Maintenance of drip irrigation system

Maintenance of Drip
Irrigation System
Delivered by,
Er. Ajit M. Kure
M. Tech. (Agricultural Engineering)
Integrated Rural and Agricultural Development
Association (IRADA), Satara (MH)
Online Training on
“Advanced Irrigation and Precision Agriculture”

Integrated Rural and Agricultural Development Association (IRADA), Satara
Need
Advanced Irrigation and Precision Agriculture 2

Schedule of Maintenance
•A} Daily Maintenance
•B} Fortnightly Maintenance
•C} Monthly Maintenance
•D} Half Yearly Maintenance

Daily Maintenance
1. Start the pump and allow
the pressure to become
stable.
• Open the drain valves of
filters.
2. Backwash the sand filter.
• Open the Backwash valve.
• Close the Outlet valve.
• Open the Bypass valve.
• Close the Inlet valve.

3) Operate the by-pass valve of the header assembly to
obtain the desired pressure in the system.
4) Take a round of the entire field and check if there is
leakage.
5) Check drippers for uniformity of discharge.
6) After irrigation is over, check whether the wetting
patterns of the drippers are uniform or not.
7) Also check the wet bulb depth taking auger holes
randomly

8) Check the position of the drippers, if drippers are
misplaced; place them at correct location.
9) Remove the end stops and flush the laterals.
10) Flush the submain at the end of irrigation to
remove the
debris.

B) Fortnightly Maintenance
1) Sand Filter - Pressure Difference
0.5 Kg/ cm sq.
i) Open the lid of sand filter.
ii) Allow the water to come out.
iii) Stir the sand.
iv) Break the lumps.
v) Ensure sand level marked on the
filter.
vi) Allow water to flow till clean water
starts flowing out of opening.
vii) Put the lid back in position tightly.

• Open the lid of screen filter
and take out the filtering
element.
• Remove the rubber seals
from both ends of the filtering
element ; reverse them, clean
with water
• Fix them tightly on the
element again.
• Rinse the element in flowing
water gently with hand and
clean it
• Do not use wired brush, as
it may damage the screen.
2)Screen Filter

Monthly Maintenance
1) Perform acid treatment to remove precipitated salt from
drippers and pipeline network.
2) Perform chlorine treatment to remove bacterial slime,
algae or other biological contamination.
3) Inspect all the component above ground for physical
abuse, damage by field machinery, rats,squirrels etc.
• Do not perform both acid and chlorine treatment
simultaneously

Half Yearly Maintenance
1) Change the sand of the media filter with new
one
2) Check out the system for wear and tear,
replace the spares whenever necessary.
3) Provide adequate lubrication to the pump
and motor.

General Maintenance Tips
1) Check whether all components of the drip irrigation system are
installed properly and are working efficiently.
2) At least one outlet of the dripline shall be facing upwards.
3) Check the pressure difference between inlet and outlet of filter.
4) Open the sectional valves of the section/s
5) The mud or cow dung so used should be thrown out of the
system using the bypass valve.

7) If sand and screen filters are cleaned regularly, efficiency improve
8) Half of the filter is always filled with sand up to the level marked on
the filter.
9) Observe the wetting patterns of the drippers of Inline.
10)Operate the system daily for about 10-15 minutes.
11) If found lateral cut, use polyjoiner.
12) Place bowls full of water in different locations in the field.
13) Protect the system from rats

Special Precaution
1) Dripline should be laid straight and exactly in the centre of the two
crop rows.
2) For dripline system a sand filter is essentially required
3) An air-cum-vacuum release valve should be installed
4) The dripper discharge is observed to be low, then hammer the
dripper gently with hands.
5) Install the dripline tubes in the field in the morning hours or in the
evening

6)At least one outlet of the dripline shall be facing upwards.
7) Dripline should be run continuously for 24 - 48 hours to ensure
sufficient moisture for germination.
8)If the dripline is run daily, the rat menace can be considerably reduced.
9)Dripline system should not be kept off for a long duration.
10)Chemical treatment before taking dripline out.
11)During harvesting, tractor or bullock cart should not be taken in the
field.

