Protected Cultivation
Protected-Cultivation Irrigation & Drainage
Protected structures remove rainfall from the crop but do not remove water-management complexity. Irrigation uniformity, substrate storage, drainage, runoff, root oxygen, and crop demand must be tracked together.
Key concepts
- Emitter uniformity can change over time
- Drainage fraction alone does not describe root-zone moisture distribution
- Protected structures can accumulate salts where natural rainfall never leaches the root zone
- Standing water and chronically wet floors can increase humidity and sanitation problems
What to measure or observe
- Catch-test emitters for distribution differences
- Inspect moisture at several substrate positions
- Track input and representative drainage EC where applicable
- Keep floors and drains functioning and observable
Common mistakes
- Assuming equal irrigation time means equal delivered volume
- Ignoring clogged or displaced emitters
- Allowing runoff to pool
- Using one container as the only irrigation reference
Visuals this lesson still needs
- Emitter-uniformity test
- Root-zone moisture cross section
- Drainage and runoff map
- Salt-accumulation concept graphic