Do you want to know what the oldest method of irrigation is? Based on what I’ve learned over the years; you can also call this type of irrigation “gravity irrigation.” It is the oldest type of irrigation and has been used for a very long time.
Surface irrigation methods, like trench, flood, and level basin, move water across the land’s surface to wet it and let it soak into the soil.
Water moves by following the slope of the land or gravity. There are different types of surface irrigation, such as furrow, border strip, and basin irrigation.
It’s often called “flood irrigation” when the land being farmed floods or almost floods during the irrigation.
In most places, surface irrigation has been the most popular way to water farmland for a long time.
Most of the time, surface irrigation is less effective at applying water than other types of irrigation. This is because the levels that are applied are more challenging to control.
Surface irrigation costs much less to set up and uses less energy than pressurized watering systems. This is why it is often the best way to water crops that aren’t worth much and big fields in poor countries.
Where the watering source allows it, dikes (levees) keep the water levels in check.
These are usually blocked with dirt. But that’s not all. As you read on, I’ll teach you everything you need to know about the best way to water plants.
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Now, let’s get started.
What Is The Oldest Irrigation System
In the Jordan Valley of the Middle East, the oldest archeological evidence of irrigation in farming dates to around 6000 B.C.
The first known graphic depiction of irrigation dates to around 3100 B.C., and it is generally accepted that irrigation was used in Egypt at the same time.
Irrigation extended throughout Persia, the Middle East, and westward along the Mediterranean in the following millennia.
China, India, Pakistan, and other Asian countries developed irrigation technology independently simultaneously. Inca, Maya, and Aztec New World people used irrigation.
The Hohokam constructed over 700 miles of irrigation canals in what is now central Arizona to feed their burgeoning society, but they inexplicably abandoned it in the fourteenth century A.D.
The technology spread as far north as the present-day southwestern United States. The degree of irrigation sophistication in different settings differed across the ancient world.
However, the leading causes of the disparities were inequalities in the comprehension of large- and small-scale hydraulic principles and the ability to perform hydraulic engineering marvels.
What Was The First Form Of Irrigation
In the earliest days of irrigation, individuals likely transported containers filled with water from wells or rivers to apply it to their crops.
With the advancement of technology, civilizations in Egypt and China constructed dikes, dams, irrigation canals, and water storage facilities.
Ancient Rome constructed aqueducts to transport water from the runoff in the Alps to the cities and villages in the valleys below. This water was utilized for irrigation, imbibing, and cleansing.
Reservoirs, containers, and wells in contemporary irrigation systems supply water for crops. Reservoirs, aquifers, precipitation basins, lakes, and dam-formed basins are all included.
Pipelines or canals transport water from reservoirs to fields. Similar to the ancient Roman aqueducts, canals and conduits frequently depend on the magnitude of gravity.
Additionally, pumps can transfer water from reservoirs to fields.
There are various techniques employed to irrigate crops, including inundating an entire field, directing water between sections of plants, utilizing large sprinklers to spray water onto plants, or allowing water to drip onto plants through apertures in pipelines.
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What Is The Oldest And Least Expensive Irrigation
Furrow irrigation is the oldest method in use. Furrow irrigation consists of filling furrows (trenches) that have been cut between rows of crops with water that penetrates the soil and nourishes the roots of the plants.
Although economical, this method loses approximately one-third of the water to evaporation and discharge.
As agricultural output has increased in tandem with the global population over the past half-century, irrigation water consumption has more than doubled.
A metric ton of grain (2,200 pounds) demands more than one million liters (264,000 gallons) to produce.
Additionally, rearing meat-producing livestock in the United States necessitates enormous amounts of water.
One kilogram (2.2 pounds) of beef requires approximately eleven times as much water as one kilogram of wheat.
Who Created The World’s First Irrigation System
King Menes of ancient Egypt initiated the first substantial irrigation scheme around 3100 BC. By means of a network of canals and structures, the floodwaters were redirected, forming a man-made lake known as Moeris.
At approximately 3500 BCE, the Nile’s inundation season was inconsistent. Nilometers were inundation gauges that the Egyptians invented.
It comprised an erect column adorned with inscriptions for documenting the fluctuations in river water levels.
An additional structure was a flight of steps that descended into the river. The clerics would subsequently forecast the arrival of the floodwaters using these instruments.
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What Is The Cheapest Method Of Irrigation
Efficient, low-tech, and inexpensive irrigation is feasible. These are three functional technologies:
1. Flood irrigation
Irrigation by flooding fields with water from pumps or containers is one of the most straightforward techniques.
One notable benefit is its minimal energy and equipment requirements. Neglecting appropriate implementation can result in water wastage, soil salinization, and erosion.
Try the following three techniques recommended by the United States Geological Survey for success:
- Flood the flooding to minimize discharge
- Collect runoff in canals or reservoirs along the perimeter of the field.
- Graduate or level the terrain to a moderate incline.
2. Drip water use
Drip irrigation is acquiring popularity rapidly due to its low cost and water conservation benefits. It comprises a network of perforated tunnels connected to a water source at its interior.
The water trickles onto the soil through the perforations as it travels through the tubes. Numerous gravity-driven models are implemented on small farms, wherein the water is stored in an elevated tank above the farm, facilitating its passage through the pipelines below.
3. Sprinklers
Sprinklers are occasionally derided as water wasters, but similar to flood irrigation, they can be effective on small farms if appropriately utilized.
IDE advises sprinklers for adjacent crops such as wheat and rice in regions where water scarcity prevents inundation of fields.
Which Is The Most Significant Irrigation In The World
GMR is the Great Man-Made River. The GMR has garnered the moniker “the most expansive irrigation undertaking globally.”
The Libyan government proclaimed it with great pride as “the Eighth Wonder of the World.”
The project has provided essential drinking and irrigation water to agricultural regions and densely populated communities in northern Libya since 1991.
Before this, these areas relied on desalination facilities and diminishing rain-fed aquifers close to the coast.
Water was first discovered during hydrocarbon exploration tunneling in the Al-Kufrah region of the southeastern desert of Libya in the 1950s.
Further examination determined that this discovery was a component of the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System, an extensive repository of “fossil water” ranging in age from 10,000 to 1,000,000 years.
Water had infiltrated the sandstone before the conclusion of the last ice age, during which time the Saharan region experienced a temperate climate.
At first, the Libyan government intended to establish expansive agricultural ventures in the water-rich desert.
However, during the early 1980s, this strategy transformed, and blueprints were formulated for an extensive pipeline network extending to the coast.
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Final Thought
Now that we have established the oldest method of irrigation, Additionally, also be aware that it differs from country to country.
Flood irrigation is one of the earliest and most prevalent irrigation methods in Pakistan; it involves flooding fields with water.
In addition to significantly straining the nation’s existing water resources, it induces stress in crops, leading to reduced productivity and financial losses.
One more productive approach to water conservation, yield optimization, and financial gain is to employ an optimal degree of irrigation.