Fertigation is the application of nutrients through irrigation systems, a contraction of fertilization and irrigation to supply the plant with its daily demand of water and nutrients/fertilizers as required by its development.It usually practiced on high-value crops such as vegetables,turf,fruit trees,and ornamentals. The importance of fertigation in increasing productivity with efficient and reduced consumption of water and nutrients with practically no pollution is emphasized. The concept of fertigation, including the concepts of wetted soil volume and the resultant root volume and their optimization are discussed. The necessity, principles, chemistry and interactive effects, advantages and limitations of fertigation are explained. The precautions to be taken are also enlisted. The response of different crops to fertigation in terms of yield, use efficiency of water and nutrients etc. are reviewed here under. Production of vegetables and fruits in Malaysia using fertigation methods been experiencing accelerated growth. Fertigation allow farmers to automatically deliver adequate nutrient quantity and concentration through drip irrigation to plants active root area throughout the growing season. Conventionally, three separate preset digital timers are used to turn ON/OFF injector and irrigation pumps for fertilizer mixing and setting daily frequency of irrigation. The quality of nutrients solution level is manually checked using Electrical Conductivity (EC) meter to determine quality of the nutrient solution. This project was developed and tested to provide low cost solution for precise control of fertilizer mixing and irrigation to local farmers. A predefined EC value will be used as single input that control all automated processes in cucumis melo L. cultivation using fertigation system. The developed system powered totally by solar power system and tested on its effectiveness to control the nutrient mixing process and injecting nutrient solutions according to plants growth rate and in the same time monitor all key parameters in fertigation system. Introduction Fertigation is a process in which fertilizer is dissolved,diluted, and distributed along with water in your drip or sprinkler irrigation system.Or, in other word,fertigation is the process of application of water soluble solid fertilizer or liquid fertilizers through micro irrigation system. |
xhibition Team Member 1 |
Jeevesh a/l achuthan |