ABSTRACT
56Drip irrigation has proved to be a success in terms of water and increased yield in a wide range of crops. Its ability of small and frequent irrigation applications has created interest because of decreased water requirements, possible increased production, and better quality produce. Drip irrigation can potentially provide high application efficiency and achieve high application uniformity. The hydraulic gradient compensation maintains uniform operating pressure head and discharges with high order of water distribution uniformity realizing a maximum yield of crop. In drip irrigation systems, the ultimate water distribution uniformity depends on the spatial distribution of the operating pressure heads at the emission points and the corresponding emitter discharges. In 2 lph of emitter arrangement with compensated hydraulic gradient, the water distribution uniformity was 97.8% and irrigation usage efficiency ranged from 17.98 to 20.69 kg/ ha/mm.
