Orchard Irrigation

"Orchard irrigation in the arid and semiarid regions of this country varies in practice, according to water supply, climate, soil and situation of the land, and in cost of installation and maintenance of the system. The right selection of land for an orchard tract should be the irrigator's first step toward profitable fruit production. Expensive devices should not be used for distributing water in orchards of low value and small return, but valuable orchards, yielding large annual returns will justify the best-known devices for successful irrigation. Prevention of waste of water should be a chief object of the irrigation not alone for the sake of economy but for the good of the orchard as well. A discussion of the factors essential to the successful irrigation of orchards as well as of different methods used is presented in the following pages." -- p. [2]

Although there exists a number of books providing procedural details on scientific husbandry of the various fruit crops grown in India, separate titles covering elaborate discussions on the principles of fruit culture befitting to this country are inadequate. While considering the gap, the present text has fundamental aspects on the principles of fruit culture, which are orchard irrigation and soil management practices, the pertinence of which to gain expertise on fruit crop husbandry needs no emphasis. The title has aimed at presenting the subject in a clearly understandable from to meet the requirements of the post graduate and the advanced level of under graduate students of horticulture in India for preparing them to take up studies on the husbandry of fruit crops in a critical manner, besides providing practical informations to the fruit growing personnels in this country. Contents Part I: Orchard Irrigation; Chapter 1: Importance of Orchard Irrigation; Chapter 2: Factors Affecting Irrigation Requirement of Fruit Crops, Plant factor, Soil condition, Rainfall, Atmospheric condition, Topography, Cultural aspect; Chapter 3: Determining Irrigation Requirement, By determining moisture content of soil, By determining moisture content of leaves, By conducting irrigational trials, From personal experiences; Chapter 4: Surface Irrigation System, Flooding, Check or bed method, Furrow method, Border method, Basin method, Ring method, Combine methods, Drip (surface-drip) method, Perforated pitcher (surface-drip) method, Pipe method, Soil sloping (contour) method; Chapter 5: Sub-surface Irrigation System, Straight trench method, Cross trench method, Circular trench method, Perforated pipeline method, Trench drip method, Buried (concealed) drip method; Chapter 6: Overhead Irrigation System; Chapter 7: Precautions of Irrigation, Drainage, Quality of water, Water contact at tree bases, Injury to roots, Irrigation during pruning, Stages of growth, Rootstock, Irrigation in dry soil, Regulating flow of irrigation water, Wastage of water, Use of drained water, Time of irrigation. Part II: Orchard Soil Management Practices; Chapter 1: Concepts of Orchard Soil Management, Basic principles, Systems of management; Chapter 2: Management Without Growing any Extra Plant (Clean Culture), Clean culture by ploughing, Clean culture by application of weedicides, Clean culture by mud-plastering; Chapter 3: Management by Growing Economically Important Plants (Crop Culture), Growing secondary fruit crops (fillers), Growing other secondary crops of economic importance (inter-cropping); Chapter 4: Management by Growing Soil-conserving Plants (Cover-cropping); Chapter 5: Management by Growing Grasses (Sod-culture); Chapter 6: Management by Green Manuring; Chapter 7: Management by Soil Coverage (Mulching); Appendix I: Botanical Names of Plants Referred to in the Text; Appendix II: Irrigational Particulars; Appendix III: Conversion Factors.

Start growing your own fruit trees wherever you are with 'The Home Orchard Handbook.'

Danny Barney covers everything you need to know to successfully grow and market your own organic orchard fruits. Offering expert tips on selecting the right site, choosing the best cultivars, designing and maintaining a sustainable orchard, and efficiently harvesting fruit, Barney also helps you develop a viable business plan, acquire necessary organic certifications, and identify niche markets for your products.