Drainage in gardens and agricultural lands is important, especially in areas with a high rainfall. Some soils are more prone to waterlogging and retain the rainwater, so providing proper drainage is important.
It can damage the roots of the plants and destroy the plants and / or crops.
Water is needed by all living things – both plants and animals. In many areas, when natural resources for supply of water are inadequate, irrigation is needed. Irrigation helps in large areas from limited water sources to attain maximum benefits especially in dry areas and where the rainfall is very less.
It also saves time.
There are different forms of irrigation used like drip irrigation, sprinkler irrigation, surface irrigation, depending on the crop and the amount of water available.
a. In drip irrigation water is allowed to pass to the roots of the plants drop by drop
b. in sprinkler irrigation water is allowed to pass to one or more locations and the water is sprinkled to the plants all round it.
c. In surface irrigation the water is allowed to pass through channels where there is slope gradient.
Few plants grow in saline soil, as reverse osmosis takes place
Agronomy is limited to crop and soil science while agriculture is a more comprehensive field and covers all farming related activities. Agriculture covers crop science, soil science, animal husbandry, horticulture, floraculture, silviculture, aquaculture, sericulture and other fields as well as related activities like design and maintenance equipment used for agriculture.
One of the basic differences is that agronomy is related to plants and is usually focussed on food and cash crops like rice, wheat, corn, tobacco and methods to increase the crop output per acre. Agriculture also includes other farming related activities related to animals like rearing of cattle, goat, sheep, fish, chicken , fish and prawns. The cultivation of fruits and vegetables as well as different varieties of flowers is also not included in agronomy.
Agronomy is the science of utilising plants for producing food, fuel for cooking, vehicles and other applications, animal feed and fiber for textiles. So genetic make up of plants, their physiology and soil science are covered by agronomists. It is a multidisciplinary science, with knowledge of biology, chemistry, ecology, earth science, and genetics required.
Agronomy can be further divided into the following fields:
crop rotation
irrigation and drainage
plant breeding
soil classification
soil fertility
weed control
insect and pest control