TABLE OF CONTENTS ‘CHAPTER sacinTRopucTON. 112, AMOFTHR PROVECT. 114, TECHNICAL ABPROGH, 1 LuTeRATURE 116, ORGANISATION OF THE PROJECT. 117, APPLICATIONS. 118. CONCLUSION... cHarrer2 2.1 WHAT ISORIP RAGATION 2.2.WHY TOUSEDRI IRRIGATION... 2:3 CONCEPT OF DRIP RRGATION. 2.4 HOE DOESA SOLAR IRRIGATION WORKS, cHarreRs an avour, 2 WHAT IS MOISTURE SENSORE,, ‘24 SPECIFICATIONS OF MOISTURE SENSORE. {36 ADVANTAGES OF DRIP RRIGATION 87. DISADVANTAGES OF DRIP RREGATION cHarrERs{A CONCLUSION, CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Documentation on Drip Irrigation by using moisture sensor Now a day is water is becoming very precious due to scarcity in obtaining clean water for domestic purpose including irrigation. In order to optimize the use of water, mechanism to develop water conversation is the need of the hour. Also, automation in agricultural systems is a necessity to optimize water usage, reduce water wastage, and to implement modem technology in agriculture systems. Soil moisture sensor is a novel device which senses the moisture content in the soil, and with suitable mechanism allows water to be irrigated depending on the moisture content of the soil. This allows flow of water or stoppage of water to the plants by using an automated irrigation system. The device consists of an Arduino board, which is the micro controller which activates the water pump and supplies water to plants through Rotating Platform Sprinkler. A submersible motor pump is used for this purpose of pumping water. This system uses low power consumption and pumps water up to 100 litres/hour. Necessary tunings for pumping and supplying water is arranged depending on the consumption of water. This involves a power supply of 2.5 V to 6 V. Soil moisture sensor is inserted in the soil which contains a probe to measure the moisture content of the soil CHAPTER 2 e what is drip irrigation ?Drip irrigation is a technique in which water flows through a filter into special drip pipes, with emitters located at different spacing. Water is distributed through the emitters directly into the ‘soil near the roots through a special slow-release device. If the drip irrigation system is properly designed, installed, and managed, drip irrigation may help achieve water conservation by reducing evaporation and deep drainage. Compared to other types of Irrigation systems ‘such as flood or overhead sprinklers, water can be more precisely applied to the plant roots. In addition, drip can eliminate many diseases that are spread through irrigation water. Drip irrigation is adaptable to any farmable slope and is suitable for most soils. In contrary to ‘commercial drip irrigation, simple self-made systems are cheap and effective Layout of a Drip Irigation System Subsurface drip irrigation is a low-pressure, high efficiency irrigation system that uses buried drip tubes or drip tape to meet crop water needs. Subsurface irrigation saves water and improves yields by eliminating surface water evaporation and reducing the incidence of weeds and disease. ‘A subsurface drip system may require higher initial investment than a gated pipe/furrow system and cost will vary due to water source, water quality, filtration needs, choice of material, soil characteristics and degree of automation desired. ‘Subsurface drip irrigation is a low-pressure, high efficiency irrigation system that uses buried drip tubes or drip tape to meet crop water needs. These technologies have been a part of irrigated agriculture since the 1960s; with the technology advancing rapidly in the last three decades. A subsurface system is flexible and can provide frequent light irrigations. This is especially suitable for arid, semi-arid, hot, and windy areas with limited water supply, especially on sandy type soils.Since the water is applied below the soll surface, the effect of surface irrigation characteristics, such as crusting, saturated conditions of ponding water, and potential surface runoff (including soil erosion) are eliminated when using subsurface irrigation. With an appropriately sized and well maintained system, water application is highly uniform and efficient. Wetting occurs around the tube and water typically moves out in all directions. ‘Subsurface irrigation saves water and improves yields by eliminating surface water evaporation and reducing the incidence of weeds and disease. Water is applied directly to the root zone of the crop and not to the soil surface where most weed seeds germinate after cultivation. As a result, germination of annual weed seeds is greatly reduced which lowers weed pressure on cash crops. In addition, some crops may benefit from the additional heat, provided by dry surface conditions, producing more crop biomass, provided water is sufficient in the root zone. When managed properly with a fertilizer injector, water and