Technical and Economic Feasibility of Solar Pump Irrigations for Eco-friendly Environment

This paper presents the technical and economic suitability of solar pump irrigations of rice and no-rice crops. Four submersible solar pumps (1050 Wp) were installed in different locations of Bangladesh for irrigating rice, wheat and vegetables. The solar pump was used for drip irrigation and furrow irrigation for cultivation of brinjal and tomato during 2010-13. Water savings by drip irrigation over furrow irrigation for brinjal and tomato were 53.25% and 56.16%, respectively. For cultivation of wheat about 430 mm water was required and the yield was 3.00 t/ha. Water required for boro rice cultivation in Magura was 1024 mm and in Barisal it was 1481 mm. Cultivations of solar irrigated wheat (BCR 2.31), tomato (BCR 2.22) and brinjal (BCR 2.34) were economically profitable but boro rice was not economically profitable (BCR 0.31). Diesel engine operated irrigation pump emits carbon dioxide but solar pump is an environment friendly irrigation technology.