In 2016, when President Museveni demonstrated easy methods to use a plastic bottle drip irrigation system on his farm, he obtained many criticisms. Those that criticised him gave the next causes:
- Plastic bottle drip irrigation was rudimentary and old school.
- Secondly, if we promoted plastic bottle irrigation, the poor disposal of non-biodegradable bottles would have an effect on the soil negatively and trigger widespread environmental impacts.
- Thirdly, fetching water for irrigation would devour a lot time and vitality.
- Fourthly, it was not sustainable.
- Lastly, selling plastic bottle drip irrigation was a setback and diversionary to initiatives for modernising agriculture.
I hadn’t but thought of venturing into agriculture as a enterprise by then. However after I began a small yard backyard, I noticed a have to water my tomatoes, kale, cabbages and keenness fruits within the dry season. Due to this fact, I purchased a watering can and began instantly watering the crops. It one way or the other labored. Nonetheless, I skilled the problem of utilizing an excessive amount of water to irrigate the crops.
The burning want to enterprise into agribusiness made me begin an avocado rising venture. I began with about 100 timber in October 2020. Throughout the next dry season, I misplaced 30 timber (value UGX 240,000 or USD 67) to drought. I then researched. And finally, I found that drip irrigation utilizing pipes was the best technique of watering my avocado timber.
Plastic Bottle Drip Irrigation Vs Pipe Drip Irrigation
Pipe Drip Irrigation
After discovering the drip irrigation system utilizing PVC pipes, I went ahead to ascertain its price. The preliminary funding was substantial, about UGX 12 million per acre. Though it’s handy and consumes much less time, it’s not inexpensive for many Ugandans.
Alternatively, plastic bottle drip irrigation is laborious, particularly in case your backyard is in depth. Though it’s low cost to set it up, you must refill the bottles with water very often. I believe this is the reason the critics of Museveni drip irrigation argued that it was not sustainable.
What Can You Do, Then, To Enterprise Into Agribusiness with Restricted Sources?
Plastic Bottle Drip Irrigation
Should you don’t have sufficient assets for a contemporary drip irrigation system, you possibly can nonetheless enterprise into business agriculture. You don’t have to attend for the federal government to increase water close to your neighborhood. Equally, you don’t have to attend for it to give you entry to fashionable irrigation applied sciences. Why? Since you don’t know but when such a authorities initiative will come forth.
Secondly, while you conceive an agribusiness concept, it’s at all times prudent to take motion instantly. However ready for the federal government to increase irrigation applied sciences to your neighborhood will lead to procrastination. And the reality is, you’ll by no means begin your agribusiness. Due to the above cause, I concurred with Museveni on his technique of utilizing plastic bottles to irrigate crops within the dry season. Though his critics regarded it as a rudimentary irrigation technique, it’s inexpensive for anyone to make use of.
One essential facet you could study proper from the beginning is that water is crucial to gardening or agriculture. Crops want water to develop. Take into account investing in having water available close to your backyard. Secondly, the best way you water determines the success of your agribusiness. Thirdly, to earn huge from agriculture, you could study to develop crops within the dry season. Why? Since you wish to harvest them after they’re in excessive demand.
Due to the above causes, it is best to contemplate irrigating your crops to learn out of your agribusiness. And on this publish, I wish to current to you easy methods to arrange a plastic bottle drip irrigation system.
How Do You Construct an Efficient Plastic Bottle Drip Irrigation System?
Irrigation Water Reservoir
Firstly, take into consideration having a water supply close to your backyard. In case your farm is much away from the pure water supply, then construct water reservoirs at its edges. Digging a pool shouldn’t be onerous. You are able to do it your self for those who don’t have cash. Alternatively, you possibly can rent an off-the-cuff labourer to do it for you.
The dimensions of the reservoir will rely in your water necessities. In fact, in case your farm is giant, you possibly can both dig one enormous water supply or a number of small ponds at totally different areas. So, along with your reservoirs created, you’ll have to catch runoff water in the course of the wet season. You’ll then use this water to irrigate your crops within the dry season.