fertilizer application efficiencies are enhanced, and labor needs are reduced. Field operations are also possible, even when irrigation is applied. « Why to use drip irrigation ? itis easy to install and simple to use Fertilize the plants directly through drip system Save 20 - 80% of water and fertilizer bills * Control weed growth by watering only where it need + Each plant can be watered individually * Protect the property from erosion Reduce snail population Have healthier, faster-growing plants « Concept of Modern Irrigation System :The conventional irigation methods like overhead sprinklers, flood type feeding systems usually wet the lower leaves and stem ofthe plants. The entire soil surface is saturated and often stays wet long after irrigation is completed. Such condition promotes infections by leaf ‘mold fungi. The flood type methods consume large amount of water and the area between crop rows remains dry and receives moistureonly from incidental rainfall. Water is supplied frequently, often daily to maintain favorable soil moisture condition and prevent moisturestress in the plant with proper use of water Drip irrigation requires about half of the water needed by sprinkler or surface irrigation. Loweroperating pressures and flow rates result in reduced energy costs. A higher degree of water control is attainable. Plants can be supplied with more precise amounts of water. Disease and insect damage is reduced because plant foliage stays dry. Operating cost is usually reduced. Federations may continue during the irrigation process because rows between plants remain dry. Fertilizers can be applied throughthis type of system. This can result in a reduction of fert and fertilizer costs. When compared with overhead sprinkler systems, drip irrigation leads to less soil and wind erosion. Drip irrigation can be applied under a wide range of field conditions. The layout presentation of proposed automatic drip irrigation system through soil moisture sensors in this automaticdrip irrigation system the system works in plan manner. There are the various components those works in this system are as follows. 1. Water tank:Water tank is used to store the water. cee ee ee Se a lies 2. Water motor: ‘Water moter is used for pumping of water. 3. Screen filter:This prevents and not allow dust and sand particles to pass through main line and lateral. 4. Water meter: a) To know consumption of water per week. b) To know consumption of water for crop at various stages. 5. Soil moisture sensors: It is an important component of system, inserted into the soil .t determine the moisture content of soil and give the signal to micro controller unit.« How does a solar irrigation system work? The pumps used for the transport of the water are equipped with solar cells. The solar energy absorbed by the cells is then converted into electrical energy via a generator which then feeds an electric motor driving the pump. Most of the traditional pump systems mainly work with a diesel engine or with the local power grid. However, these two modes of operations present disadvantages compared to solar pumps. In many rural areas, especially in developing and emerging countries, the access to the electricity grid is not always guaranteed. In this case, farmers cannot rely on the traditional irrigation system. Thus, using an independent and alternative energy system can be a solution for the farmer to secure a safe power source and for the public grid to avoid saturation.Diesel pumps are slightly more efficient than AC powered pumps as they allow greater flexibility. However, one of the main constraints is that this system relies on the fuel availability, added to a greater impact on the environment. Diesel-driven pumps are cheaper than solar-powered pumps but the operating costs are quite high and depend heavily on the diesel price. In solar-powered systems, it works the other way round, that is, although this system is relatively expensive, the source of energy is free, therefore, after the amortization period, there are no longer operating costs (only the maintenance costs must be considered). Therefore, solar pumps turn out to be a viable long term investment.AAs several studies, such as Water for wealth and food security by AgWater Solutions Project, have shown, the access to water for agricultural purposes remains critical in some areas such as in arid regions of Africa and Southern Asia. Many Indian and African farmers fetch the water directly from the well or the rivers and irrigate their fields using buckets. If farmers of those regions could have access to a motorized pump, they would increase their yield by 300%. Therefore, nowadays, R&D tends to focus on creating solar pumps that are affordable in arid regions. The company IBC SOLAR has developed with Siemens, a solution to replace diesel engine by