Drip irrigation can be used for tree crops like cocoa, oil palm, cashew, rubber and mango etc. Drip irrigation is a type of irrigation that enables the artificial passing of water to the root zones of plants.
Drip irrigation also known as trickle irrigation is the most efficient type of irrigation in the world. Drip irrigation conserves water, power and energy. For tree crops, drip irrigation can ensure that low volume of water is applied to crops.
Drip irrigation can also enable Fertigation and Chemigation in tree crop farming. With drip irrigation, soluble fertilizers and chemicals like pesticides can be passed to the roots of the trees.
Drip Irrigation Components Used for Tree Crop Farming
The following are the drip irrigation components used for tree crops farming:
LDPE Hose
The Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) hose is the hose laid beside the rows of tree crops when drip irrigation system installation is done.
The LDPE hose serves as the laterals that supplies water to the plants or trees on rows in the farmland.
The LDPE hose is usually black in colour and 1 mm thick. It comes in rolls of 300 metres, 500 metres and 1,000 metres.
The LDPE hose is called drip tube by some people.
Removable Emitters
The removable emitter is device that emits water to the roots of plants or trees. This emitter is removable, it cannot be blocked. If blocked or clogged, you simply remove and unclog.
The removable emitter can be adjusted to emit 2 – 70 litres of water to each tree or plant.
End Plugs
The end plug or end cap is a component of the drip irrigation system that blocks the end of the LDPE hose or the drip tape.
The end plugs stop wastage of water in the drip irrigation system. Without the end clips, the water passing through the LDPE hose waste away.
Connectors
The connector is a drip irrigation system used to connect the LDPE hose and the drip tapes to the submain layflat hose or the submain pipe.
The connectors enable the LDPE hose to receive water from the submain hose. There are two types of connectors namely the PVC connector and the layflat hose connector.
Venturi Injector
The venturi injector or fertigator is an irrigation system used for the injection of soluble fertilizers and chemicals to the drip irrigation system.
The venturi injector enables the process of Fertigation, Chemigation and nutrigation.
Main Pipe or Hose
The main pipe or hose is the hose or pipe that brings water to the drip irrigation system from the source of water.
The source of water can be a well, borehole, river or dam.
How to install drip irrigation system for tree crops
The following steps should be taken to install drip irrigation system for tree crops:
- Buy the drip irrigation system from reputable vendors like Veggie Grow and Veggie Concept. You can contact Veggie Concept on 08025141924.
- Lay the LDPE hose along the rows of your tree crops.
- Use a punch tool to create holes on the layflat hose.
- Gently screw in the layflat connectors into the holes on the layflat hose.
- Connect the drip tapes to the submain layflat hose.
- Connect the layflat hoses to the main hose.
- Connect your pumping machine to the main hose.
- Pump water into the drip irrigation system.
Should you need drip irrigation for tree crops, kindly contact us on 08025141924.
Read our latest article on drip irrigation for cocoa.