KALLAKURICHI II CO-OP. SUGAR MILLS LTD.

, KACHIRAYAPALAYAM

DRIP IRRIGATION
World is facing growing water crisis and agriculture is by far the biggest water user taking 70 percent of with drawls on average, more in many dry countries. Sugarcane is a deep-rooted, water intensive crop which remains in the soil all year round using some 7,000 45,000 liters of water per hectare of crop growth. Sugar is not the only product of cane or beet and in fact only represents 17 percent of biomass of the sugarcane plant. In addition to the use of cane bagasse for boiler fuel, there are many other sugar processing by-products that cane be used for a range of purposes. This increases the efficiency of the crop and bringing more area under cane cultivation. The increased efficiency in cane and area, have more impacts on social and environment.

Social Impact of Sugar:

i. Low prices and development outcomes:-

Sugar production ( Sugarcane Price and Sugar Price) plays a key role in the economics and employment of a number of developing countries. Low sugar cane price leads to reduction in cane production area inturn which leads to increased sugar price which affects the livelihoods or buying capacity of the people. ii. Poor Working Conditions:

Jobs in cane production are among the most hazardous in the agricultural industry eg. snake bite. iii. Child labour and indentured labour:

According to the International Labour Organization and the Central Bureau of Statistics the number of child labour engaged in sugar is as high as five million. Child and bonded labour is also represented to be significant issue in Maharashtra, India. iv. Water Scarcity:

Water use for sugar cultivation reduces the availability for social needs in water-scare countries.

Environmental Impact of Sugar:

i. Habitat Loss:

Growing global demand is expected to lead to a further expansion of the area for growing sugar, leading to loss of habitats including rain forest, thorn forest and savannah. ii. Water Pollution:

High water use is generally associated with significant runoff polluted water. The waste water generated from the sugar industry (effluent) and the by product (Vinasse) while preparing alcohol leads to lot of water pollution.

iii.

Degarded Soil:

Continuous cane or beet cultivation damages the physical, chemical & physio-chemical properties of the soil. iv. Air Pollution:

Burning of trashes after the cane harvest in the field and bagasse used as a fuel in the boilers affect the atmosphere due to heavy liberation of carbondioxide. v Water Scarcity:

Intensive cane cultivation and without adopting water harvesting techniques in cane production leads to water scarcity in future Even increasing demand for irrigation water coupled with decreased ground water sources have led to acute competition for irrigation water in many tropical semi arid regions. In this circumstances sugar produced using Better Management Practices (BMPs) can improve financial returns to farmers and mills through increased yield, sustained soil health, reduced inputs and enhanced quality of production as well as providing benefits for businesses that use sugar in their products.

Better Management Practices could be adopted at Two Levels.

1. Farm Level : Better Management Practices at farm level means planting of drought tolerant varieties, minimum tillage to prevent soil compaction, the use of certain mill by-products, integrated pest & disease management, maintaining soil health, increasing nutrients applied efficiency, increasing water use efficiency etc. 2. Mill Level : Better Management Practices at Mill level means closed cycle milling ie. no water is taken into the mill zero polluting milling which involves totally recycling treated effluents. Bu-products such as Press mud, vinasse cane be used by the farmers. Boiler ash can be used as a soil conditioner, excess electricity generated can be sold to local power companies etc. With regard to water resources the Better Management Practices would mean Higher Farm Productivity (more crop per drop) Benefits for local communities (More environment (More drop per eco system) drop per person)and the

Wider socio-economic development as water will be available for other uses (More dollars / cash per drop) More Crop per Drop - This Better Management Practices in sugarcane is achieved by adopting efficient irrigation systems. The effectiveness of irrigation strategies can be assessed by the analysis of Water Use Efficiency (WUE): the ratio of crop yield to water consumed by the drop.

The most efficient irrigation system adopted now in sugarcane is Micro Irrigation System ie., Drip Irrigation System. Efficient water use also enhances the use of associated inputs like applied nutrients and natural resources like soil, sunlight etc. Drip Irrigation is the right technology in this direction. Drip Irrigation Technology is a concept involving slow and steady application of water with nutrients directly in the vicinity of crop plants / root zone / rhizosphere Adoption of drip irrigation with drip fertigation technology increased the yield up to 250 M.T/Ha. compared to the cane yield of 80 120 M.T. / Ha. registered under conventional method of cane cultivation.

DRIP IRRIGATION DEFINITION:

Drip Irrigation is defined as the precise slow application of water in the form of discrete or tiny streams or miniature sprays through mechanical devices called emitters or applicators located at selected points along with delivery lines. The terms trickle or drip irrigation are used synonymously. Though drip irrigation was introduced in India in the early severities, significant development has taken place in the eighties. The area under drip irrigation in India was 1500 Ha. in 1985, increased to 6000 Ha. in 1988 and was 24,500 Ha in 1991. Drip Irrigation is adopted intensively in area of acute water scarcity and especially for crop such as coconut, grape, ber, banana, sugarcane, citrus, plantation crops, tomato, brinjal, cotton and maize in the state of Maharashtra, Tamilnadu and Karnataka. In recent years, the Central Government has sponsored scheme on Micro Irrigation aimed at increasing the area under efficient methods of irrigation, namely drip in sugarcane with the objectives of enhancing productivity of sugarcane.

