The art and science of growing plants - flowers, ornamentals, fruit or vegetables - is known as horticulture, and the goal of all horticulturalists is to nurture their plants from seeds to finished products they can be proud of. Plants have various needs:
A place to grow
A right temperature
Air and light
Water
Irrigation helps take care of one of these needs by providing water. The more refined methods of irrigation in use today are:
Surface irrigation such as border irrigation, furrow irrigation and other forms of irrigation that use flooding
Overhead irrigation
Trickle or drip irrigation
Sub-surface irrigation and plastic mulch

1. Surface Irrigation:
Surface irrigation is the least complex form of irrigation. No attempt is made to stop fields from naturally flooding and this is only suitable in situations where the crop is of little value, or where the field will be used only for grazing or even recreation. This method is totally dependent upon a suitable water source. In border irrigation the field is not entirely enclosed by a dyke but it is watered from one end and allowed to drain from the other.

2. Overhead Irrigation:
An overhead irrigation system is like a lawn sprinkler, the basic principle is that water is pumped in under pressure and sprayed onto the plants from flat spray nozzles. Overhead systems are particularly useful in covering large areas of land, and some can even be dismantled and moved from field to field with little trouble. Overhead irrigation systems need a plentiful supply of water at a relatively high pressure and they vary greatly in complexity and cost.

3. Trickle or Drip Irrigation:
While surface irrigation methods water the whole surface of the field and overhead irrigation leaves the plants wet, drip irrigation is far more controlled. Water is slowly provided to a specific area, close to the roots of the plant, by a network of drip emitters. Drip irrigation provides water near the base of the plant and leaves the upper foliage dry and less susceptible to fungi. The advantage of using trickle or drip irrigation is control. This method of irrigation is precise and economical.

4. Sub-Surface Irrigation:
Though initially expensive and not suitable for many areas, the economical advantages of drip irrigation can be further increased by placing the irrigation tubing about 5 inches below the surface where the water gets straight to where it's needed - the roots of the plant. Evaporation is reduced to a great extent and there is no opportunity for surface runoff. A plastic mulch is a protective covering of organic material placed around plants to reduce evaporation, prevent the growth of weeds, help protect the roots from frost damage and help to keep fruit off the ground.

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