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Drip fertigation for vegetables

Drip fertigation for vegetables routes water-soluble fertiliser grades through inline drip emitters in split daily or weekly doses, matched to crop phenology. Tomato, capsicum, chilli, cucumber, gourds and brinjal are the principal beneficiaries because their long indeterminate cropping windows reward precise nutrient timing.

Principle

Vegetable nutrient demand is highly stage-dependent. Early vegetative growth requires balanced NPK (19:19:19); flowering and fruit-set shift demand toward phosphorus (12:61:0); fruit development and ripening toward potassium (13:0:45 and CAN). Daily or bi-weekly drip injection delivers the right grade at the right stage, reducing leaching and salinity build-up compared to broadcast urea-DAP-MOP applications.

Implementation

Fertilizer grades in standard use include 19:19:19, 13:0:45, 12:61:0 and 14:35:14. ICAR-IIHR field trials in chilli hybrid Arka Meghana found that fertigation at 125:100:125 kg NPK/ha applied bi-weekly through drip produced higher growth and yield than soil-applied equivalents. The system is subsidised under PMKSY-PDMC for tomato, capsicum, cucumber and gourds, and is typically bundled with plastic mulch on raised beds. Head units carry a sand filter, a screen filter and a Venturi or dosing-pump injector; a 30-200 L fertigation tank holds the stock solution.

Adoption context

The package has the strongest adoption in protected-cultivation polyhouses (capsicum, exotic cucumber) and open-field staked tomato and chilli in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. FPOs aggregate fertiliser purchases to bring down per-kg cost of water-soluble grades.

Limitations

Water-soluble grades are several times more expensive per nutrient unit than conventional bagged urea, DAP and MOP. Clogging from un-dissolved fertilizer or hard-water precipitates is a recurrent failure mode. Tail-end emitters may receive lower fertilizer concentration than head-end emitters, requiring routine pressure and EC checks.

See also Drip Fertigation, Mulching Vegetables, Ipm Vegetables and Ipm Chilli Spray Schedule.

References

  1. Effect of fertigation on chilli hybrid Arka Meghana. ICAR-IIHR Journal of Horticultural Sciences.
  2. Operational Guidelines of Per Drop More Crop, 2023. PMKSY.