PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF WICKSUSED INWICK IRRIGATION SYSTEM

S. SAJEENA¹*, V.M. ABDUL HAKKIM², B. ANJU³, S. ATHIRA^4
1ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Thavanoor, Malappuram, 679573, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, 680656, Kerala, India
²Professor (SWE), College of Agriculture, Padanakkad, 671314, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, 680656, Kerala, India
³Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 679573, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, 680656, Kerala, India
⁴Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 679573, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, 680656, Kerala, India
* Corresponding Author : sajeenahakkim@gmail.com

Received : 09-09-2019     Accepted : 26-09-2019     Published : 30-09-2019
Volume : 11     Issue : 18       Pages : 9102 - 9105
Int J Agr Sci 11.18 (2019):9102-9105

Keywords : Wick irrigation, Micro irrigation, Glass wool, Silk wool
Academic Editor : Dr A. K. Singh, Seher Dirican, P. Shaji James, El-sherbeny Ghada Abd Allah, Pallav Kaushik Deshpande
Conflict of Interest : None declared
Acknowledgements/Funding : Authors are thankful to Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 679573, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, 680656, Kerala, India for financial support. Authors are also thankful to ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Thavanoor, Malappuram, 679573
Author Contribution : All authors equally contributed

Though micro irrigation has many potential benefits, it has certain limitations such as high initial cost, problems related to clogging and salt accumulation, periodic maintenance including daily attention etc. With the objective of solving these limitations, a user-friendly irrigation method namely “wick irrigation” was developed by Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) for vegetable cultivation in homesteads, especially for terrace cultivation. This method of irrigation is cheap and efficient. The scientific principle behind this irrigation method is the uptake of water by the wick through capillary action. During past many years glass wool is being used as the wick material in wick irrigation. The availability of glass wool for making the wick is very difficult and also it is reported to have some allergic problems to the operator. In this context, a field study was conducted to evaluate the performance evaluation of different types of wicks viz. glass wool, cotton and silk wool for the wick irrigation system. The performance was compared on the basis of water uptake rate, soil moisture content, biometric observations of the crop etc. From the study, it was concluded that wick made up of glass wool has better performance in terms of biometric and yield parameters, water uptake rate and soil moisture content. It was also observed that the wick made up of cotton is on par with the glass wool wick. Considering the easiness of availability, eco-friendly nature and cost effectiveness, cotton wick can be used as a viable alternative for glass wool in wick irrigation

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