Eco-awareness and an increased demand for safer products continues to spread in the global marketplace, which could very well be why organic cotton is currently enjoying its well-deserved time in the limelight. Whether we slide underneath cozy organic cotton bed sheets, wrap ourselves in a downy-soft organic cotton bath towel or try on a simple organic t-shirt for size, the opportunities that today’s modern consumer has to purchase certified organic products has grown in leaps and bounds. They say that numbers don’t lie, a claim made even more concrete by the fact that global organic cotton sales in the retail market, which hovered at $1.9 billion back in the year 2007, climbed to $3.2 billion just one year later. As mainstream retailers such as Target, Wal-Mart and H&M hop on the organic cotton textile products bandwagon, global efforts to generate certified organic cotton crops will undoubtedly follow suit. Read the rest of this entry »
Posts Tagged Business
Cultivated Mushrooms — Tools of the Trade
We’ve already chosen the location of our brand new white mushroom business, so now let’s find the necessary equipment to make it all come together.
First, we’re going to need some shelves in our mushroom production room. They should be made of iron rather than wood so that the moisture will not compromise them. If we run the first shelf so that it measures just 20-30 centimeters higher than the floor, it will be easy enough to access — ideally, our 3 story storage shelf should be 80 centimeters lower than the ceiling. Read the rest of this entry »
A Guide To Irrigation Methods — A Featured Article
Irrigation is pouring water to the soil using proper methods and in proper times as required by the plant growth as a result of insufficient rain. The success of irrigation depends on the selection of the most proper irrigation method as per the conditions and planning, projecting, establishing and operating the irrigation system necessary for that method. Read the rest of this entry »
Why Use Drip Irrigation? 25 Advantages and Techniques
- Provides watering opportunities during any time of the day without being dependent upon wind speed.
- Facilitates farming by utilizing modest water applications without running the risk of plant stress.
- Energy dependency is reduced significantly since watering can be done via a low pressure area.
- Increases efficiency and quality of productfrom 20-90%.
- Product ripens 2-3 week earlier. Read the rest of this entry »
The Advantages and Disadvantages Of Drip Irrigation
The main premise of the drip irrigation method is being able to water plants using a small amount of water delivered through pressurized pipes and drippers without creating problems that might otherwise arise from lack of moisture in the root zone.
One of the most important aspects of this method is that the watered zone is only along the plant line, leaving the rest of the field dry, thus using the least amount of water possible.
The advantages of the drip irrigation method are as follows:
- When water resources are scarce and costly, a much larger highly-targeted zone can be watered rather than covering the whole field with water.
- Because the watered zone is shadowed by the plant itself, evaporation is minimal and the consumption is lowered.
- The required moisture level in the root zone is maintained and the plant gets its water from the soil without using much energy. This is an important advantage that facilitates effective growth.
- Fertilizers can be used via the dripping system (where and when they are required), reducing the volume needed.
- The land between the plant rows remain dry and unwanted plant growth is prevented.
- The surface of the soil is dry which enables processing, medication, harvest and transfer work to be executed more easily and with minimal effort.
- Foliage remains dry, thus reducing the risk of disease.
- Moisture is spread through the root zone, contributing to properly aired soil.
- The output of each nozzle can be controlled with great efficiency, high water application efficiency and lower labour cost due to the automated system
Along with these advantages, there are some drawbacks that may restrict the usage of this method:
- The largest problem is that the drippers get clogged. To prevent this, water must be very well-filtered and chemicals must be used to clean out the system.
- Because the surface isn’t watered with the drip irrigation method, there is certain degree of salting. The salt is washed away if the zone receives more than 300mm yearly. If this isn’t the case with the location of the field, supportive surface watering methods must be employed.
- The initial cost of drip irrigation systems are very high, but if the plant grown has a large economical value, the ability to water a larger field will still make drip irrigation a viable option.
Overall, drip irrigation can be a very effective method for:
- Areas where a water source is limited
- The plant grown is sensitive to soil moisture
- Vegetable and fruit farms
- Growth of decorative plants
Agricultural Biodiversity 