Development of a Drip Fertigation System for Protected Horticulture on Sloping Land

Abstract

of new markets 10. Masubuchi 10 also pointed out the importance of using agricultural facilities, or greenhouses, and small machines on the sloping land. Facilities and labor-saving technologies used to establish new production systems for sloping-land horticulture have been developed, and include sloping greenhouses, which utilize sloping land effectively, and a portable monorail-type sprayer 12. Fertigation is a method of feeding nutrient solutions and water to crops effectively by adding soluble fertilizers to an irrigation system, saving time and labor and ensuring uniform water distribution 15. Fertigation can feed nutrient solution and/or water automatically by programmed schedules. Bar-Yosef 10 reported that the agricultural area on which micro-irrigation or drip fertigation is used is expanding almost linearly, particularly in the Far East (China, India, and Japan) and Australia. However, the use of drip fertigation is negligible in developing countries. The drip fertigation system was introduced to many flatland vegetable and/or flower growers in Japan because of its benefits, which include reduced labor for fertilization (or irrigation), decreased irrigation and fertilizer, and reduced cost of fertilizer 1,2. The drip fertiga