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Origins of irrigation -

Choga Mami, a Samarran settlement site in Eastern Iraq, has vestiges of what's believed to be the first irrigation canal in history, in operation in about 6000 BCE.

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Indus Valley civilization -

Around 4500 BCE, the Indus Valley civilization, which flourished in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent, developed sophisticated methods of irrigation to manipulate water across the area's vast alluvial plains.

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Pre-Columbian America -

Halfway around the world in pre-Columbian America, canal irrigation was established as a method of irrigating terrace crops: in the Zana Valley of the Andes Mountains in Peru, there is evidence of some of the earliest examples of canal irrigation in the New World, dating back to at least 4000 BCE.

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Ancient Egypt -

The ancient Egyptians were among the first to irrigate crops, using water from the Nile River to inundate land plots that had been surrounded by levees.

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The shadoof -

From about 3000 BCE, both the Egyptians and Mesopotamians employed the use of the shadoof, an irrigation device that collected water from a water source and lifted it onto land or into another waterway or basin. The shadoof is still used today.

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The sakia -

Between the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE, the ancient Nubians devised the sakia, a mechanical  lifting device that used buckets, jars, or scoops fastened either directly to a vertical wheel or to an endless belt activated by such a wheel and usually driven by oxen.

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Roman aqueducts - Aqueducts were the great waterways of ancient Rome. While some of the aqueducts were fed by surface water, most of them were supplied by springs, usually augmented by tunneling to increase the flow of groundwater. Pictured is the Roman aqueduct at Pont del Diable in Tarragona, Spain.

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Freshwater channels -

The Romans were accomplished hydraulic engineers. Gravity and the natural slope of the land allowed aqueducts to channel water from a freshwater source to a city. Along the way, the water was used for drinking, irrigation, and to supply hundreds of public fountains and baths. Pictured is the magnificent aqueduct in Segovia, also in Spain.

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Earliest dam -

The oldest known dam in the world is the Jawa Dam in what is now Jordan. Remains of the structure, built in about 3000 BCE to store water to use for irrigation, or watering crops, are found in the Black Desert.

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Irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa -

Irrigation reached sub-Saharan Africa in the 2nd millennium BCE. The cultures and civilizations of the Niger River region based their methods on wet-season flooding and water harvesting.

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Chain pumps -

Ximen Bao is credited as the first hydraulic engineer in China to create a large canal irrigation system, in the 5th century BCE. Three hundred years later, the Chinese were using chain pumps that lifted water from a lower elevation to a higher one.

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Earliest irrigation canals in North America -

In North America, the Hohokam culture relied on irrigation canals to water their crops, and their irrigation systems supported the largest population in the Southwest by 1300 CE. A hiking trail leading to Indian Mesa within the Lake Pleasant Regional Park in Arizona is located on a portion of a canal that the Hohokam built in 700 CE. The canal is now filled with soil.

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Norias of Hama -

The noria, or scoop wheel, is a traditional water-raising device used in the Middle East, India, and Spain. Similar in function to the previously mentioned sakia, the most famous examples are the 17 Norias of Hama, in Syria. Medieval in origin, these historic water wheels were largely spared damage during the civil war that began in 2011.

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Water meadows -

Throughout the Middle Ages, barley and wheat were the most important crops in most European regions; oats and rye were also grown, along with a variety of vegetables and fruits. To irrigate these staples, water meadows were created, which also improved productivity and provided a fresh water source for livestock.

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Canal network -

The Industrial Revolution witnessed the expansion in Great Britain of the canal network. Serving as a means of transport for barges and narrowboats, these canals also provided an overflow of water in any one region to a place where it was required for agricultural use.

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Watermills -

By the 1800s, watermills were a common sight along Europe's waterways. Harnessing an early form of hydropower, these structures used a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Goods produced this way included flour, lumber, paper, and textiles. Watermills, in fact, also marked the automation of irrigation systems.

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Irrigating the American West -

As settlers from the East rode into the American West to mine, farm, and ranch, the need for expansive irrigated land rose exponentially.

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Irrigated land in the United States -

Irrigated land in the United States increased from 300,000 acres in 1880 to 4.1 million in 1890, then to 7.3 million in 1900. In the Great Plains, irrigation development began in the late 1800s, starting with projects diverting water from rivers to fields.

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Wind-powered water pump -

Most irrigation in the Great Plains region derived from underground aquifers. By the early 1900s, farmers were using wind-powered water pumps to draw groundwater.

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Center-pivot irrigation -

With the invention of center-pivot irrigation in the early 1940s by Nebraska farmer Frank Zybach, farmers were able to irrigate land using sprinklers that rotated around a water supply to create circular fields of crops. This device enabled the area of irrigated cropland to expand to over 22 million acres in the Great Plains alone, resulting in the region being referred to as America's "bread basket."

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Rivers as sources of irrigation -

Rivers are a vital water source for irrigation. The Colorado River in the US, for example, irrigates more than 4.5 million acres of land. Around 7.1 million acres of land in the Lower Mississippi River Basin is watered by the second-largest waterway in North America. And nearly 8.5 million acres of land in Egypt (3.4% of the total area of the country) is nourished by the world's longest river, the Nile, most of it in the Nile Valley and Delta.

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First lawn sprinkler US patent -

While farmers have used different methods to irrigate fields for hundreds of thousands of years, lawn sprinkler systems are a relatively recent innovation. The first lawn sprinkler US patent was registered in 1871 to a Mr. J. Lessler of Buffalo, New York. It was activated with the help of a gardening hose.

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First rotary lawn sprinkler -

By 1887 the first rotary lawn sprinkler had made its appearance, patented by a Mr. J.H. Smith.

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Lawn sprinkler systems -

Sprinklers helped both homeowners and farmers alike, keeping lawns and fields of crops green, nourished, and healthy.

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Smart irrigation -

The 21st century has seen the advent of smart irrigation. This system takes into account either the weather or soil conditions to define its watering processes.

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Intelligent irrigation -

Also referred to as intelligent irrigation, these systems tailor watering schedules and run times automatically to meet specific landscape needs. It affords farmers the ability to optimize and track water consumption, thus ensuring water isn't wasted or superfluously given away.

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Drone technology in agriculture -

Increasingly, agriculturalists are turning to drone technology to irrigate and manage land. Employing microwave sensing, drones are able to capture very accurate soil health information, including moisture levels, without crops getting in the way.

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Sprinkler drones -

Farmers can deploy sprinkler drones to remotely manage and control their irrigation systems. This revolutionary irrigation practice helps farmers reduce costs, increase crop yields and, most importantly, conserve water.

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Precious commodity -

Modern irrigation systems use reservoirs, tanks, and wells to supply water for crops. Today, an estimated 18% of the world's cropland is now irrigated, according to National Geographic. But what of the future?

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Risk of freshwater depletion -

Many experts fear that with the ever increasing demand for food, more farmland and more irrigation may be needed. This will very likely deplete aquifers, reducing the amount of freshwater available for drinking and hygiene.

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Sustainable development -

The development of smart irrigation is therefore seen as vital in sustaining water levels before this most precious of Earth's commodities runs dry.

Sources: (National Geographic) (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) (United States Department of Agriculture) (Challenger Irrigation) (Croptracker)

See also: Tips to reduce water usage

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