Principles and Advantages of Drip Line Fertilizer Techniques

The Principle of Drip Line Fertilizer Technology

Drip line fertilizer technology allows for the uniform delivery of fertilizers to the crop roots at the same time as watering, achieving integrated water and fertilizer management. Its characteristics include small water flow, low required working pressure, precise control of irrigation amounts, and direct delivery of water and nutrients to the soil near the crop roots, satisfying the needs for crop growth and development, thus achieving localized irrigation.

Drip line fertilizer technology can be used for a variety of crops, such as grapes, peaches, pears, apples, chestnuts, oranges, lychees, longans, and dragon fruits. It is also well-suited for vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplants, as well as for flowers, nurseries, and other scenarios. Additionally, it can be employed for grain crops like wheat, corn, and potatoes, as well as economic crops like tobacco and asparagus.

Advantages of Drip Line Fertilizer

Compared to conventional fertilization methods, the drip irrigation system has the following advantages:

Labor Saving

In fruit tree production, water and fertilizer management consumes a lot of labor. For example, in some banana production areas, fertilization occurs up to18 times a year. Each fertilization requires digging holes or making shallow grooves, followed by watering. Utilizing facility irrigation for fertilization allows for synchronized water and fertilizer management, saving a lot of labor. With labor costs rising, the application of drip line fertilizer technology can significantly reduce production costs.

Increased Fertilizer Utilization Efficiency

Water and fertilizers are directly delivered to the root areas, allowing nutrients to be fully utilized and rapidly absorbed by the roots. With the water and fertilizer solution evenly distributed in the soil, the uniform distribution of nutrients enhances root absorption efficiency. Traditionally, fertilization and irrigation are conducted separately. After applying fertilizers to the soil, in the absence of timely or adequate irrigation, the fertilizers remain in the soil, leading to insufficient root absorption. However, with a field drip line fertilizer system, nitrogen utilization can reach 90%, phosphorus 50%-70%, and potassium 95%. Increased fertilizer utilization efficiency means reduced fertilization amounts, thus saving on fertilizers.

Precise Fertilization

The quantity and timing of fertilization can be flexibly, conveniently, accurately, and quickly controlled. Targeted fertilization can be performed according to the nutritional requirements of the crops, providing timely and precise fertilization. For example, fruit trees need mainly nitrogen during shoot growth, various nutrients including nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium during the young fruit stage, and increased potassium during the late fruit development stage. Fertilization can be tailored to the nutrient characteristics of the crops, providing complete nutrition in a short time, ensuring uniform growth rates, and facilitating farm and orchard management.

Improvement of Soil Environment

The uniformity of drip irrigation can reach over 90%, overcoming soil compaction issues associated with furrow and sprinkler irrigation. Drip line fertilizer maintains good water and air conditions without significantly disrupting the original soil structure. With low soil evaporation and prolonged soil moisture retention, soil microorganisms thrive, benefiting soil nutrient conversion. This method enables crop cultivation on barren lands. For example, managing water and fertilizer is a significant challenge in sandy soils, where crops typically struggle to grow properly. The implementation of drip line fertilizer techniques ensures normal crop growth under such conditions.

Enhanced Crop Resilience to Disasters

Drip irrigation ensures adequate supply of water and fertilizers, leading to balanced water and fertilizer coordination and good crop growth, which boosts disaster resilience. During prolonged dry periods, crops utilizing drip line fertilizer achieve stable and high yields, whereas manually irrigated crops show poor growth and low yields.