12)The labour should be made well aware of the Inline laid in the
field.
13)As far as possible do not burn the sugarcane trash.
14)It is always safer to burn the sugarcane trash out of the field.
15)After burning the trash, the Inline should be taken out carefully
if ratoon crop is not to be taken.
16)Regular acid treatment is necessary.
17)Ensure proper chlorination

Chemical Treatments
A.TRIFLORALIN TREATMENT
•To avoid root intrusion, inject Trifloralin 0.125ml per
dripper 3 weeks after 1st irrigation and
• Give 2nd treatment two weeks before harvesting.
• Inject the Trifloralin for short period of 5-10 minutes
only.
• Allow the irrigation after 24 hours of the treatment.
B. ACID TREATMENT:
• For removing deposited salt , inject acid through venturi
and ensure pH 4 at the last dripper.

• CHLORINE TREATMENT:
• Chlorine injection is required after 75 days after planting. And
next treatment is required 250 days after planting.
• It is recommended to give 10 ppm to 20 ppm concentration
at dripper end. And flush the system after 2 hour of the
treatment.
• If root has already occurred , inject Chlorine at higher
concentration of 20 ppm at dripper point.
• Then inject Hydrogen Peroxide at the rate of 0.05 ml per
dripper after 2 days of Chlorine Treatment.
• Flush the system with higher pressure to get removal of
intruded root mass.

Troubleshooting
• Problem- Too low pressure at the pump outlet
Remedies:
• Check the suction screen and clean from dirt.
• Check the volute and impeller of the pump and
clean from dirt.
• Check for pipe breakage especially the main
line.
• Check and ensure that the number of blocks
under irrigation does not exceed the number
specified in the designs.

•Problem-Too low pressure at the main
filter outlet
Remedies:
If the pressure at the filter inlet is as
specified in the designs and the pressure
at the outlet is low, then cleaning of filters
is required.

•Problem-Too low pressure at the block inlet
Remedies:
•Check for pipe breakage in the system and
rectify.
•Check for open laterals at the block level
and close them.
•Check for number of blocks in operation and
do not exceed design number.

•Problem-Too low pressure in the laterals
Remedies:
•Check block filter and clean.
•Check for open laterals and close.
•Check block inlet pressure; if low follow
earlier recommendations.

• Problem-Too high pressure at the filter outlet
Remedies:
• Check number of blocks under irrigation.
• It could be that less blocks than the
recommended number are in operation.
• Check filter for ruptures and rectify.
• Problem- Too high pressure at the block inlet
• Remedies: Check the number of blocks in
operation and rectify.

• Problem- Lack of knowledge on the time required fo
the fertilizer to exit the system
Remedies:
• Using an electrical conductivity (EC) bridge, measure
the EC of the water. Proceed with injection of fertilizer
solution at a specified pressure differential.
• Measure the EC at the outlet of the furthest emitter of a
block. The EC will increase and then decrease to the
level measured before connecting the injector.
• The time taken for the injected solution to reach the EC
of the water is recorded and used in the future with the
same pressure differential.

• Problem-Clogged emitters
Remedies
• Flush the manifold and
laterals one at a time until
clean water comes out.
• Chlorinate.
• Use acids.

• Problem-Flow rate after the main filters has declining over
the past few months
Remedies
• Gradual clogging of emitters. Use chlorine and/or acids.
• Regularly flush manifold and laterals.

• Problem -Leaking laterals
Remedies:
• Cut the leaking portion and
connect the two ends with a
connector.
• Problem -Leaking grommet
Remedies:
• Excavate soil around the
manifold. Identify leaking
grommet and replace the rabble
ring and the grommet, if needed.

Thank You.....

Maintenance of drip irrigation system

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Maintenance of drip irrigation system

Similar to Maintenance of drip irrigation system (20)

More from IRADA Foundation

More from IRADA Foundation (13)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Maintenance of drip irrigation system