Under irrigation, or irrigation, understand artificial watering of lands for the accelerated growth and maturing of plants. As a rule, this process is used in droughty areas and also in territories which have undergone natural or artificial dewatering of soils.
Prototypes of modern irrigational systems have for the first time appeared in Asia and Egypt in 3000 years B.C. and represented irrigation canals and reservoirs which used for watering of the fields which are far from the rivers. During era of Byzantium, creating large number of channels and using crossing points, people managed the movement of water as it was necessary for high-quality irrigation of lands. Now are for this purpose used, as a rule, surface (streams, the rivers, lakes) or underground waters. On the river the dams allowing to collect large amount of water and to create dammed lakes or tanks are built. From here in droughty season reviver also comes to the soil. Underground water undertakes from wells, sometimes - from small wells. The special systems freshening water which then is delivered to fields via channels, ditches, by means of pumps on pipes work in areas, far from sources of fresh water.
Modern irrigational technologies rather economically spend water and do not allow salinization of soils. More perspective of them is drop irrigation by means of which man-made oases are created therefore in traditionally droughty places (semi-deserts and deserts) vegetable and fruit cultures, fruit and decorative trees, long-term flowers grow up and also territories are actively planted trees and shrubs.
In particular, drop irrigation represents such organization of watering process at which water (often together with nutrients) it is dosed, in small "portions", gets directly to radical system. By similar supply of water moreover and not once a day, plants absorb moisture much more effectively and acquire "feed". Besides, this method of irrigation, keeping air "availability" of the soil, improves air flow to roots. And that cultural "pets" were not attacked by weeds, for the last such conditions under which their growth either slows down, or stops absolutely are created. But, unfortunately, there is in this to "honey barrel" and the spoon of tar: this salinization of the soil at which its structure and properties changes and, as a result, considerably decreases fertility.