Water Application Uniformity by Low Head Drip Irrigation Systems

Water application uniformity (EU) is an important performance criterion that must be considered in the design, operation and management of irrigation systems for increasing agricultural productivity. Previous studies on drip irrigation had noted that some portions along systems laterals receive more, little or no water discharges leading to poor crop yields. The smallholder farmers who have adopted the use of low head/cost drip irrigation systems are addressing this problem by supplementing the watering using hose or bucket irrigation thus reducing the gains in uniform distribution of scarce water and root zone applications which are important attributes of drip irrigation. Some previous studies had recommended further research to be done to address this problem in order to enhance agricultural productivity and hence the need to assess the water application uniformity performance of low head/cost drip irrigation system configurations widely adopted by small scale farmers alongside low cost greenhouse farming technology.