Get premium membership and access revision papers with marking schemes, video lessons and live classes.

Processing. Please wait.

Methods of irrigation

Answer Text:
Methods of Irrigation
(a) Water lifting method
- Lifting water from a source by using a bucket or watering can and pouring it on the crops.
- Used widely in market gardens and on farms adjacent to the water.
(b) Flood/basin irrigation
- Diverting river water into a canal then to plots where it’s flooded.
- Commonly used in irrigation schemes.
(c) Sprinkler or overhead irrigation
- Taking water to the fields by pipes and applying it on crops by rotating sprinklers mounted on vertical pipes.
- Used on golf courses and market gardening.
(d) Trickle irrigation
- Plastic pipes with holes laid in the fields through which water trickles to the base of plant.
- Popular where fruits and flowers are grown.
(e) Canal irrigation
- Directing water through canal to farms.
- Commonly used in areas experiencing low rainfall e.g. Yatta in Machakos
(f) Drip irrigation
- Inverting bottles filled with water into the roots of a plant.
- Used in low rainfall areas to grow trees, fruits and flowers.