# Subirrigation

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{{Short description|Irrigation method}}

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'''Subirrigation''' also known as '''seepage irrigation''', is a method of [irrigation](/source/irrigation) where [water](/source/water) is delivered to the plant root zone. The excess may be collected for reuse.

Subirrigation is used in growing field crops such as [tomato](/source/tomato)es, [pepper](/source/capsicum)s, and [sugar cane](/source/sugar_cane) in areas with high [water table](/source/water_table)s such as [Florida](/source/Florida) and in [commercial](/source/commerce) [greenhouse](/source/greenhouse) operations.

Three basic types of subirrigation system are in general use for [potted plant](/source/potted_plant)s in greenhouses:  '''ebb-and-flow''' ([bench](/source/Workbench)-mounted enclosures holding pots are filled and then drained); '''trough''' (water is flowed through bench-mounted, slightly [sloping](/source/slope) enclosures containing pots); and '''flooded floor''' (special sloped concrete flooring is [flood](/source/flood)ed and drained).

Greenhouse subirrigation has been growing in popularity since the 1990s. Advantages are water and [nutrient](/source/nutrient) conservation, and [labor](/source/manual_labour)-saving. The outfitting [cost](/source/cost) is relatively high. Potential problems, such as the possibility of increased presence of [disease](/source/disease) in [recycle](/source/recycled) water, have only begun to be investigated.

One of the disadvantages of sub-irrigated closed systems, such like Earth Boxes and [sub-irrigated planter](/source/sub-irrigated_planter)s, is that soluble salts cannot be flushed into the lower soil profile and build up over time.<ref name="salts">{{cite journal |title=The Potential For The Sequential Production Of Vegetables In The Field With The 'Earth Box' System |journal=Acta Hortic |year=1998 |last=Csizinszky |first=A.A. |volume=513 |pages=137–144 |doi=10.17660/ActaHortic.1998.513.16 |url=http://www.actahort.org/books/513/513_16.htm |accessdate=2016-12-01 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==See also==
* [Tidal irrigation](/source/Tidal_irrigation)
* [Wicking bed](/source/Wicking_bed)

==References==
{{reflist|small}}

==External links==
*[http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AE130 Manual Monitoring of Farm Water Tables] - University of Florida IFAS Extension
*[http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AE150 Irrigated Acreage in Florida: A Summary through 1998] - University of Florida IFAS Extension
*[http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AE110 Efficiencies of Florida Agricultural Irrigation Systems] - describes field subirrigation systems as used in Florida

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Category:Irrigation
Category:Sustainable agriculture

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[de:Bewässerung#Unterflurbewässerung](/source/de%3ABew%C3%A4sserung)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Subirrigation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subirrigation) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subirrigation?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.