Description of the Process

Frequently Asked Questions

Doesn't Direct Irrigation Cause Roots to Rot?

Direct Irrigation does not cause roots to rot because it does not cause hypoxia. When soil is flooded for a long time, roots of most plants (excluding rice and other swamp plants) suffer from lack of oxygen and eventually die. Ordinary soil has a high biological oxygen demand resulting from the action of bacteria and fungi upon decaying materials. When a soil around root is flooded air can not diffuse through the pores. The bacteria and fungi in the soil consume nearly all of the oxygen, causing plants to die. Only plants that have evolved methods of pumping oxygen to their roots survive in flooded soil.

Direct Irrigation prevents this from happening by maintaining contact between the water in the Water Well ™ and the ambient air. We have used Direct Irrigation successfully even on cactus plants without any root rot whatsoever.

How Does Direct Irrigation Compare with Drip Irrigation?

Direct Irrigation is far more efficient in water use than Drip Irrigation because it does not release the water to the soil. In Drip Irrigation, the soil is still an intermediate between the irrigation system and the plant. Most of the water bypasses the roots and is removed by capillarity from the vicinity of the roots. In addition, Drip Irrigation is beset by major clogging problems as the roots attempt to grow into the tiny emitters. In Direct Irrigation, the root-penetrable membrane permits roots to enter the Water Well ™ without causing any clogging problems, since there is no constriction of access.