The consecutive years of drought and its consequences on agriculture production inspired Fereidoon Mohammadi, an inventor from Kuhmareh district of Fars Province, whose mechanical water aeration system hit the spotlight a few years ago, to draw up yet another innovative design to reduce water usage in horticulture.
The underground irrigation design will directly inject water and nutrients to the roots of fruit-bearing and non-bearing trees. The process can cause a significant impact in the reduction of water consumption (up to 50 percent) and increase productivity, IRNA reported.
In the conventional drip or flood irrigation systems plenty of water evaporates and part of the water which remains in the soil is absorbed by weeds; therefore not much of the water reaches the roots of the trees which go deep underground.
In addition to reducing water loss, the proposed design could also potentially decrease other horticulture costs of plowing and weeding up to 30%.
Bags First Prize
The inventor’s design won the first prize in the Persian Gulf’s Innovation and Development Festival and is supported by the National Elites Foundation. It could potentially bring about substantial reforms in water consumption patterns and save billions of dollars. Officials from the Agricultural Jihad Organization in Shiraz have reviewed Mohammadi’s latest design and provided positive feedback. His design will be referred to the ministry of agriculture.
Recent reports have warned of a possible 30-year period of drought for Iran and neighboring countries. According to official data, nearly half the 60 billion cubic meters of water allocated to agriculture is wasted.