solar-powered engine. In this case, the whole irrigation system including the pump can remain as it is; only the diesel engine is replaced by a photovoltaic system and the so-called “IBC pump drive controller’. A prototype of this system was tested in 2015 in a farm in Namibia and according to the manufacturer, turned out to be quite efficient. The main advantage lies in the fact that there are low acquisition costs as the existing infrastructure is used. e Where is solar irrigation happening?The installation of solar pumps in arid regions such as in Africa, India and South America is also part of many development projects, aiming at increasing local farmers productivity and as a consequence, improving their living conditions. One of the successful example of this is the initiative of a Physics teacher in a school in Blankenese (Germany) where students have developed two solar-powered pumping systems in cooperation with the company SET GmbH from Wedel. They installed these systems in two farms in Nicaragua to pump underground water. This project could also be achieved with the collaboration of the UNAN University in Len, which deals a lot with the exploitation of solar energy. Indeed, the project has been running for over 10 years and 30 pumps are in operation now in Nicaragua. It is supervised by the Nicaraguan company Enicalsa that helps farmers benefit from solar irrigation. The use of solar pumps allows the latter to produce all year round, even in dry season and thus to Increase their income and strengthen their position in the local market. Aside from the regions previously mentioned, there is also an increasing interest in solar irrigation systems in Europe. Just a few months ago, a mobile solar drip irrigation system from Austria has reached the production stage. The Austrian company Wien Energie carried ‘out this project which pursues a dual objective: on the one hand, reduction of CO2 emissions ‘owing to the use of solar energy, on the other hand, achievernent of 30% water savings thanks to the drip irrigation method versus the traditional sprinkler irrigation. ‘The principle of the drip irrigation method is quite simple. With the use of various valves, hoses and pipes, water drips slowly and at regular intervals to the roots of the plants. Therefore, there is no water waste as water goes directly where it should go, contrary toa sprinkler system in which water evaporates into the air or seeps into soils where no plants grow. Therefore, drip irrigation method enables to grow more crops with less water, turning it into a highly efficient irigation method. In the Wien Energie solar irrigation system, a mobile solar energy system with photovoltaic modules (up to 3kW) is connected to a wheeled pump which can pump from wells or rivers. Thanks to an app on your smartphone, you can determine the amount of energy produced by the system. The solar-powered pump then distributes the water through the hoses, directly to the crops. After a successful test on a 3.5-hectare organic cornfield in Guntramsdorf, Austria, this system is now ready for production.Therefore, in countries which suffer from high temperatures and scarce water resources, the drip irrigation system could contribute to an efficient water management. This is all the more important as farmers have to face three challenges: save water, money and energy. Mobile solar drip irrigation systems shall turn out to be the perfect answer to face these challenges. Although these systems are still quite expensive and complicated to settle, many R&D projects are working on the democratization of the use of solar power in agriculture, which, in the future (and even now), could play a vital part in the management of the food and energy crisis. CHAPTER 3 e Layout A typical system layout consists of a settling pond (where possible), pumping unit, pressure relief valve, check valve or back flow prevention valves, a sand media filter (when a pond is notfeasible to take outthe coarse materials), chemical injection unit, filtration unit equipped with back-flush control solenoid valves, pressure regulators, air vent valves, and PVC pipe lines delivery system to carry the water to the field (Figure 1). ‘The delivery system is composed of main, sub-main and manifold, to which the lateral drip tubes are attached. Items such as a flow meter and pressure gauges are essential to monitoring the performance of the system and providing warning of leaks and blockages. hy veo ao sand iter Fryto-cylone eS a oe fe» > ~~ a er Ss Enastop Depper/tmater oye / Later Itis essential to provide an air release/vacuum breaker valve at the manifold for easy drainage of the tubes when the pump is shut off. This will allow the release of trapped air that can damage the pump (\.e., cavitation) and disrupt irrigation. install the valve at the highest point in