The development of smart irrigation is helping to save water worldwide. A system that controls and schedules irrigation times after monitoring the weather and soil conditions, smart irrigation helps farmers reduce costs, increase crop yields and, most importantly, conserve one of Earth's most precious commodities. We've been irrigating soil for millennia, and today an estimated 18% of the world's cropland is now irrigated. But experts fear that as world demand for more food increases, the need for irrigation will rise to unsustainable levels. So, is smart irrigation really the solution?
Click through for a historic timeline of irrigation methods and the role new technology is playing in the 21st century.