Local researchers develop smart watering tube for farms

The two big problems Korean farmers currently suffer from are droughts and labor shortages.To solve the growing difficulties, local developers have come up with an automatic watering tube.Developers say using this tube could reduce labor costs and help use water more effectively.Cho Sung-min reports.This tractor is implanting plastic tubes around forty centimeters beneath the surface of the soil.According to South Korea’s Rural Development Administration, the tubes will save water and make farming easier.The underground tubes directly supply water to the soil whenever it is needed.Farmers can also control how much water should be used each time,... after using a smartphone app to check the ground's moisture content.Developers of the technology say it could simultaneously raise the farm yields and save water, since the tube, sitting right beneath the roots of the crops, is shooting water right at them."Since the method aims at watering the roots directly, it not only can save water for crop irrigation, but also help produce stable crops. It showed a twenty-six percent increase in yields."Participants of the test runs were positive about the results, as the technology is seen as a solution to labor shortages and frequent droughts."It allows me to save water and costs. So it's far better than using a water sprinkler or manually supplying water to the furrow."The RDA says installing the tubes offers more economic upsides than using sprinklers,... since they don't need to be replaced or be inspected regularly.It is currently finding ways to apply this method to gardening and growing fruit.Cho Sung-Min, Arirang News.