BENEFITS OF DRIP IRRIGATION :

1. The increase in yield ranged from 20% to as high as 100%. The highest increase in yields of 100% has been in Banana, 40 to 50% in Sugarcane, pomegranate and 25% in grape and cotton. 2. The water saving in irrigation water compared to conventional method of irrigation was 40 to 70%. The saving of water depends on crop, soil and environmental conditions . The main reason for saving of water are a) Absence of conveyance and run off losses. b) Reduced evaporation due to lesser welted area and c) Minimum or no deep percolation. 3. Drip Irrigation reduced salinity hazards to plants due to low salt concentration avoiding to high availability of water continuously. 4. Weed infestation in less with drip irrigation because only a small area is wetted. 5. Minimized fertilizer / nutrient loss due to localized application and reduced leaching. 6. High water uniform distribution efficiency 7. Leveling of field not necessary 8. Allows safe use of recycled water 9. Moisture within the root zone / rhizosphere can be maintained at field capacity 10. Soil type plays less important role in frequency of irrigation.

11. Minimized soil erosion 12. Lower labour cost. 13. Various in supply can be regulated by regulating the valve and drippers. 14. Fertigation can easily be included with minimum waste of fertilizer. 15. Early maturity and a bountiful harvest. Due to these advantages, the expenditure on drip irrigation can be recovered quickly. The payback period of investment in drip irrigation was from one to four years depending on the crop vis-a-vis the hike of life of the system which is around ten years. It cane be very well concluded that drip irrigation system is quite economical and investment is worth paying. Advantage of drip irrigation is saving water, fertilizer, labour and increasing crop yields are well established by various studies in India and abroad. In the recent era, the large number of new sugar industries opened, the command area for the existing sugar mill is reduced. In this situation the viability of all the sugar mill is depending upon the quantity of sugarcane produced within the command area by bringing i. More area under sugarcane and ii. Increasing the per acre yield by adopting Better Management Practices like drip irrigation.

Area increased by adopting drip irrigation in Kallakurichi II Coop. Sugar Mills Ltd., Kachirayapalayam in water scarcity area.
2007 08 Crushing Season Cane under Conventional Method 1.50 1.00 --1.75 2.00 1.00 2008-09 Crushing Season Cane under Drip Irrigation 3.00 2.50 1.40 1.00 4.25 4.30 2.75 % of Area Increase d 200 250 140 100 242 215 275

Sl. No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Membe r No. 1548 18910 3631 5060 21482 7482 7247

Name

A. Anbalagn R. Ponnusamy M. Nallappan G. Usha T. Johnpaul K. Arumugam C. Rangasamy

Yield increasing by adopting drip irrigation in Kallakurichi II Co-op. Sugar Mills Ltd., Kachirayapalayam in water scarcity area.
2007 08 Crushing Season Cane under Conventional Method 88 55 --2008-09 Crushing % of Season Area Cane under Increase Drip d Irrigation 199 226 127 230 92 92 64 64

Sl. No 1 2 3 4

Membe r No. 1548 18910 3631 5060

Name

A. Anbalagn R. Ponnusamy M. Nallappan G. Usha

5 6 7

21482 7482 7247

T. Johnpaul K. Arumugam C. Rangasamy

87 106 60

210 237 172

241 223 286

Division wise total members and members covered by Drip Irrigation in Kallakurichi II Co-op. Sugar Mills Ltd., Kachirayapalayam.
Drip Irrigatio n Member s 190 90 60 75 80 80 61 60 696

Sl. No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

DIVISION Kachirayapalayam Vadakkanandal Kardichithur Kallakurichi South Kallakurichi North Moorarpalayam Thiyagadurgam Chinnasalem TOTAL

Total Active Members 2025 2263 2118 3868 2746 2681 2490 1666 19857

% 9.3 3.9 2.8 1.9 2.9 2.9 2.4 3.6 3.5

The percentage of members adopting drip irrigation to the total strength of members of a all sugar mill is very low. Members opinions for slackness in installation of drip/Micro Irrigation system are i. ii. iii. iv. v. High Cost of installation Subsidy is low Sufficient water is available in some area Member not willing poor awareness.

The capacity utilization of all sugar mills in future purely depending upon the adopting of Better Management Practices (BMPs) in sugarcane by way of giving incentives, subsidies arranging loan facilities and most important one is creating awareness of the farming community regarding the Better Management Practices in sugarcane and in all crops.

C.SEHAR ADMINISTRATOR
Kallakurichi II Co-op. Sugar Mills Ltd., Kachirayapalayam