What is Irrigation?
The supply of water to crops at specific intervals is known as Irrigation. It depends on the crop, soil type and season.
Ponds, wells, lakes, dams, rivers are various water bodies that supply water for irrigation.
What are the Traditional Methods of Irrigation?
The traditional methods of irrigation involved cattle or humans lifting water from the various water bodies and bringing them to the fields. These methods were inexpensive for the farmers but were not quite efficient.
Let us take a look at a few of these methods.
Moat or pulley system
In this system, the water is pulled out of a water source with the help of a pulley. The pulley can be moved in several ways to then carry the bucket of water to different places in the field.
But this method is not very efficient as it needs human labour and also results in uneven distribution of water.
Chain Pump
In this method, a bucket is tied to a wheel placed above a water body. The wheel is pulled by a chain. As the wheel turns it lets water to be collected inside the bucket. When the bucket comes to the top, it pours the water out which flows into the fields in the man-made canal-like system.
 This again is a labour-intensive method.
Dhekli
In this method, there is a V-shaped log that is fixed into the ground in an erect manner. Another log, one end of which has a bucket attached and the other end has a load, is placed in the V. When this log is moved, it helps lower the bucket and gets it filled
with water from the well. This water is then dropped into a narrow canal-like system that waters the fields.
This is not a very efficient system as it leads to wastage of water and needs human labour as well.
Rahat
This is a 1300-year-old method of irrigation which now is almost extinct.
This method requires two wheels. One wheel attached with several buckets along its circumference is placed halfway inside a water body. The second wheel is placed on the ground with a rod attached to it. When the rod is moved in a circular manner, it rotates the two wheels in turn. The wheel which is inside the water body collects water in the buckets and deposits it onto the surface. Canal-like systems then carry the water to different parts of the field.
Usually, cattle are made to operate this system, though humans also do it at times.
These were traditional methods of irrigation. We will next look at some modern irrigation techniques.
Summary
| Irrigation | The supply of water to crops at specific intervals |
| Sources of Irrigation | Ponds, wells, lakes, dams, rivers |
| Traditional Methods of Irrigation |
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 Did you know?
The earliest known systems of irrigation began in 6000 BC in Egypt and Mesopotamia.
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