- Water Conservation
Drip irrigation moistens only the root development zone of crops, making it a localized irrigation form. With the water intensity of drip irrigation being less than the soil’s infiltration rate, it prevents runoff and soil compaction. Subsurface drip irrigation delivers minimal water, allowing limited soil moisture to circulate between the soil and the plastic film, reducing inter-row evaporation of crops.
Covering with plastic film can also convert smaller ineffective rainfall into effective rainfall, thereby improving the utilization rate of natural rainfall. Testing shows that the average water consumption of subsurface drip irrigation is 12% of traditional irrigation methods, 50% of sprinkler irrigation, and 70% of conventional drip irrigation.
- Increased Fertilizer Utilization
Soluble fertilizers can be applied through drip irrigation, utilizing water to transport fertilizers directly to the root zone of crops, significantly increasing fertilizer utilization. Testing indicates that subsurface drip irrigation can increase fertilizer utilization from 30%-40% to 50%-60%.
- Significant Yield Increase
Subsurface drip irrigation can timely and adequately supply water and nutrients to the root zone of crops, regulating inter-row temperature and humidity. Additionally, when the temperature difference between day and night causes condensation inside the film, it improves the microclimate for crop growth, providing favorable conditions for crop growth, thus resulting in a significant increase in yield. Surveys show that subsurface drip irrigation can increase cotton yields by 30%, vegetable yields by 40%, and melon yields by 25%.
- Low Labor Costs
With subsurface drip irrigation, there is less irrigation water between plant rows, resulting in fewer weeds compared to full-area irrigation, reducing weeding labor. Drip irrigation prevents soil compaction, reducing the frequency of soil tillage. Drip irrigation systems do not require land leveling, trenching, or furrow construction, and they can be automated, greatly reducing the labor intensity and workload of field irrigation. According to surveys, drip irrigation saves about 10 man-days per 667 square meters (1 acre) compared to flood irrigation.
- Low Construction Costs
For many years, drip irrigation technology has been considered expensive and only applicable to high-value crops. With the increasing scarcity of water resources and significant progress in research on domestically produced drip irrigation facilities suitable for national conditions and reduced investment, drip irrigation technology can now be fully integrated into field agriculture and adapted for general agricultural use.
Especially with the Tianye subsurface drip irrigation facilities in Xinjiang, China, the cost is only around ￥300 per 667 square meters, which is 1/8 of similar foreign products. The equipment has a service life of 5-8 years, and the ultimate-level drip tapes cost only ￥0.2 per meter. After about two years of use, the drip tapes can be exchanged for new ones, with processing fees of only ￥0.12 per meter. The investment in drip tapes for 667 square meters of land can be reduced to just over ￥70.