Use of water resources

Country: Tajikistan

Province: Districts of Republican Subordination

District: Rudaki

• Located in the Varzob River Basin (right-bank tributary of the Kafirnigan (Kofarnihon) River);
• Valley section of the Kafirnigan River Basin (river catchment area);
• Deep (below 5 m) ground water occurrence;
• Other peculiarities: middle loamy soils.

Start date: 01.04.2012

End date: 31.10.2013

Surface irrigation is associated with considerable water losses, uneven root zone moistening, increasing irrigation-induced soil erosion, low labor productivity of irrigators, low irrigation system efficiency, etc.

Low-pressure impulse mist irrigation system

Actions:

- Construction of low-pressure impulse mist irrigation system (procurement of polyethylene piping, pumping unit, cassette filter);
- Installation of pumping equipment, settling pond, impulse mist sprinkling nozzles.

Results:

Financial and economic:

rational use of irrigation water; enhanced efficiency of water and land resources use; low cost ($4,164/ha) compared to the basic option ($4,326/ha).

Ecological:

no damage to atmosphere, water and soil and production of ecologically clean agricultural produce.

Technical:

the system operates under low pressure enough to ensure sufficient mist sprinkling irrigation (high-quality artificial rain) creating the necessary microclimate stimulating proper plant growth and development, ensuring even and highly uniform soil moistening; the system is easy to assemble and operate.

Social:

reduced irrigation costs on behalf of water users due to smaller volume of consumed irrigation water; increased profitability of farms due to higher crops productivity.

Lessons learnt:

Low-pressure impulse mist irrigation system allows improving the overall conditions in greenhouses and/or lemon tree nurseries – rain-like water distribution curbs irrigation-induced soil erosion and unproductive water losses in the course of irrigation.

Recommendations:

It is necessary to widely deploy low-pressure impulse mist sprinkling systems with the aim of irrigation automation and saving irrigation water.

Domestic tools (outcomes of research by domestic R&D organizations)

Project title: Low-pressure impulse mist sprinkling system for greenhouses and/or lemon tree nurseries.

Project duration: Apr 2012-Oct 2013.

Project goal and objectives: development and deployment of new low-pressure impulse mist irrigation system for greenhouses and lemon tree nurseries in the context of acute water shortage to ensure even distribution of irrigation water, exclude irrigation-induced soil erosion and unproductive irrigation water losses, thus, leading to water and power saving.

Project beneficiaries: “Ziroatkor” Farm.

Project implementer: Sh. Shotemur Tajik Agrarian University

Report by Tajikistan Water Partnership, Dushanbe, 2012, 18 p.