Many people know that drip tapes are indispensable components in drip irrigation technology, but do you know how to lay them out in water-saving irrigation? Drip Tapes? What are the tips and tricks for choosing the right ones? This article will help you understand.
When laying out flat drip tapes, ensure that the labyrinth side faces up(i.e., the embossed protruding side faces up) and lay them flat under the membrane. Do not lay them upside down or twisted.
When laying out flat drip tapes mechanically, make sure that pulleys and rotating mechanisms are equipped with bearings to ensure flexible rotation of the pulleys, preventing the drip tapes from twisting and deforming the labyrinth, which can affect the water flow rate.
After the system is installed, promptly supply water to the drip system to prevent UV exposure from accelerating the aging of the pipes and drip tapes.
Carefully read the usage instructions for each component during installation and connect each part correctly.
Once the main and secondary pipes are installed in the field, do not allow agricultural machinery or tools to crush or scrape the pipes to avoid external damage that could reduce their lifespan.
After installing the drip irrigation equipment, assign a dedicated person to manage it, and strictly forbid unauthorized disassembly, installation, or valve operation.
The field for installing drip tapes must be well-prepared and free of residues. Residues, stones, and weeds can easily puncture the drip tapes and lift the film, causing water vapor to accumulate under the film and form a lens effect.
When laying out, you can shallowly bury the drip tapes to avoid focal point burns. Alternatively, you can cover the drip tapes or film with a layer of soil about 1mm thick to destroy the lens effect and prevent burns.
During irrigation, strictly follow the irrigation schedule according to the rotation group. Otherwise, the water output may be uneven, or the pump may not work optimally, leading to energy waste and failing to achieve water, electricity, fertilizer savings, and labor efficiency goals.
First, when selecting drip tapes, first check the qualification certificate and the specification model label of the drip tape.
Second, High-quality drip tapes have the following features: black color that is even and consistent; smooth and flat surface without bubbles, hanging material lines, hardened blocks, or impurities; a well-formed labyrinth channel without deformation.
Third, when selecting drip tapes, pay attention to the following parameters: general dripper flow rate 1.8-3.0L/h, dripper spacing 300-400mm, labyrinth drip tape flow index 0.5-0.6 (the smaller, the better), and the flow uniformity coefficient (CV) less than 5%.
Fourth, in addition to meeting the above standards, choose drip tapes with a serrated structure, good tensile strength, and excellent anti-aging performance.
Inferior drip tapes frequently exhibit issues such as uneven flow, splitting, and bursting during use. They generally have insufficient tensile strength, leading to easy breakage during sowing and laying, which affects sowing speed, increases labor, and installation costs; they are prone to aging, cracking or bursting during use, causing uneven irrigation and fertilization; reducing yield, with cotton alone potentially losing more than 20kg of seed cotton per acre due to uneven water and fertilizer distribution; operating at low pressure, significantly reducing the irrigation uniformity of the entire system and failing to maximize the advantages of drip irrigation, causing low pump operation efficiency and additional costs.
Only by understanding relevant knowledge about drip tapes can we avoid mistakes in selection and choose the right drip tape.