DRIP IRRIGATION

Submitted By: Geetanjali Behera

Department of Civil Engineering
Regd. No.: 1421310006
INTRODUCTION

 Irrigation may be defined as the process of supplying water to

land by artificial means for the purpose of cultivation. Ordinarily
water is supplied to land by nature through rain but generally it is
not enough for the proper growth of plants. As such as the basic
objective of irrigation is to supplement the natural supply of water
to land so as to obtain the an optimum yield from the crop grown
on the land.
 In order to achieve this objective of irrigation, an irrigation system
is required to developed, which involves planning, designing,
construction, operation and maintenance of various irrigation
works via, a source of water supply, a distribution system for
carrying water from the source to the agricultural land and its
application on the land, and various other associated works. The
factors which necessitate irrigation are:
INTRODUCTION
 Inadequate rainfall
 Uneven distribution of rainfall
 Growing a number of crops during a year
 Growing superior crops
METHODS OF IRRIGATION
 Irrigation methods are commonly designated according to the
manner in which water is applied to the land to be irrigated
 Surface Irrigation Methods
 The water is applied by spreading in it sheets or small streams on the
land to be irrigated. These methods are adopted for perennial
irrigation system
 Sprinkler Irrigation Methods
 The irrigation water is applied to the land in the form of spray,
somewhat as in ordinary rain. It can be used for all the crops except
rice and jute and for almost all soils except very heavy soils with very
low filtration rates
 Sub-Surface Irrigation Methods
 The water is applied below the ground surface so that it is supplied
directly to the root zone of the plants.
DRIP OR TRICKLE IRRIGATION METHOD
 Drip irrigation, also known as trickle irrigation or micro
irrigation is one of the sub-surface irrigation method of
applying water or frequent application of water to crops
through small emitters in the vicinity of the root zone,
wetting a limited amount of surface area and depth of soil.
NEED OF DRIP IRRIGATION
 Drip irrigation can help you use water efficiently. A well-
designed drip irrigation system loses practically no water to
runoff, deep percolation, or evaporation. Drip irrigation
reduces water contact with crop leaves, stems, and fruit.
Thus conditions may be less favorable for the onset of
diseases. Irrigation scheduling can be managed precisely to
meet crop demands, holding the promise of increased yield
and quality. Growers and irrigation professionals often refer
to "subsurface drip irrigation, "or [Link] a drip tape or
tube is buried below the soil surface, it is less vulnerable to
damage during cultivation or weeding.
COMPONENTS AND WORKING
 In drip irrigation, also known as trickle irrigation, water is
applied in the form of drops directly near the base of the
plant. Water is conveyed through a system of flexible
pipelines, operating at low pressure, and is applied to the
plants through drip nozzles. This technique is also known as
‘feeding bottle’ technique where by the soil is maintained in
the most congenital form by keeping the soil-water-air
proportions in the optimum range.
The main components of a typical drip
irrigation system are
 Water Source
 Pumping System
 Distribution System
 Drip Tape ( Drip Tube)
 Injectors
 Filtration System
WATER SOURCE
