Water-saving irrigation calmly solves the severe drought

In the face of the worst drought in decades, some local crops in Henan and Liaoning provinces have been seriously affected, highlighting the shortcomings of water conservancy facilities (see this edition, "the year of Great drought, testing farmland and Water Conservancy" on August 19). But is the severe drought bound to lead to agricultural disasters? Not exactly. This is especially true today when we are moving towards modern agriculture. When the reporter visited, he found that although the water shortage in some places was also very serious, the fields were green and looked like favorable weather. What's the secret?

The effect of water-saving irrigation is obvious, increasing production and income in the year of severe drought.

Although the drought is serious, the reporter saw in the 500 mu demonstration area of efficient water-saving irrigation in Dongtianlong Village, Guqiao Township, Changge City, Henan Province, that the corn with more than one person's height was lush and lush and could not be seen at a glance. "the water-saving irrigation project built last year has been a great help this year, and there is no doubt about increasing production and income." Gao Genshu, the village branch secretary, is full of confidence. On both sides of the road in the field, there is a motor well every 70 or 80 meters. Water pipes are buried in the ground, vertical and horizontal every 12 meters, there is a sprinkler more than ten centimeters high exposed to the ground to irrigate grain fields.

"We have watered the ground three times." Li Huidong, director of the Guqiao Township Agricultural Center in Changge City, said, "it used to take 50 or 60 square meters of water to irrigate an mu of land, but now it only needs about 25 square meters of water. This year, in places where water-saving irrigation is not carried out, after extensive irrigation of farmland once or twice, the water level of motor wells drops obviously, or even dries up, while in water-saving irrigation areas, even if they are irrigated three or four times, there is still water to be irrigated. "

"at present, Henan mainly adopts four kinds of water-saving irrigation methods, among which sprinkler irrigation is one with a higher degree of water-saving. The most common is to carry out anti-seepage technical transformation of the canal. The other is to use the pipeline instead of the open channel to divert water directly from the pipe water diversion into the field ditch, or connect a hose at the water diversion to flow water into the ditch to improve the efficiency of water use. Micro-irrigation technology is more water-saving than sprinkler irrigation technology, transporting water to the irrigation area through the pipeline system, and using the irrigator installed on the last stage pipe to transport the water directly to the soil near the root of the crop. " Yang Biantong, Commissioner of Henan Flood Control and drought Relief Inspector, said.

Tian Xiaoyu, a big grower in Shajiatun, Daban Village, Mantang Hong Town, Zhangwu County, Liaoning Province, has used a similar method and is also very calm in the face of this year's drought. Lao Tian has planted more than 300 mu of corn, sorghum and peanuts this year. Although this is the worst period of drought, he just goes to the fields every day. Lao Tian tore open the plastic film in the cornfield to show the reporter that a black flexible plastic pipe was close to the corn plant, and there was a pinhole-sized outlet on the plastic pipe every five centimeters or so. "the film can also prevent water from evaporating." Lao Tian said.

It is both convenient and sustainable, and there is great potential for agricultural water use and water saving in China.

According to Wang tie, deputy director of the Water Conservancy Bureau of Zhangwu County, Liaoning Province, water-saving drip irrigation uses plastic pipes to send water to crop roots for local irrigation through holes or emitters in capillary pipes about 10 mm in diameter. "it is the most effective way of water-saving irrigation in arid areas at present, and the utilization rate of water can reach 95%. Compared with flood irrigation, the water saving rate of drip irrigation is more than 40%, and the retention time of each irrigation is three times longer. Drip irrigation can also irrigate fertilizers and nutrients to farmland. "

In Zhaojia Village, Xinglongshan Town, Zhangwu County, the reporter happened to meet Ning Yuguang, party committee secretary of the town, with technicians from the town's agricultural technology extension station to help farmers install drought relief facilities at a pumping station. "in the past, many ordinary people still had some worries. After this drought, many people saw that water-saving facilities could not only save trouble but also ensure output, so they came to ask the government for technical guidance."

"in 2013, we did a special experiment, and after the agricultural department measured the yield, the corn yield of the plots with drip irrigation was 430 jin higher than that of the plots without drip irrigation. Based on the current corn prices, excluding 200 yuan invested, farmers can also increase their income and net benefit by 230 yuan per mu, while saving 80 cubic meters of water per mu. In the event of a severe drought, the role of ensuring a stable increase in farmers' production and income will become more prominent. " Ning Yuguang said.

