*11.1.4 Water and fertilizer integration technology*

Optimizing water efficiency during irrigation is the goal of cotton water-saving irrigation technology. The most popular water-saving irrigation system that combines surface drip irrigation and plastic film mulching is drip irrigation under plastic mulching, which is extensively utilized in the northwest inland region. It supplies water via a low-pressure pipeline system, filters the pressurized water using filter facilities, and dissolves the fertilizer in water to create an aqueous solution. To keep the concentrated cotton root regions at the proper moisture content for the incorporation of water and fertilizer, this solution permeates them uniformly. The average water consumption for sprinkler irrigation is 50%, compared to 12% for traditional irrigation. The amount of fertilizer needed is lowered by 15–20%.
