SPRANG DRIP

INTRODUCTION

Trickle Drip irrigation, also known as trickle irrigation, is an irrigation method that saves water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either onto the soil surface or directly onto the root zone, through a network of valves, pipes, tubing, and emitters. It is done through narrow tubes that deliver water directly to the base of the plant.

The advantages of drip irrigation are:

• Fertilizer and nutrient loss is minimized due to localized application and reduced leaching.
• Water application efficiency is high if managed correctly
• Field leveling is not necessary.
• Fields with irregular shapes are easily accommodated.
• Recycled non-potable water can be safely used.
• Moisture within the root zone can be maintained at field capacity.
• Soil type plays less important role in frequency of irrigation.
• Soil erosion is lessened.
• Weed growth is lessened.
• Water distribution is highly uniform, controlled by output of each nozzle.
• Labor cost is less than other irrigation methods.
• Variation in supply can be regulated by regulating the valves and drippers.
• Fustigation can easily be included with minimal waste of fertilizers.
• Foliage remains dry, reducing the risk of disease.
• Usually operated at lower pressure than other types of pressurized irrigation, reducing energy costs.

The disadvantages of drip irrigation are:

• Initial cost can be more than overhead systems.
• The sun can affect the tubes used for drip irrigation, shortening their usable life.
• If the water is not properly filtered and the equipment not properly maintained, it can result in clogging.
• For subsurface drip the irrigator cannot see the water that is applied. This may lead to the farmer either applying too much water (low efficiency) or an insufficient amount of water; this is particularly common for those with less experience with drip irrigation.
• Drip irrigation might be unsatisfactory if herbicides or top dressed fertilizers need sprinkler irrigation for activation.
• Drip tape causes extra cleanup costs after harvest. Users need to plan for drip tape winding, disposal, recycling or reuse.
• Waste of water, time and harvest, if not installed properly. These systems require careful study of all the relevant factors like land topography, soil, water, crop and agro-climatic conditions, and suitability of drip irrigation system and its components.
• In lighter soils subsurface drip may be unable to wet the soil surface for germination. Requires careful consideration of the installation depth.
• The main purpose of drip irrigation is to reduce the water consumption by reducing the leaching factor. However when the available water is of high salinity or alkalinity, the field soil becomes gradually unsuitable for cultivation due to high salinity or poor infiltration of the soil. Thus drip irrigation converts fields in to fallow lands when natural leaching by rain water is not adequate in semi arid and arid regions.
• Most drip systems are designed for high efficiency, meaning little or no leaching fraction. Without sufficient leaching, salts applied with the irrigation water may build up in the root zone, usually at the edge of the wetting pattern. On the other hand, drip irrigation avoids the high capillary potential of traditional surface-applied irrigation, which can draw salt deposits up from deposits below.
• The PVC pipes often suffer from rodent damage, requiring replacement of the entire tube and increasing expenses.
• Drip irrigation systems cannot be used for damage control by night frosts (like in the case of sprinkler irrigation systems)

Uses

Drip irrigation is used in farms, commercial greenhouses, and residential gardeners. Drip irrigation is adopted extensively in areas of acute water scarcity and especially for crops and trees such as coconuts, containerized landscape trees, grapes, bananas, ber, eggplant, citrus fruits, strawberries, sugarcane, cotton, maize, and tomatoes.

Drip irrigation for garden available in drip kits are increasingly popular for the homeowners and consist of a timer, hose and emitter. Hoses that are 4 mm in diameter are used to irrigate flower pots.