Editing Subirrigation (section)

{{Short description|Irrigation method}}

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'''Subirrigation''' also known as '''seepage irrigation''', is a method of [[irrigation]] where [[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]]es, [[capsicum|pepper]]s, and [[sugar cane]] in areas with high [[water table]]s such as [[Florida]] and in [[commerce|commercial]] [[greenhouse]] operations.

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

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

One of the disadvantages of sub-irrigated closed systems, such like Earth Boxes and [[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>