 Common water sources for drip irrigation are surface water
(pond, river, and creek), groundwater, and potable water
(from municipality, county or utility company). Use the
water source that will provide the largest amount of water of
greatest quality and lowest cost.
PUMPING SYSTEM
 The role of the pumping system is to move water from the
water source to the field through the distribution system.
Pumping systems may be classified as electric powered
systems, gas/diesel powered systems, and gravity systems.
Gas/diesel pumps offer the greatest versatility in isolated
fields
DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
 The role of the distribution system is to convey the water
from the source to the field. Distribution systems may be
above ground (easily movable) or underground (less likely to
be damaged).
 Pipes are most commonly made of PVC or polyethylene
[Link] pipes are also available, but are more
difficult to customize, cut, and [Link] size and shape of
the distribution system may vary widely from field to field
and from farm to farm.
DRIP TAPE (OR DRIP TUBE)
 The drip-irrigation system delivers water to each plant
through a thin polyethylene tape (or tube) with regularly
spaced small holes (called emitters). Selection of drip tape
should be based on emitter spacing and flow rate. The typical
emitter spacing for vegetables is 12 inches, but 8 inches or 4
inches may be acceptable. Dry sections of soil may develop
between consecutive emitters when a wider emitter spacing
(18 inches) is used on sandy soils.
INJECTORS
 Injectors allow the introduction of fertilizer, chemicals and
maintenance products into the irrigation system. Florida law
requires the use of an anti-siphoning device (also called
backflow-prevention device) when fertilizer, chemicals or
any other products are injected into a drip-irrigation
[Link]-prevention devices ensure the water always
moves from the water source to the field. The devices
prevent chemicals in the water from polluting the water
source.
FILTRATION SYSTEM
 Because drip-irrigation water must pass through the
emitters, the size of the particles in the water must be
smaller than the size of the emitter to prevent clogging.
Nearly all manufacturers of drip-irrigation equipment
recommend that filters be used. The filtration system
removes "large" solid particles in suspension in the water.
Different types of filters are used based on the type of
particles in the water.
DESIGN AND LAYOUT
 HOLTICULTURAL CONSIDERATIONS
 The goal of drip irrigation is to bring water to the crop. The
main parameters that determine crop water use are the type of
crop planted and row spacing. A drip irrigation system should
be able to supply 110% - 120% of crop water needs. In other
words, the system should be slightly oversized
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
 Start with what is already available, the water source or the
field. If a water source is already available (pond or well), the
amount of water available may be used to calculate the
maximum size of each irrigation zone.
 If no water source is available, the amount of water needed
by the crop, based on the size of the planted area, may be
used to calculate the type of well or pond size needed
LAY OUT OF BEDS AND ROWS
 Because differences in altitudes affect water pressure, it is preferable to
lay out beds perpendicular to the slope. This arrangement of rows is
called "contour farming”.

