Fertigation is a process of applying fertilisers by incorporating it within the irrigation water by the drip system. In this arrangement fertilizer solution is distributed evenly in irrigation. The availability of nutrients is optimized resulting in the higher efficiency. Fertilizer use efficiency is increased from 80 to 90 per cent saving at least 25% of the nutrients. The nutrient absorption is also higher through fertigation as the nutrients and water are supplied near the active root zone. It also guarantees 25-50% higher yield owing to even and efficient application of water and the fertilisers.

Drip irrigation is the most commonly used system for fertigation and requires the most knowledge for effective use. Drip irrigation is a type of micro irrigation or trickle irrigation where water is applied slowly, directly to the soil around the crop. This method uses less than half the water of overhead and furrow irrigation.

Advantages of Fertigation

The Fertilization process is not only more efficient than the conventional fertilisation process but also saves input cost for the farmers. This arrangement eliminates the requirement of manual labour and also saves time. The nutrients applied are immediately available to the plants due to precise application near the roots. This results in the better uptake of the nutrients by crop roots.

The shortage of water for agricultural use and increased urbanization has forced agricultural development to new locations which are less suitable to old flood or canal irrigation methods. This makes fertigation an obvious choice to ensure healthy output. Fertigation was earlier used for horticulture and field crops but now it has been extended for tree plantations as well. 

The process of fertigation has also been evolved with an automatic scheduling of irrigation cycle for home and city gardens usage. In an effort to ensure better income to farmers with sustainable agricultural practices, fertigation can be a great measure. Various technical interventions for automation and data analytics are making the system of fertigation all the more desirable for mass adoption.

FocusAgritech’s Outlook: fertigation is a scientifically proven process to improve the efficiency of nutrients being applied to the soil. Companies can come up with tools and technologies to integrate it with smart farming techniques monitoring the amount of water and fertiliser being fed to the crops. This can lead to better planning and decision making by farmers and save more cost with minimum application of chemical inputs. There is a need to make the process compatible for the organic manure application which can assist in organic farming.

Companies to Watch: Agrivi, SMART fertiliser software

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