Transcript

There are two main methods for drip. One is called point source, and the other is line source. The method chosen by you will inform the design process. Let’s get a clear picture of the strategies of each of these methods, their benefits, and their drawbacks.

Here we’ll show the main differences between these two methods. Historically speaking, point source has been recommended for sparse plantings, and line source for dense plantings. 

Whereas point source has us punching in emitters directly where the plants are and focusing on watering individual plants, line source creates a uniform watering grid whose purpose is to water whole areas uniformly.

For point source, the emitters are positioned right at each plant. But for line source, we just water the whole area … just like sprinklers … just like rain. And finally, when using point source, we determine the water requirement in gallons.

But with line source, the water need is measured in inches, making it much easier to schedule. We’ll be covering the specifics of this in the basic design course. I should note here that it’s strongly recommended not to mix these methods of drip in a single irrigation zone.

Line source drip is a uniform method of watering, and point source is a spot-watering method. Point source and line source are best kept as completely separate processes. You’ll see that I stick to this convention in all of the classes and materials we offer. Hopefully, as you learn about drip, these two methods and their strategies will make themselves clear as to the distinction between the unique benefits and drawbacks of each.

That concludes this lesson. Feel free to ask questions or make comments below in the Comments section.

I’ll see you in the next video, where we’ll talk about point source first.