Effect of Inter Spaces and Emitter Types on the Hydraulic Performance of Drip Irrigation System

This study was conducted at the Demonstration Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum – Shambat, during May 2011 to February 2012, to investigate the effect of inter-space and emitter type on hydraulic performance of drip irrigation system. The farm lies at E and N and 380 m above mean Sea level. Two types of emitters were used, online pressure compensation (Eo) and inline labyrinth (Ei) with two different inter spaces (0.5 and 0.3 m). Factorial design was used to analyze the variation in Discharge (q), Reduction of discharge(R)%, Coefficient Uniformity (CU)%, Emission Uniformity (EU%) and Clogging percentage (Pclog). Analysis of variation showed that there were significant differences (P≤ 0.05) among the measured parameters. Whereas highest values of discharge(q), Coefficient Uniformity (CU)% and Emission Uniformity (EU)% were recorded by Eo. While the highest values of Clogging percentage (Pclog ) and Reduction of discharge (R) were recorded by Ei . The 0.5m emitter inter space showed higher values of Discharge (q), Uniformity of Coefficient(CU)% and Emission Uniformity (EU)% than 0.3m inter space, and at the same time it is showed the lowest values of Reduction of discharge (R)% and Clogging percentage (Pclog). This study concluded that emitter types and inter spaces are important factor in drip irrigation system design. Therefore, should be considered when planning for efficient drip irrigation system. Keywords: Drip irrigation system; Uniformity parameters; Emitter types; Inter-Spaces.