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Drip and sprinkler irrigation with sketch

Short answer

Drip irrigation delivers water dropwise through emitters at 1-2 bar near the root zone, suitable for orchards and vegetables, efficiency 85-95%. Sprinkler irrigation pumps water through nozzles spraying like rain, used on undulating/sandy soils, efficiency 65-80%.

Explain the drip and sprinkler methods of irrigation with neat sketches.

Drip irrigation

Water is applied slowly, drop by drop, at or near the root zone through emitters on small tubes at low pressure (about 1-2 bar).

 Source -> Pump -> Filter -> Main line
                        |      |
                     Sub-main  Fertilizer tank
                        |
   ---o---o---o---o---o--- lateral (emitters)
   ---o---o---o---o---o---
        plant rows

Parts: pump, filter (screen/sand), fertilizer injector, main and sub-main pipes, laterals, emitters (drippers), valves, pressure regulator. Use: orchards, vegetables, greenhouse, steep and sandy land. Efficiency 85-95%.

Sprinkler irrigation

Water is pumped through a pipe network to nozzles, which spray it over the crop like rain.

 Source -> Pump -> Main pipe -> Lateral pipe
                                 |  riser
                      \ | /      \ | /
                       sprinkler   sprinkler
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ spray over field ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Types: portable, semi-portable, permanent, rotating-head, perforated pipe, and mobile (raingun, centre pivot). Use: undulating, sandy and light soils, cereals, fodder, vegetables, and where water is scarce. Efficiency 65-80%.

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

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