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tien (Ea Wer commune, Buon Don district), a technician who installs automatic watering systems, when farmers apply this irrigation technology to production, they can reduce labor, water, fertilizer, and plant protection drugs by 50%. Meanwhile, productivity can increase by 20-30%. Currently, many agricultural production farms in the province have applied automatic irrigation technology to meet the needs of diverse production of crops on all terrains, the installation cost ranges from 15 - 50 million VND/ha, depending on the type.
When using this economical irrigation method, people do not have to dig ditches to conduct water and adjust the amount of irrigation water according to the needs of each crop. In addition, it is also possible to mix easily soluble fertilizers such as nitrogen, potassium, or water-based fertilizers ... through the mixing tank mounted at the total control valve. Since then, the fertilizer is mixed into the irrigation water, so the plants absorb better, yield and economic efficiency is higher than traditional irrigation.
The application of technology to agricultural production is an inevitable trend, in which automatic irrigation is one of the technologies that are easily accessible to farmers. Currently, many units, cooperatives and households in the province have boldly invested and replicated the automatic irrigation model, contributing to improving the efficiency of agricultural production, especially in the summer when water shortages and droughts occur.
Dinh Hang
