The demand for water is increasing day by day in the agricultural sector in order to increase the area of irrigation to produce more for the ever-growing population. Although there are many methods of irrigation, the sprinkler method is among the more advanced methods.
This method is suited to all crops especially for close-spaced crops like groundnuts, cotton, millet, pulses, potato and wheat, and is being adopted all over the world. This method has been widely practiced in advanced countries in the past 50 years and adopted only for plantation crops (such as coffee and tea) in India. Due, however, to scarcity of water and the related soil conditions, it is being taken up in a big way in Haryana and Karnataka in the plains, for crops such as cotton and millets. Series of experiments conducted in many parts of the country have indicated the need for popularising this method of irrigation.
There is no book on sprinkler irrigation written by Indian research or extension staff. This book comprehensively deals with the development of sprinkler irrigation, place of sprinkler irrigation, design and layout, special equipment, need for a pumping plant to operate the system, when and how much to irrigate, economic feasibility, and research and development needs.
This book will be useful for the staff and students of the faculty of agriculture, agricultural engineering and civil engineering, research scientists, extension workers, and field officers of all banks and rural development agencies. It will be a guide book to farmers and sprinkler irrigation dealers.
Prof. R.K. Sivanappan had his academic education at the Madras University (1953) and the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (1962). He underwent training in irrigation research and extension in the USA for one year (1968-69). He worked at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University as Professor in Agricultural Engineering for about one year. He was the Dean, College of Agricultural Engineering for six years and was also the Founder Director of the Water Technology Centre for about four years. After 33 years of dedicated service he has retired and is presently consultant in the field of sprinkler, drip and other irrigation practices. He has presented many papers in national and international conferences and seminars on irrigation in general, and sprinkler and drip irrigation in particular. He has published about numerous books, reports and scientific papers. He has travelled widely throughout the world particularly to study sprinkler and drip irrigation.
