Farming in earlier times, and even now in many parts of the world has depended on the rain falling in the area being farmed. This quite often led to complete failure of crops, which were unable to get the necessary water that was necessary for their growth. The practice of putting in irrigation systems has led to lessen the dependence of farming activities on rain, by the simple process of moving in water from other areas, which have a surplus of water.
Irrigation systems that used the practice of bringing in water from distant areas started in the 6th century BC in areas of the Middle East. There are also archeological excavations in India which have pointed out to the use of canals, which used gravity to bring water to established cities, from water sources like rivers and lakes. The basic premise behind irrigation systems, involves the creation of conduits to carry the water in canals and gravity to negate the need for any other additional force to move the water, persists to this day. There are macro solutions when entire systems are built, with dams that impound rain water from rivers, outtake canals that take the water to the area where it is needed and a system of feeder canals and smaller water carrying structures to take them to the fields where they are actually needed.
Modern farmers have developed further techniques to help them grow crops without having to depend on rain. This allows them to be in greater control over growing the crops, right from the seeding, nurturing and reaping the harvest. Where they have access to irrigation canals, they use a system of dykes and furrows that allows them to direct the water where it is needed, and stop this irrigation when needed. At times, the system is used along with pumps that use water from wells or other water sources to flood the created furrows and dykes. Where water tables are very high, the same method is used to bring the water to where it is needed. Irrigation methods that have gained a lot of prominence in recent times are sprinkler irrigation, which uses hoses and pipes and pumps to force water through sprinklers to irrigate the land. This does result in a lot of reduction in wastage and ensures that water reaches only the plants required. The use of drip irrigation reduces this wastage still further and is in wide use in desert and other areas where water sources are few and far between.
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