the pumps discharge piping, but in a manner that makes it safely and easily accessible. ‘These vacuum breakers help maintain line pressure when shutting down after an irrigation. A rapid drop in line pressure can cause tubes to collapse or flatten. This is one of the drawbacks ina newly installed system, loose soil may settle around a collapsed tube, making it difficult for the tube to regain its shape, at the commencement of the next irrigation. Drainage valves at the end of each tube at the end of the field are also essential for clearing small soil particles that have passed through the filter system and for draining the tubes at the end of the irrigation season. « Materials and Methods Alarge variety of drip tubes are available on the market. The spacing and the flow rate of the emitters in subsurface drip tubes vary according to the product and soil type and shouldmatch the water needs of the crop grown. The polyethylene tubes have built-in emitters that ‘can vary from 4 to 24 inch spacing, operating at low nominal pressure (7-14 psi), to dribble water into the soil at a consistent and predictable rate (0.07-2.5 gph). Pressure-compensating ‘emitters means subsurface irrigation is suitable to distribute water uniformly in sloping fields. Furthermore, research has shown that emitter discharge of subsurface irrigation systems. resulted in greater irrigation uniformity than surface drip irrigation, due to the interaction between effects of emitter discharge and soil pressure. Drip tubes vary in wall thickness (5 mil-15 mil). The higher the “mil” number the thicker the wall (e.g., 10 mil = 0.25 mm = 0.01 inches), which extends the life of the tube. The cost tends to increase with increases in wall thickness. However, for semi-permanent systems such as alfalfa, more robust tubing is key to minimizing maintenance and rodent problems. if burrowing rodents are common in your area you should consult with your county CSU Extension or USDA-NRCS office prior to moving forward with a subsurface irrigation system. Also consult with your county CSU Extension or USDA-NRCS office or subsurface irrigation supplier about emitter spacing or tube thickness combination works best for your soils and ‘operation Drip tubes vary in wall thickness (5 mil-15 mil). The higher the “mil” number the thicker the wall (e.g,, 10 mil = 0.25 mm = 0.01 inches), which extends the life of the tube. The cost tends to increase with increases in wall thickness. However, for semi-permanent systems such as alfalfa, more robust tubing is key to minimizing maintenance and rodent problems. If burrowing rodents are common in your area you should consult with your county CSU Extension or USDA-NRCS office prior to moving forward with a subsurface irrigation system. ‘Also consult with your county CSU Extension or USDA-NRCS office or subsurface irrigation supplier about emitter spacing or tube thickness combination works best for your soils and operation A Diode is used to allow current go in only one direction. Capacitors were used to store energy by producing a charge imbalance. An electromagnetic relay was used which allows a relatively small voltage or current to control a larger voltage or current. A probe was placed at effective crop root zone at a distance of wetted diameter of dripper. A timer cum relay was installed between irrigation controller and pump starting panel. The 20 AWG wires. were used to connect the soil moisture sensor module and controller.Materials used for drip irrigation ‘A Diode is used to allow current go in only one direction. Capacitors were used to store energy by producing a charge imbalance. An electromagnetic relay was used which allows a relatively small voltage or current to control a larger voltage or current. A probe was placed at effective crop root zone at a distance of wetted diameter of dripper. A timer cum relay was installed between irrigation controller and pump starting panel. The 20 AWG wires were usedtoconnect the soil moisture sensor module and controller.« What is moisture sensor ? Soil moisture sensors measure the volumetric water content in Since the direct gravimetric measurement of free soil moisture requires removing, drying, and weighing of a sample, soil moisture sensors measure the volumetric water content indirectly by using some other property of the soil, such as electrical resistance, dielectric constant, or interaction with neutrons, as a proxy for the moisture content. The relation between the measured property and soil moisture must be calibrated and may vary depending on environmental factors such as soil type temperature or electric conductivity reflected microwave radiation is affected by the soil moisture and is used for remote sensing in hydrology and agriculture. Portable probe instruments can be used by farmers or gardeners. ¢ Specifications of soil