Performance Evaluation of a Power-Operated Bamboo Drip Irrigation System Using Schizostachyum pergracile in South Gujarat, India

This study assesses the performance of a bamboo drip irrigation system at the Bambusetum, College of Forestry, NAU, Navsari, Gujarat, India. Parameters evaluated include the coefficient of uniformity, coefficient of variation, friction loss, pressure-discharge relationship, discharge rates, surface wetting patterns, and cost-effectiveness. The system utilized bamboo as a conveyance material, with medi-infusion tubes and bamboo microtubes of varying diameters serving as emitters. PVC pipes with drippers were used as the control at operating pressures of 1.3, 1.4, and 1.5 kg/cm2. The bamboo-based system exhibited discharge rates ranging from 1.17 to 18.68 l/hr. CU ranged from 50.89 to 89.77%, and CV values from 0.04 to 0.65. Despite variability in some treatments, the results demonstrate that bamboo systems can deliver adequate uniformity with suitable emitter selection. Friction loss increased with rising pressure, while surface wetting patterns were influenced by microtube diameters. Though cost savings were marginal (₹370 per 122 m²), the system demonstrates economic viability when scaled and supported by local, low-cost materials. The bamboo systems showed slightly lower discharge uniformity, but remain a sustainable, affordable solution for subsistence farming and agroforestry in water-scarce regions where uniformity is less critical.