What is the Difference between Drip Irrigation and a Rain Gun Irrigation System?
Drip irrigation is a type of irrigation that applies uniform volume of water in small droplets to the root zone of plants. It is one of the most efficient types of irrigation systems in the world today.
The rain gun irrigation system on the other hand is a type of irrigation system that sprays uniform volume of water to the surfaces of plants. It is a type of overhead irrigation system. The rain gun is a type of sprinkler that rotates around whilst sprinkling water to plants.
The main difference between drip irrigation and a rain gun irrigation system is that the former applies water to the root zone of plants while the latter sprays water to plants.
The Differences between drip irrigation and a rain gun irrigation system
The differences between the drip irrigation system and the rain gun irrigation system are explained as follows:
- The drip irrigation system applies water only to the root zone of plants while the rain gun sprays water to the plants.
- High volume of fertilizers can be applied to the root zones of plants through a process called Fertigation if a drip irrigation system is used. This is not possible if you use a rain gun irrigation system.
- Drip irrigation system is water efficient than the rain gun irrigation system. The drip irrigation system typically uses 5 – 10% of the water needed by the rain gun irrigation system.
- The drip irrigation system is not as labour intensive as the rain gun irrigation system.
- The drip irrigation system can work with boreholes and wells while the rain gun irrigation system can only work with a water reservoir.
- The drip irrigation system can be installed or set up by the farmer himself. It does not need any technical expertise. It can be done as a DIY. The rain gun irrigation system is complex, for large farms, you will need engineers and technicians for the set-up.
- The drip irrigation system can reduce the occurrences of diseases like fungal infections on plants while the rain guns can actually increase the occurrences of fungal diseases on plants because of the way it sprays water to the surfaces of plants.
- The rain guns can be easily removed after the end of the season. The removal of the drip irrigation system is not as easy as the removal of rain guns.
- The rain guns can be used to apply pesticides to the surfaces of the plants, the drip irrigation system can only be used to apply pesticides to the plants through their roots.
Do you know any other differences between the drip irrigation and rain gun irrigation system? If yes, why not share with us in the comments’ section.
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