[Reproduced from the journal Irrigazette, no. 54, September-October 1999, published by EURL, Aix-en-Provence, France]

Low volume irrigation has become increasingly important and inline emitters have a major share of the market. The techniques have evolved and excellent results have been obtained.

Drip systems now account for 30% of all equipment installed, and a large share of this is underground, given the serious problems of vandalism when the system is visible.

The installation techniques are slightly different compared to agriculture and require additional technical equipment. Programming must also be studied with varied schedules. With underground systems, several cycles should be run every day to avoid excessive percolation and they should be programmed to last approximately 10 minutes each to encourage wide application rather than deep application.

Sensors and battery-powered controllers can be highly effective, especially in areas without electricity or those located inside building, shopping centres, hotels and patios, for example.

The best specifications for drip systems include trees, bushes and hedges which have already been planted or which are planned, but satisfactory results are not yet obtainable for lawns, for which sprinkler irrigation is the preferred solution.

Choosing quality material

The certification of irrigation equipment does not exist, but it is possible to employ certain precautions in selecting a product well adapted to operating conditions:

• Buy products from well-known irrigation companies.
• Do not hesitate to pay a fair price. Unreasonable discounts can sometimes lead to undesired surprises.
• Ask the suppliers for information guaranteeing the quality of the equipment. Certain product test results can be provided by the manufacturers to inform you about the product features. These tests deal with the uniformity of the manufacturing process or the coefficient of manufacturing variability, flow rate, pressure loss, and the emitter’s resistance to physical clogging.