Moisture sensor :The following specification of soil moisture sensor was maintained during its calibration, the sensor output was recorded in order to check performance accuracy to measuring the moisture content. Module Dimensions: Height: 4.5" (11.4.cm) Depth: 1.25" (3.2. em) Width: 3.5" (8.9 cm) Operating Power: 24VAC, 100 mAmax Dimensions: Height: 3.25" (8.25 cm) Diameter: 7/8" (2.22 em) wire to Probe: 1000 ft (300 m) max « Programming of sensors : ‘The programming of soil moisture sensor was done with the following steps which can be modified with the help of module; Moisture Level : Calibrate the sensor with actual moisture level. Moisture Setting: fix required moisture content, in this study it was taken as 31 % for okra crop. Watering Interrupted : Give a command to module in term of +/- of fraction of time Pause/Override Measurement Alarm. « Advantages of drip irrigation : . Maximum crop yield. High efficiency in the use of fertilizers. Low labor and relatively low operation cost. Soil erosion is eliminated.5. Improved infiltration in soll of low intake. 6. No runoff of fertilizers into ground water. 7. Less evaporation losses of water as compared to other methods. 8. Less weeds growth « Advantages 1. High water application efficiency and lower labour costs 2. Minimised fertiliser/nutrient loss due to localised application and reduced leaching 3. Ability to irigate irregular shaped fields. Levelling of the field not necessary 4. Allows safe use of recycled (waste-) water 5. Moisture within the root zone can be maintained at field capacity and minimised soil erosion 6. Soll type plays less important role in frequency of irrigation 7. Highly uniform distribution of water i.e., controlled by output of each nozzle 8. Usually operated at lower pressure than other types of pressurised irrigation, reducing energy costs . advantages 1. Expensive initial cost can be more than overhead systems (commercial system) 2. The sun can affect the tubes used for drip irrigation, shortening their usable life 3. If the water is not properly filtered and the equipment not properly maintained, it can result in clogging 4. Drip irrigation might be unsatisfactory if herbicides or top dressed fertilisers need sprinkler irrigation for activation 5. Waste of water, time & harvest, if not installed properly6. Systems require careful study of all the relevant factors like land topography, soil, water, crop and agro-climatic conditions, and suitability of drip irrigation system and its components 7. Without sufficient leaching (most drip systems are designed for high efficiency, meaning little or no leaching fraction), salts applied with the irrigation water may build up in the root zone e Crops ‘The degree to which one is willing to invest in subsurface irrigation technology and maintenance determines its suitability for certain crops. Although it can be tailored to work with almost all crops across a wide spectrum of enterprise types, itis mostly used for high-value vegetable crops, turf and landscapes. In addition, strawberry, tomato, potato, cantaloupe, onions and other vegetables have also shown improvements, both in yield and quality, with melon crops maturing earlier and more uniformly. The improvements on these crops are enhanced when subsurface irrigation is used in conjunction with plastic mulches.Soils with low infiltration rates, like many on the Colorado western slope soils, pose a challenge for subsurface irrigation and drip tube spacing needs to be adjusted for clayey type western slope soils. Apart from depth, spacing of drip tubes will also impact crop health. It is also important to know characteristics of the soil type for your crop to optimize irrigation scheduling with subsurface irrigation. Contact your county CSU Extension or USDA-NRCS office for assistance. Alfalfa germination may need to be done with hand-set sprinklers before using the subsurface irrigation—then many benefits are available; such as : ‘* Subsurface irrigation tubing can be semi-permanently installed, eliminating most of the annual replacement cost; ‘Irrigation can occur much closer to cutting dates since the surface can remain dry for machinery; also «Alfalfa regrowth after a cutting may be enhanced by subsurface irrigation since it does not contribute to the germination and emergence of shallow-rooted weeds. The key barrier to the large-scale dissemination of solar PV water pumps is the high capital cost incurred by farmers compared to the much lower capital cost of conventional pumps. It is portrayed Solar PV is a competitive option in the face of diesel, its adoption being contingent on the ease of access to subsidies. Another factor to be considered is the space Fequirement for the installation of a solar PV pump set. This factor limits adoption by ‘small-scale farmers to whom land availability is