Fertigation for Increased Crop Yield and Fertilizer Saving

Application of fertilizer to plants through drip irrigation system is called fertigation. It is the most advance and efficient practice of fertilization. The water and nutrients, the two precious resource and important factors in plant growth are combined through fertigation. Fertigation ensures application of the fertilizers directly to the plant roots. In fertigation, fertilizer application is made in small and frequent doses that fit within scheduled irrigation intervals matching the plant water use to avoid leaching. Fertilizer use efficiency up to 95% can be achieved through drip fertigation. Studies revealed significant fertilizer savings of 20–60% and 8–41% increase in yields of horticulture and vegetable crops due to fertigation. With expanding area under micro irrigation in India, fertigation has great scope in fertilizer saving and increasd crop yield. Experiences of fertigation and its future scope in India have been discussed in this paper.