4TH International Congress on Technology - Engineering & SCIENCE - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia (2017-08-05)

Fertigation As A Technique To Save Irrigation Water And Fertilizers And Increase Crop Yield
In Jordan, like other arid and semiarid regions, limiting water resources and increasing concerns for groundwater contamination by agricultural pollutants, like nitrate, are forcing farmers to improve irrigation and fertilization efficiency. Fertigation is considered the most effective management tool for both nutrient and irrigation water under scarce water conditions. It is the technique of injecting water soluble fertilizers via irrigation water, proportionally, using modern injectors. As a modern technique, fertigation provides an excellent opportunity to maximize crop yield and enhance its quality, and minimize environmental pollution by controlling fertilizer application.This is because the nutrient concentration in the irrigation water can be controlled according to the crop requirement. A field survey was carried out in 2014 to determine the fertilization methods that are used by farmers in the irrigated areas in Jordan. An evaluation for the new fertilization techniques that have been involved by farmers was also carried out. Four irrigated areas in The Jordan Valley (JV)and Al-Mafraq areas characterized by intensive agricultural practices, where farmers have adopted the new technique usinghydraulic injectors (Figure 1), were selected. In each area, twenty farms were selected to evaluate the effect of this technique on irrigation water and fertilizers savings and crop production. Data regarding irrigation water and fertilizers application rates and crop yield under the old and new practices of fertilization were collected. The output of the survey indicated that the conventional fertilizer tank is used by 74% of the farmers in the South Shouna, while the rest (26%) use the suction pipe connected with an electric pump to inject the soluble fertilizers into the irrigation system. Meanwhile, 97% of the farmers in the Middle JVuse the fertilizer tank as a fertigation tool and the remaining (3%) use the pump. On the other hand, 50% of the farmers of the North JVuse the pump, leaving 33% for fertilizer tank and the rest (17%) for broadcasting. In Al-Mafraq, most of the farmers (93%) use the fertilizer tank, while some of them (7%) use the pump as a fertigation technique. The results of the survey in this regard are presented in Table 1.On the other hand, the results also indicated that the average savings in the fertilizers and irrigation water application rates in the investigated areas as a result of using the new fertigation technology were 20 and 9%, respectively. Meanwhile, the average increase in the agricultural production reached 25% (Table2). Farmers in irrigated areas in Jordan have been encouraged to adopt this new technique. This innovative technology in fertilization is highly recommended to save natural resources from depletion, and protect the environment from pollution by agricultural contaminants In conclusion, fertigation using injectors is considered an effective technique in agricultural production as the application rates of fertilizers and irrigation water can be significantly reduced, and crop yield can be increased appreciably. This in turn has positive environmental and economical consequences represented by minimizing environmentalpollution and increasing farmers’ profit.
Keywords: Fertigation, fertilizers, injectors, nutrients, pollution
Asad Alkhader