a major constraint. ‘Some of the limitations of Solar Pumps: 1L.Low yield: Solar pumping is not suitable where the requirement is very high. The maximum capacity available with solaris very low. 2. Variable yield: The water yield of the solar pump changes according to the sunlight. itis highest around noon and least in the early morning and evening. This variability should be taken into consideration while planning the irrigation. This is taken into account in some solar pumps which are costly.3. Dry operation: The submersible pump has an in-built protection against dry run. However, ‘the surface pumps are very sensitive to dry run. A dry run of 15 minutes or more can cause considerable damage to a surface pump. 4. Water quality: As with any other pump, solar pumps work best if the water is clean, devoid of sand or mud, However, if the water is not so clean, it is advisable to clean the well before installation or use a good filter at the end of the immersed pipe. 5. Theft: Theft of solar panels can be a problem in some areas. So the farmers need to take necessary precautions. Ideally, the solar system should insured against theft as well as natural hazards like lightning. The criticism for electric pump sets is that in many areas power cuts. At least during nights ‘the Farmer can water his crops when the power is there. On the other hand intermittent nature of sunlight will forbid sustained water supply for crops like rice. For dry crops unless water runs through pipes, evaporation of water takes place of the limited water supply by the Solar Pump. | had experience of electric, diesel and solar pumps. At a site where the water table is 150 ft. | could not use solar pump. So the solar pump is used to pump water from a sump to the nearby pond which is waste water. “The Indian power sector provides significant opportunities for reducing energy consumption by addressing existing inefficiencies of technical, operational and economic nature. Replacement of inefficient agricultural pump sets has been identified as one of the key policy initiatives, which to date, has been limited to a few pilot projects. The policy objectives are to: replace inefficient pump sets, improve distribution grids and provide metering. Adequate readdressing of economic inefficiencies, in terms of electricity pricing, remains a long-term objective. The scalability of such a policy proposal across the country offers many challenges(A Policy for Improving Efficiency of Agriculture Pump sets in IndiaDrivers, Barriers and Indicators Anoop Singh, Climate Strategies, September 2009)" ‘As a Renewable Energy Expert I very much welcome deployment of Renewables and Solar pumps are no exception. What | stress is reliability of power to pump water on demand . Here is a simple solution to use Electric pump sets efficiently. A 5 HP electric pump set costs about Rs 30,000 and a subsidy of Rs 25000 can be provided to replace the inefficient old electric pump sets. This can be funded by Union/State/International organisations. Energy saving yields immediate results compared to energy generation. When Rs 5 lakhs is provided as subsidy out of Rs 6 lakhs for a solar pump, mere Rs 25,000 per electric pump set is peanuts. Enormous electricity can be saved by this. Electricity is a high grade energy which is badly needed for lighting, computers, Industries etc. Moreover such ambitious plans like Solar Pumps replacing 26 Million irrigation pump sets often end up in HIGH PROMISE AND LOW PERFORMANCE as witnessed in some of the Renewable Energy Projects earlier in Indi Each Kwh saved is each Kwh generated.Has any thorough cost benefit analysis on solar water pumps been made? Solar Water pumps efficiency is low and fit for open wells which are not very deep. For bore wells (with its intermittent nature) solar water pumps are least effective. Subsidies mean public money. On the other hand most of the irrigation pump sets are very old and inefficient. A scheme can be chalked out to replace the old and obsolete irrigation pump sets with more efficient ones. This will save enormous money and increases reliability. On the other hand power tariff for small farmers in many states is nominal or nil. As such how many Farmers will be willing to invest their share in Solar pumps which are not reliable? Here is a pertinent point. For centuries Water pumping windmills were in use. Why they vanished? Because of least reliability. In the eighties thousands of water pumping windmills were installed across the country under a Demonstration Programme by DNES (Now MNRE). None of them worked beyond a year. | am afraid the same fate may be for solar pumps. Agriculture needs water on demand. The Farmer wont mind installing even diesel pump set so long as he gets reliable water supply for crops. A Government which is showing so much enthusiasm to promote