Farmers in Ly Son island district apply water-saving irrigation

Specializing in growing and producing garlic products, in 2022, Mr. Nguyen Van Nhat (Tay An Vinh village, Ly Son district) started to get involved with water-saving irrigation technology.

“On average, every 500m2 of land uses 50 sprinklers. In the past, someone had to support the hose and adjust the watering direction, but now using sprinklers is much stronger, the amount of water is distributed evenly and is more economical,” Mr. Nhat shared.

Water-saving irrigation has been widely applied by Ly Son people. Photo: Van Ha.

For many years, onions and garlic have been the main crops in Ly Son. Although they provide the main income for the island's residents, these plants consume a lot of water and require regular irrigation to ensure stable growth and high productivity.

Every year, Ly Son people grow 1 crop of garlic and 3 crops of shallots. The first crop of shallots of the year is planted in mid-April. This is also the main crop of the year and falls during the hottest period of the year and requires regular watering. Depending on the weather, the shallot fields are watered 1-2 times a day.

Meanwhile, Ly Son Island has harsh weather, and fresh water sources are not as abundant as other places. In the past, to provide water for crops, Ly Son people relied on rainwater or had to use plastic pipes to pump water from wells for irrigation. When watering, at least 2 people are needed, one person supporting the wire, one person adjusting the irrigation pipe. If the well is far away, 3-4 people are needed to support the wire, which is costly in terms of labor, money, and water resources.

Ly Son island district has applied water-saving irrigation technology to crops on 100% of its agricultural land. Photo: Van Ha.

After many years of efforts in promoting and supporting farmers to apply water-saving nozzle technology in agricultural production, up to now, the water-saving nozzle system has been widely used by farmers in Ly Son island district, contributing to improving the effectiveness of drought prevention work.

In reality, watering with plastic pipes does not provide water evenly to the plants, some places have a lot, some places have little, some places even have no water at all, the water sprays out very strongly, causing the plant stems to be crushed... greatly affecting the growth, development and productivity of the plants.

The sprinkler system has small, light and even water droplets on the ground. The amount of water sprayed can be adjusted to suit each type of plant, so the plants are safe, grow evenly, and productivity increases by about 20% compared to traditional irrigation methods.

On the other hand, sprinkler irrigation saves a large amount of irrigation water compared to the traditional irrigation method. This is very important and is one of the effective solutions to save water resources, because fresh water resources on Ly Son island are very scarce.

Water-saving irrigation technology helps plants grow stably, produce high yields and save water. Photo: Van Ha.

Ms. Truong Thi Hanh (Dong An Hai village) shared: “There are many households in the field planting at the same time, so we have an agreement with each other, one household finishes watering then the other. When each household finishes, we close the valve, letting the water flow to the other household’s field. Now, we use a water-saving sprinkler system to save up to 2/3 of the amount of water compared to before.”

According to the Chairwoman of the People’s Committee of Ly Son District, Pham Thi Huong, the people of Ly Son Island District have applied water-saving irrigation technology to crops on over 100% of the agricultural land area (over 300 hectares). Water-saving irrigation technology helps crops on the island grow stably, with high productivity, while reducing labor costs and saving water resources.

Source: https://nongnghiep.vn/nong-dan-huyen-dao-ly-son-ap-dung-tuoi-tiet-kiem-d746318.html