Photo Of Ceramic pots

 

Pitcher irrigation is recognized as the highest water efficient and the most effective irrigation system since it supplies water directly into the root zones and its flow rate mainly controlled by the actual evapotranspiration of the plants. Pitcher irrigation uses an emitter, a bottle-like form made of baked clayey soils mixed with sand. Permeability of the emitter varies based on the weight percentage of clays and sands. For irrigation purposes effective permeability is in order of 10 -6 to 10 -9 cm/s. In general clayed soil used for pottery can also be used to make the emitter. However, making the irrigation emitter from this material is economically less competitive than that for pottery product. It is imperative then to find cheaper materials for making the emitter. An intriguing source is hot mud in Sidoarjo, which since May 2006 has been erupting through many bore holes and flooding onto Porong District. In this study we tried to utilize the mud and made some treatments so it can be used as the material for making the emitter. As a result the mud could be formed as an emitter for pitcher irrigation with the values of permeability was in the order of 10 -8 cm/s. Chilies planted surrounding an emitter in a planthouse could grow well without showing any hindrances. It can be concluded that Sidoarjo mud is a promising material for making irrigation emitter, and since its availability is abundant there is an enormous opportunity to set up emitter industry for pitcher irrigation to develop more dry land agricultures in the country.