To ensure clients fully utilize the benefits of drip irrigation, contractors may want to tell clients how often to run the system and how much water they should apply.
To ensure clients fully utilize the benefits of drip irrigation, contractors may want to tell clients how often to run the system and how much water they should apply.
For most plant varieties, applications of five to seven days per week are preferable to obtain an optimal soil-moisture level, according to materials provided by Jennifer Waxman-Lloyd, a marketing analyst with Antelco Corp. Longwood, Fla. However, plants with shallow root systems in proportion to their height or in cases of tight soils, such as clay, applications of two to three days per week may be preferable when the plant enters intermediate and mature stages of growth.
Water should be applied at a rate of 0.12 to 0.16 inches per day for most plant varieties. For trees and shrubs, system operators can calculate the irrigation rate by multiplying 0.12 times the tree’s overhead canopy diameter (in feet, the square that number, which equals the total gallon requirements per day. For ground cover and flowerbed areas, the average application rate should be between 0.75 inches and 1.0 inches.