Different types of irrigation equipment are available for various needs, from simple sprinklers for residential landscaping to large center-pivot sprinkler systems for agricultural crops. Drip irrigation applies water below or on the soil surface, while micro sprinklers are more efficient and cover more area than drip irrigation. Large agricultural fields require different types of irrigation systems, such as center pivot and linear motion.
Many types of landscaping and agriculture may require irrigation, including lawns, golf courses, gardens, and large fields of agricultural crops. Various types of irrigation equipment are available to meet the full spectrum of irrigation needs. These can range from simple sprinklers for residential landscaping to large center-pivot sprinkler systems for watering acres of crops.
The most familiar sprinkler equipment to many people is that used for residential lawns and gardens. A garden hose is the simplest and probably the most widely used home watering equipment. One of several types of sprinkler heads are often attached to the hose to water a larger area.
An impact sprinkler head sprays a stream of water as it moves in a circle. There are also pop-up impact sprinklers, which can be retracted into the ground when not in use. Like the impact sprinkler, oscillating sprinklers move to distribute water, but they spray a fan of water that moves back and forth. Flow rotors and spray heads are fixed sprinkler heads. The jet rotor sprays jets of water in all directions, while the spray heads can be adjusted to spray in all directions or only to one or two areas.
While sprinklers spray water into the air, causing water to be lost through evaporation, methods classified as drip irrigation apply water below the soil or directly on its surface. Drip irrigation equipment consists of a hose with drippers inserted at desired points along it, which apply water close to the roots of plants. A similar but less permanent option is drip tape, which is a very thin type of drip tube designed to be replaced after a year or two of use.
Micro sprinklers are a very small type of sprinkler connected to very thin drip tubes, sometimes called spaghetti tubes. They are an option between conventional sprinklers and drip irrigation. A micro sprinkler can cover more area than drip irrigation and is more efficient than a full size sprinkler, as it is closer to the ground and therefore has less evaporation loss.
Large agricultural fields require different types of irrigation systems than those used by home gardeners. The irrigation equipment used in these fields typically consists of some type of structure to support many sprinkler heads or nozzles, the heads or nozzles, and the pumps and pipes needed to deliver the water. Common sprinkler systems for these uses include center pivot, where the sprinkler equipment moves in a circle around a central point, and linear motion, which moves the system in a straight line.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