solar pumps, why is reluctant to promote solar cookers which are efficient and reliable? The solar cookers will be best suited for rural areas.jector accounts for about 30% of electricity consumption in India. The largest population of inefficient pumps and systems is also to be found in this sector. Two factors that adversely impact electricity consumption are, efficiency of the pumping system, and inadequate standards for motors and pump-sets. ICPCK{ international Copper Promotion Council (India)} is involved in several initiatives targeted at improving the equipment and distribution system efficiencies in the Agricultural sector. They have expertise and experience i 1. Propagate the use of Energy Efficient Motors for energy savings, in Industries. 2. Promote the use of high efficiency motors and pumps in the Agricultural sector. Expertise from organisations like ICPCI can be availed by Government of India and State Governments in going in for high efficient agricultural Electric Motors. Even a 10 to 20% efficiency in Electric Motors contributes much to the power demand in the country. Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP),India Renewable Energy Expert‘The Gosaba Island of Indian Sunder bans is surrounded by tidal rivers connected with Bay of Bengal, bringing water of high salinity (more than 30 dS/m), which is not suitable for irrigation in agriculture. Good quality ground water is also unavailable for irrigation due to various technical reasons. Due to these farmers in this village are unable to grow rabi crops. Farm ponds which harvest the rain water during monsoon are the only source of water for irrigation in the post monsoon period. To increase the cropped area, solar powered drip irrigation technology has been introduced in the Island under the CSI4CZ project. Analysis of monthly weather data available at Canning Town shows that the average bright sunshine hours (BSH) during the rabi__ season is 7 — 9 hrs a day, which is sufficient to hamess the solar energy for use in agriculture. Under this technology solar panels were installed near the pond and a nano pump (0.1 hp) was used for lifting water from the farm pond to a tank (1000 litre capacity)placed at 2.5 m height on a platform. During day time, water is lifted to the tank and the stored applied to high value vegetable crops through dri jation system by gravity method. The drip discharge rate was 2.4 litres per hour. The field was divided into different plots, each plot was controlled by a valve, which facilitated crop diversification. ‘The solar drip system was installed in the farm of Mr. Nitai Hari Mandal in 2017. He cultivated crops like Cucumber, Bitter Gourd and Okra during khar if season by providing supplemental irrigation during deficit rainfall period. The system effectiveness was enhanced through different mulching materials such as paddy straw, black plastic, white plastic for controlling the weeds (Table 1) and conserving the soil moisture. The yield of vegetables was very promising under black plastic mulching and the crop was free from weed infestation. From October 2017, hehas taken Chilli, kno-khol and Okra. Knol-khol and Okra were harvested in January 2018. Chilli crop continued up to May 2018 which provided regular income to the farmer by selling green as well as dry chillies. After the harvest of KnoFkhol and Okra he had taken bitter gourd. Thus, he is able to grow vegetables round the year by this technology. There was 20-30% more yield; saving of 40-60% irrigation water; 40% saving of labour and increase in the cropping intensity up to 300% as compared to traditional practices. The economics of the cultivation Under solar drip system (Table 2) for an area of 725 m2 indicated that the system is quite profitable in terms of gross return (Rs. 25679), net return (Rs. 13876) and output-input ratio (2.2). The profitability of the system can be further increased by increasing the area under operation as well as availing the subsidy from the government schemes. Here is a pertinent point. For centuries Water pumping windmills were in use. Why they vanished? Because of least reliability. In the eighties thousands of water pumping windmills were installed across the country under a Demonstration Programme by DNES (Now MNRE).YA Gdltwith WrS OfficeYA Gdltwith WrS OfficeCCHAPTER 4 CONCLUSION Through the comparison, we can conclude that automatic drip irrigation system has lots of advantages then general drip irrigation. This system not just save the money, time, labor work but also increase the food production. It also reduce the soil erosion. Through this ‘system dependency of labor can be neglected. If this technique adopted in region like marathwada, It will ensure the minimum losses of water and creating a healthy atmosphere to achieve the sustainable development goal for nation.