"Water-saving irrigation can not only reduce farmers' burden on farming, but also save the land occupied by channels and ridges, expand the planting area, and promote the transformation of China's agriculture from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture." Cheng Chuanxing, secretary of the party committee of Henan Agricultural University, said, "watering the most land with limited water is an important way out for the sustainable development of agriculture."

The data show that the utilization rate of agricultural water in China is 20% lower than that in developed countries, and the water-saving potential is huge. According to expert estimates, by popularizing farmland water-saving technology, there is a potential to save 36 billion cubic meters of water in wheat and rice production in irrigated areas, which also increases a certain irrigated area, thereby increasing output; in arid areas, if the utilization rate of natural precipitation can be improved, it also has a certain potential for water resources.

The construction involves many departments, and the government needs to pay more attention to the input.

Are water-saving facilities expensive? "the disadvantages of water-saving irrigation projects are large investment, long construction period, and the need for supporting construction by many departments, such as electric power, municipal administration, agriculture, and so on." Zhao Xuejun, head of the Engineering Section of the Water Conservancy Bureau of Changge City, Henan Province, said.

Huang Xiliang, deputy stationmaster and senior engineer of Henan Irrigation and Water Conservancy Technology Popularization Station, said: "in the future, emphasis should be placed on the development of pipeline water delivery and low-pressure energy-saving sprinklers, and anti-seepage channels will be gradually replaced by pipelinization. Drip irrigation, a new water-saving technology, shows broad prospects compared with surface drip irrigation. The construction of these projects requires the joint completion of land and resources, comprehensive agricultural development, development and reform, finance, poverty alleviation, agriculture, water conservancy and other departments. " This still needs more attention and help from the government.

Ning Yuguang said that the wells, pumps and other facilities of the local drip irrigation project are funded by the state, and what ordinary people have to pay is only the cost of laying plastic film and drip irrigation belt, which is about 200 yuan per mu of land. According to Wang tie, the provincial drip irrigation water-saving project has been implemented since 2011, with a large amount of investment from provinces, cities and counties and a small part of farmers' investment. now the land for the construction of drip irrigation facilities in Zhangwu County has reached 723600 mu, accounting for more than 25% of the county's arable land.

With regard to the mechanism for encouraging the development of water-saving agriculture, Yu Fazheng, a researcher at the Institute of Rural Development of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and deputy director of the Research Office of Ecological economy and Environment, also warned that more water-saving agriculture needs to be used in food production to ensure the country's food security.

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Since the founding of New China, the irrigation and water conservancy industry in China has developed rapidly:

In the 1950s and 1960s, he actively repaired the irrigation projects damaged by the war, and worked hard to mobilize the masses to build a large number of ponds and small water diversion projects. After the late 1950s, a large number of medium-and large-scale reservoirs and irrigation districts were built. Most of the medium-and large-scale reservoirs and irrigation districts in China began to be built in this period and gradually brought into play their benefits in the future.

In the 1970s and 1980s, water conservancy construction came to a standstill under the influence of the "Cultural Revolution". Since 1991, China has increased its investment in agriculture and water conservancy, restored farmland irrigation projects, adjusted its structure, and reformed its management.

Modern agriculture cannot rely on heaven for a living.

In the multiple tests such as drought and changes in the water environment, the shortcomings of irrigation and water conservancy in some places have been exposed, while Henan and Liaoning provinces have highlighted the advantages of "water-saving irrigation" promoted by agricultural land. Whether in Changge in central Henan or Zhangwu in western Liaoning, reporters from field research sighed: "there is no sign of drought in these crops on farmland."

It is true that the initial investment in water-saving irrigation is large, but compared with the obvious drop in the water level of motor wells after extensive irrigation once or twice, water-saving irrigation takes a long time. After calculating the cost, the farmers who have the most say "come to the town to consult and ask the government to give technical guidance."

In the final analysis, to fight drought, we should arouse the enthusiasm of farmers. Apart from increasing investment, allocating water resources, and promoting new strategies, the government should not ignore the "real kung fu" that can really mobilize the awareness of water conservation and drought resistance. And only with "real kung fu" can we break the hands stuck in the necks of stable grain production and increase production, and achieve drought without disaster and harvest in sight.