Drip Irrigation Scheduler

Chapter 08's numbers, packaged as a schedule: enter your emitter flow and spacing, the bed layout (bed width, walkway and laterals per bed), and a target mm/week — the scheduler returns run minutes per watering day, weekly water, and the bed-layout facts (beds/ha, laterals/bed) that let you set the manifold right.

Plan view of one drip-irrigated ginger bed, labelled with the scheduler's inputsA bed in plan view with three laterals running its length, emitters spaced along each lateral, walkways either side, and dimensions for the bed width and walkway. The labelled inputs — emitter flow and spacing, lateral spacing, bed width and walkway — are the ones the drip scheduler asks for.walkwaybed widthwalkwayLaterals run the lengthone bed, seen from aboveEmitter flow (L/h)spacing between emittersLateral spacing (cm)laterals per bed × flowWalkway both sidesdrives beds per hectareWatering days per week · irrigation efficiency · target mm/week → run minutes per watering day
What the scheduler is really asking for. Emitter and lateral spacing are properties of the tape you bought; bed width and walkway are properties of your field.

1 · Drip hardware (from your system)

L/h

Stamped on the dripper (1–4 L/h typical)

cm

Along the lateral (20–40 cm typical)

cm

Between drip lines (40–60 cm typical)

%

Drip ≈ 85–95%; allows for unevenness

2 · Bed layout (the block you irrigate)

cm

Ch. 04: 100–150 cm typical

cm

Between beds (30–50 cm typical)

days

7 = daily; 3 = every other day

ha

Shows litres per watering day for the whole plot

3 · Target & results

mm/week

Ch. 08: 25–40 mm/week in season

Run per watering day—
Runtime to apply 10 mm—
Weekly water applied—
Water per watering day—
Laterals per bed—
Beds per hectare—

Efficiency is optimistic by design. Run-time math assumes uniform pressure and perfect maintenance; a clogged or pressure-starved line applies far less. Pressure-test the first lateral, and add 10–15% margin in hot dry weeks.