Irrigation Terms, Simplified and Defined
Below I will explain common irrigation terms in a practical and easy to understand language. Whether you are a first time user of drip irrigation, or an experienced farmer, you may be looking for more information on some of these drip irrigation components.
Terms Defined:
GPM: Gallons Per Minute
Pressure: Unit of measure of force applied inside of pipe.
Working Pressure: Pressure measurement at what a pipe can handle for extended lengths of time.
Head: Unit of measure of equal to the difference in elevation.
Primed: Term used to say that pump is full of water.
Main Line: Pipe that carries 100% of the water before it is subdivided into submain.
Sub Main: After the main line that feeds the laterals.
Laterals: Drip tape or drip hose.
Max pressure: Most pressure hose can take for a short period of time.
Pressure Compensating: Emitters compensate for differences in pressure always putting the same amount of water. Most Drip tubing and emitters are PC.
Spray Stake: Spike that is placed beside a plant or in a pot to spray right at the plant.
Slip: Term in PVC fittings meaning that it can be glued on outside.
Socket: Term in PVC fittings that it can be glued on inside.
Insert: Barbed fittings that a clamp is slid over to connect layflat, and flatube.
Male: Threaded on outside.
Female: Threaded on inside.
IPT: Standard threads in the US.
HT: Hose thread. Same threads as garden hose.
Compression: Way to hold pipes together by friction.
PPM: {Part per Million} Term used to measure amount of fertilizer.
Venture: Creates a vacuum in a line to create suction to add fertilizer into a system.
Fertilizer: {N P K} Nitrogen- Phosphorous- Pot Ash.
Proportional: This refers to fertilizer injectors that adjust the amount of fertilizer to the amount of flow. This keeps the ratio of water to fertilizer the same.
Parts and Components:
Emitters: Devices that are either built
Drip Tape: Flat tubing with built in emitters evenly spaced. Mainly used for vegetable crops.
Drip Tubing: Round tubing with built in emitters evenly spaced. Usually used for perennial crops like vineyards.
Poly: Round tubing with no holes made of low density polethine. Usually used where people want to add emitters.
Flat tube —-Oval Hose: Same as Poly but larger. It has been flattened to make shipping possible. Usually used as sub main for drip tubing. Pressure rated at 21 psi.
Lay flat: Blue material similar to fire hose. Used to take water from pond to field. Pressure rated above 50 PSI
Ground Cover: Black cover used to cover ground to keep weeds away.
Plastic Mulch: Cover put on beds to keep weds.
Victaulic “Grooved”: A method that joins 2 pieces of pipe together with a metal band.
Flow rate: How fast the water is moving. Measured in Feet Per Second.
Flow Meter: Measures amount of water that has traveled through the pipe.
Air vent: Allows air in and out of the lines. This allows for drainage and expelling excess air.
Gate Valve: Valve that slides up and down. Advantage because it closes slow. Disadvantage is that you cannot see if it is closed or open.
Ball Valve: Opens and closes quickly. You can see how much it is open or closed.
Butter Fly valve: Most similar to ball valve.
Check Valve: Only allow water to travel one direction.
Foot Valve: Placed on end of suction to keep pump primed.
Screen Filter: Filter that uses a screen to clean water. Screens can be deferent sizes measured in mesh or micron. Used primarily in wells.
Sand Filter {Media Filters}: Filter that uses sand to clean water. Only choice for surface water.
Disk Filter: Filter that uses plates staked on top of each other to filter water. No good use.
Pressure Regulator: Devices used to regulate how much pressure is on the pipe on the downstream.
Tensiometer {Irrometer) : Measures amount of moisture in the soil.
Row Cover, Frost Blankets (Atmore, Typar, Remay): These are blankets that you cover the fields with to get more growth and keep frost from damaging. Very popular with strawberry growers.
Pressure Compensating Emitters: Drippers or emitters that compensate for differences in pressure always putting the same amount of water. Most Drip tubing and emitters are PC (pressure compensating).
Spray Stake: Spike that is placed beside a plant or in a pot to spray right at the plant.