 Excessive water velocities (>5 feet/second) in the lines, the result of a

too-small diameter are likely to create a water hammer (pressure wave),
which can damage the delivery lines. Growers should be aware of the
maximum acreage that can be
 irrigated with different pipe sizes at a water velocity of 5 feet/second.
SYSTEM CONTROLS
 System controls are devices that allow the user to monitor
how the drip-irrigation system performs. These controls help
ensure the desired amount ofwater is applied to the crop
throughout the growing [Link] different devices used for
the control are:
 Pressure Regulators
 Water Meters
 Pressure Gauges
 Soil moisture Measuring Devices
 Electrical Timers
PRESSURE REGULATORS
 Pressure regulators,installed in-line with the system, regulate
water pressure at a given water flow there by helping to
protect system components against damaging surges in water
pressure.
WATER METERS
 Water meters monitor and record the amount of water
moving through a pipe where the water meter is installed.
When a stopwatch is used together with a water meter, it is
possible to determine the water flow in the system in terms
of gallons-per-minute.
PRESSURE GAUGES
 Pressure gauges monitor water pressure in the system and
ensure operating pressure remains close to the recommended
or benchmark values. Based on where the pressure gauge is
installed, it will measure water pressure in a various ranges,
from 0-100 psi near the pump to 0-20 psi at the end of drip
[Link] gauges may be installed at set points (near the
pump, before and after the filter, near the [Link] can also
be mounted as portable devices and installed temporarily at
the end.
SOIL MOISTURE MEASURING DEVICES
 Soil-moisture-measuring devices (such as tensiometers,
capacitance probes or Time Domain Reflectometry probes)
are used to measure soil moisture in the root zone of the
crop.
ELECTRICAL TIMERS
 Electrical timers connected to solenoid valves may be used
to automatically operate a drip-irrigation system at pre-set
starting and ending operating times of day.
SYSTEM MAINTENENCE
 The goal of drip-irrigation maintenance is to preserve the
high uniformity of water application allowed by drip
irrigation. A successful program of maintenance for a drip-
irrigation system is based on the prevention-is-the-best-
medicine approach.
 It is easier to prevent a drip tape from clogging than
to"unclog" it or replace it
WATER SAMPLING
 An essential part of drip-irrigation management is
determining water quality through water testing. Water
testing will help determine water chemical composition, pH,
and [Link] parameters have direct implications on
chlorination, acidification and filtration needs for irrigation
water.
THE PREVENTION IS THE BEST
MEDICINE MAINTENANCE PROGRAM
 This maintenance program is based on filtration,
chlorination/acidification, flushing and observation.
WATCH FOR LEAKS
 Leaks can occur unexpectedly as a result of damage by
insects, animals, or farming tools. Systematically monitor the
lines for physical damage. It is important to fix holes as soon
as possible to prevent uneven irrigation.
CHLORINE CLEARS CLOGGED
EMITTERS
 If the rate of water flow progressively declines during the
season, the tubes or tape may be slowly plugging, resulting in
severe damage to the crop. In addition to maintaining the
filtering stations, regular flushing of the drip tube and
application of chlorine through the drip tube will help
minimize clogs.
CHEMIGATION
 Manage irrigation and fertilization together to optimize
efficiency. Chemigation through drip systems efficiently
delivers chemicals in the root zone of the receiving plants.
Because of the precision of application, chemigation can be
safer and use less material.
FERTILIZATION
 Soil microorganisms convert nitrogen (N) fertilizers to
nitrate. Nitrate is water soluble, available to plants, and
subject to leaching [Link] can be injected through the
drip system. Fertilizer usually is introduced into the
irrigation system in front of the filter station so the filters can
remove any precipitates that occur in the solution Fertilizers
containing sulfate, phosphate, calcium, or anhydrous or aqua
ammonium can lead to solid chemical precipitation inside the
drip lines, which can block emitters.
PLACEMENT OF TAPE
 The drip tape must be close enough to the surface to
germinate the seed if necessary, or a portable sprinkler
system should be available. For example, a tape tube 4 to 5
inches deep has successfully germinated onion seeds in silt
loam [Link] at 12 inches failed to uniformly germinate
onions
TIMING AND RATES
 The total irrigation water requirements for crops grown with
a drip system is greatly reduced compared to a surface flood
system because water can be applied much more efficiently
with drip irrigation.
STANDARD MAINTENANCE
 Add chlorine or other chemicals to the drip line periodically
to kill bacteria and algae. Acid might also be needed to
dissolve calcium carbonates. Filters must be managed and
changed as needed.
ADVANTAGES OF DRIP IRRIGATION
 ADVANTAGES
 Reduced water use
 Joint management of irrigation and Fertilization
 Reduced pest problems
 Simplicity
 Low pumping needs
 Automation
 Adaptation
 Production advantages
DISADVANTAGES OF DRIP IRRIGATION
 DISA
 Drip irrigation requires an economic Investment
 Drip irrigation requires maintenance and high-
quality water
 Water-application pattern must match planting
pattern
 Safety
 Leak repair
 Drip-tape disposal causes extra cleanup costs after
harvest
APPLICATIONS OF DRIP IRRIGATION
 Drip irrigation is used by farms, commercial greenhouses
and residential gardeners.
CONCLUSIONS
 Drip irrigation is a latest sub-surface methods of irrigating
water with higher water demands in arid [Link] may not
be applicable to all [Link], when properly designed,
installed and managed, drip irrigation may help achieve water
conservation by reducing evaporation and deep drainage
when compared to other types of irrigation such as flood or
overhead sprinklers since water can be more precisely
applied to the plant [Link] addition, drip can eliminate
many diseases that are spread through water contact with the
[Link] also results reduced energy costs.