Secondly, you’ll accumulate huge plastic bottles of 1.5 to 2 litres. You will get them from eating places. However you too can get them from rubbish collectors at a price. I purchase my bottles from the KCCA landfill in Kiteezi at UGX 100 every (USD 0.02). That’s fairly inexpensive.
How Do You Set Up a Plastic Bottle Drip Irrigation System?
Making a plastic bottle irrigator shouldn’t be onerous. However making a slow-release drip isn’t all that straightforward. Earlier than organising my plastic bottle drip irrigation system, I researched and examined quite a few approaches. Nonetheless, I failed to attain a sluggish water drip.
Allow us to now dive into the totally different strategies, which embrace:
1. Hanging bottle above the plant
2. Cap-end buried into the soil
3. Backside-end buried into the soil
The final two strategies contain punching holes and burying the bottle into the soil. I didn’t like them due to my unhealthy expertise with them. Both water ran out in seconds, or the holes have been plugged with grime, inflicting the water to cease dripping. I as an alternative opted for the hanging bottle drip irrigation as a result of I may see water dripping. Secondly, I may modify the drip fee.
How do you get a sluggish drip?
V-Form Bottle Mouth
At first, I punched a gap within the cap with a small nail and hung it the other way up on a pole over my crops. Gosh. The water ran out quick. Since I needed a sluggish drip, I modified the technique. As a substitute, I minimize a minute V-shape on the prime of the bottle mouth. I then put again the cap and powered water into the bottle. I slowly adjusted the quilt to permit the water to seep up. This step entails loosening or tightening it till you obtain the suitable drip fee.
I then dangle the bottle on a pole over the plant. I used a two-inch nail to connect the bottle to it. Voila! That’s how the strategy of hanging plastic bottle drip irrigation works.
What are the Benefits of the Plastic Bottle Drip Irrigation?
- It’s low cost to arrange. You get discarded plastic bottles freed from cost. The one price is digging a water reservoir in case you are not close to a pure water supply.
- It lets you use water effectively and reduces your water consumption within the backyard by over 60% in comparison with different irrigation strategies.
- Crops mature early, which ends up in larger returns on funding.
- It will increase yields as much as 230%.
- Bottle drip irrigation eliminates soil erosion and reduces weed progress/water evaporation.
- It solely helps the expansion of the goal plant and never the weed as a result of the water provide is simply on the plant root space.
- Plastic bottle drip irrigation lets you fertilise your crops successfully by mixing the fertilisers with water.
- It gives moisture across the plant root space and retains the foundation system hydrated all through the day.
- Once you use plastic bottles to irrigate your crops, you recycle them as an alternative of throwing them out to hazard the surroundings.
- It lets you earn a living out of your agribusiness all year long.
What are the Disadvantages of the Bottle Drip Irrigation?
Avocado Drip Irrigation
- It’s one way or the other laborious. It’s important to refill the bottles frequently, and when you have an enormous backyard, you spend a whole lot of time and vitality doing it. Secondly, you could modify the cap a number of occasions till you obtain the suitable drip-rate.
- If aesthetics is your prime precedence, having plastic bottles throughout your backyard doesn’t look nice.
- It isn’t appropriate for crops planted so shut to one another.
Which Crops are Appropriate for Plastic Drip Irrigation?
It’s appropriate for orchard crops, plantation crops, greens and flowers. It’s also sensible with money crops and different crops not planted shut to 1 one other.
Last Thought
As I conclude, let me ask you once more. Is the plastic bottle drip irrigation technique recommendable? I’d say sure. Though it’s rudimentary, as some critics put it, it helps folks enterprise into agribusiness.
My enchantment to you is to ask you to enterprise into agribusiness. Begin by irrigating your crops with plastic bottles for those who don’t have cash for a contemporary irrigation system. Then with time, work in direction of putting in a pipe irrigation system. What do you assume?
