International Journal of Science, Engineering and TechnologyAuthors: Assistant Professor R.Muthu Lakshmi, C.Janaki, R.Anitha, S.Arockiya Anusri, M.Muthumari, A.Prince Joshva
Abstract: Agriculture is increasingly affected by irregular rainfall patterns, prolonged droughts, intense rainfall events, surface runoff, and temporary flooding. Conventional agricultural water-management practices generally address excess water and water scarcity as separate problems, requiring drainage during wet conditions and irrigation during dry conditions. This study proposes an Eco-Adaptive BioRing as a sustainable, decentralized root-zone water management approach designed to address both conditions using a single localized system. The proposed BioRing is positioned around the crop root zone and is designed to facilitate controlled water collection, temporary retention, gradual infiltration, and excess-water drainage. During heavy rainfall, the system is intended to reduce prolonged water accumulation around the crop by directing surplus water through a controlled overflow pathway while allowing a useful portion of the incoming water to infiltrate into the surrounding soil. During dry periods, the retained soil moisture can gradually become available to the crop roots, potentially extending the duration of root-zone moisture availability and reducing unnecessary irrigation demand. The methodology includes sustainable material selection, BioRing fabrication, field installation, soil-moisture monitoring, flood-condition evaluation, drought-condition evaluation, water-balance assessment, and comparison with conventional root-zone management. The proposed approach integrates water conservation, localized infiltration, controlled drainage, and sustainable material utilization within a single agricultural intervention. The system has potential applications in rainfed farming, irrigated agriculture, drought-prone regions, and areas experiencing irregular rainfall and temporary flooding. The proposed Eco-Adaptive BioRing provides a promising low-complexity approach for improving root-zone water regulation and increasing the effective utilization of available agricultural water resources.
