Small scale drip irrigation has huge potential for improving household food security in areas where water is available. Mr. R.D. Burger from the Ministry of Agriculture (Extension Services) experimented with a small home made drip irrigation system in an area of 30x40m (1200m square) in order to establish the effectiveness of such a system on a small piece of land, like in the case of a homestead garden.
Statistics:
Crop: maize (Zama Star)
Planting density: 20cm spacing between seeds/plants. 400 Plants dubbel sided per 40m row (furrow). 15 Rows (40m) with a spacing of 2m between rows
Fertilizer: Kraal Manure, phosphoric acid (in water) , Urea (in water)
Total number of plants: 6000
Total number of maize cobs harvested: 12 000 (2 per plant)
Total weight of maize grain: 1920kg (128kg/row)/1200m square
Production potential per hectare: 16000kg/ha
The video can be accessed at: http://youtu.be/bCBpS__qmvk
Statistics:
Crop: maize (Zama Star)
Planting density: 20cm spacing between seeds/plants. 400 Plants dubbel sided per 40m row (furrow). 15 Rows (40m) with a spacing of 2m between rows
Fertilizer: Kraal Manure, phosphoric acid (in water) , Urea (in water)
Total number of plants: 6000
Total number of maize cobs harvested: 12 000 (2 per plant)
Total weight of maize grain: 1920kg (128kg/row)/1200m square
Production potential per hectare: 16000kg/ha
The video can be accessed at: http://youtu.be/bCBpS__qmvk
Thank you sujai. I believe that small scale drip irrigation with solar technology in rural areas is the most sustainable method to achieve household food security and improve rural poverty
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