The advantage of this system, besides saving water and fertilizer, is manifold. As the amount of water is exactly measured, the soil has to extract moisture that is needed to give crops the perfect growth environment.
Only crops are watered and fertilized, not the weeds around them. Leaves and fruits are less likely to have spots from water burn.
The set up of a micro irrigation system might look intimidating at first, but is very simple and not expensive.
All you need is a pipe for the mainlines and laterals, a pump, filters, a flow meter, some valves, and the sprinklers or seeping hose.
If you want, you can even build a fully automated system by adding a timer and solenoids. This system allows for injecting fertilizers and pesticides directly into the pipe system instead of into the soil. Furthermore, there is less labor needed, as the injection can be automized.
The result is less strain on the groundwater.
In addition, the reduced use of chemicals protects the water quality. There will be a higher yield of crops to nourish the island with less reliance on expensive imports.
Considering the long dry season in the CNMI, water has to be managed wisely. Water resource is scarce and groundwater levels are depleting. Many parts of Saipan are on a water scheduling system.
To ease water supply problems, Northern Marianas College-Cooperative Research Extension and Education Services propagates micro irrigation systems. These systems are used in the states. Set up and maintained correctly, it can save up to 50 percent on water for a farm.
The use of fertilizers is also reduced, thus it saves the farmer a good amount of money, and the community gains a better quality and availability of water.
Intercropping treesand shrubs
This is a suitable method to produce fruits and vegetables in an ever decreasing area.
Intercropping, otherwise known as alley cropping, can be compared to building skyscrapers on small, valuable spaces of inner cities. It adds the third dimension to farming.
The idea behind intercropping is to plant trees or shrubs in two or more sets of single or multiple rows at wide spacing.
Between these spaces alleyways are created within which agricultural, horticultural, or forage crops are cultivated. Besides the space saving aspect, it helps diversify farm profits by providing short-term cash flow from annual crops while also providing medium to long-term products from the trees.
Water erosion is reduced through the interception of rainfall by the tree canopy and increased infiltration as a result of tree and herbaceous roots.
To set up an inter-cropped field, choose plants that can complement each other in characteristics.
To improve soil quality, choose one plant from the legume family. This method also provides a very good protection from pests because of plant diversity and distribution.
It also interferes with pest environment. As there is less bare soil, erosion is reduced. Less stress from wind also means better growth environment for farm crops.
Trees, moreover, provide shade to lower growing plants if needed, thus enabling the production of crops sensitive to direct sunlight, and so diversifying farming even further.
Advantages to the community are the increased quality of ground water, as well as higher availability and diversity of fruits and vegetables.
For more information on this or other programs, call NMC-CREES at 234-5498 ext. 1705 or visit the Web site http://crees.org.
