UPSC Prelims 2016 · Question 8 of 98
UPSC Prelims 2016 question on Drip Irrigation Advantages
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2016
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectIndian Economy
- TopicAgriculture Economy
- DifficultyMedium
- TypeStatement
Which of the following is/are the advantage/advantages of practising drip irrigation?
1. Reduction in weed
2. Reduction in soil salinity
3. Reduction in soil erosion
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Show answer
Answer: C. 1 and 3 only
Verdict
The answer is 1 and 3 only. Drip irrigation reduces weeds and soil erosion, but it does not reduce soil salinity.
Analysis
Statement 1 is CORRECT. Water is delivered to the root zone of the crop alone, so the inter row area stays dry and weed germination is suppressed. Statement 3 is CORRECT. There is no flooding and no runoff, so the detachment and transport of soil particles that surface irrigation causes does not occur. Statement 2 is INCORRECT, and it inverts a known limitation. Because drip applies small volumes without leaching, salts accumulate at the wetting front, and salinity hazard is listed among the disadvantages of the method rather than the advantages.
Source
Agricultural extension material on drip irrigation.
How to crack it
Reason from the single defining feature, that drip delivers small quantities of water precisely to the root zone with no excess. Weeds and erosion both depend on water reaching where it is not wanted, so both are reduced. Salt removal, by contrast, requires surplus water to flush salts downward, which drip deliberately avoids. One mechanism therefore explains all three statements, and the third follows as a cost of the same design that produces the first two.