Evaluation of a novel semi-automatic drip irrigation system for water management in rooftop garden

Abstract

Rooftop gardening is popularizing day by day in urban areas of Bangladesh, although irrigation is the major limitation for this practice. Drip irrigation could be an efficient method of irrigation for rooftop gardening. Therefore, present study was aimed to prepare a novel semi-automatic drip irrigation system and to justify its effectiveness for tomato production on rooftop. BARI Tomato-3, a famous tomato variety, was used to grow on rooftop under (A) Drip Irrigation and (B) Conventional Irrigation following a Randomized Complete Block Design. Different growth parameters as well as yield contributing characters and yields were compared and it was observed that drip irrigation system enhanced all growth performances over control plants. Number of fruits per plant increased gradually by 11.3, 36.5, 32.4 and 35.2 % at 30, 45, 60 and 75 days after transplanting (DAT), respectively compared to control. Fruit weight per plant also increased significantly by 35.4, 40.6, 54.7 and 55.6%, respectively. Therefore, it can be concluded that drip irrigation system is an efficient water management technology for rooftop vegetable production in urban areas of Bangladesh.