Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of
agricultural crops, maintenance of
landscapes, and
revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall. Additionally, irrigation also has a few other uses in crop production, which include protecting plants against frost,
suppressing weed growing in grain fields and helping in preventing
soil consolidation.
In contrast,
agriculture that relies only on direct rainfall is referred to as rain-fed or
dryland farming. Irrigation systems are also used for
dust suppression, disposal of
sewage, and in
mining. Irrigation is often studied together with
drainage, which is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given area.