Design and Evaluation of Drip Irrigation System for Date Palm Plantations in MAUTECH, Yola, Adamawa State, Northeastern Nigeria

Abstract

Irrigation using dripping system is often considered more efficient method in terms of both water application and labour. The research is aimed at design and evaluating the drip irrigation system for the Date Palm Plantations in MAUTECH, Yola, Adamawa State, Northeastern Nigeria. The drip irrigation system was designed using locally available materials, installed and tested on an area of 400 m by 100 m dimensions in the research area. The result of the elevation survey using ProMark3 GPS System shows that the elevation across the research area gives a slope of 0.02% which moderately gives water flows by gravity through the pipes to the date palms. The particle size analysis result shows that the soil on the research area ranges from sand to sandy loam, this type of soil is suitable for the Date Palms. The result of the infiltration rate was estimated to be 208.27 mm/hr. The discharge of the dripper was estimated as 2.265 l/s through the velocity of 1.82 m/s under the pressure head of 8.02 m. The water application uniformity was found to be above 90% which describes that the drip irrigation system was designed on proper scale and dimensions. The performance evaluation of the drip irrigation system was carried out in the field after design process and the result shows that the emitters are discharging water effectively to the date palm plantations. However, some linkage problems were observed along the lateral pipes and were fixed to avoid water wastages.