Free farmer guidelines

Drip Crop Handbook | Gajanand Irrigation
Gajanand Drip & Agriculture Products
Free farmer guide

Drip Crop Handbook

40 crops under drip, day by day: 5 field crops, 13 vegetables, 10 fruits, 5 spices, 3 plantation crops and 4 flowers. Each crop covers growth stages, crop duration, soil and growing regions, plant and dripper spacing, daily water per plant and per acre, a fertigation calendar, and what research outside India says. Pick a crop, then drag the day slider. Written for farmers, dealers and agronomists.

40crops
6crop groups
1993making drip parts since

Official from a university or ICAR institute recommendation · Estimate calculated by us with the FAO method · Our plan our worked split of an official dose · Global what research outside India says, for comparison. Always confirm with the local KVK or a soil test before advising a farmer.

How a drip system is built

Every crop below uses the same chain of parts. Water is lifted, filtered, dosed with fertilizer, then split down to each plant. The parts outlined in red are ones Gajanand makes.

Filter choice depends on the water source. A clean borewell needs only a screen or disc filter. Open-well or canal water with algae needs a sand (media) filter first. Water carrying sand needs a hydrocyclone first.

Crop growth, day by day

Day 1

Stage today

    Water today Estimate

    Fertigation

    Water need across the whole crop

    Litres per acre per day, if ET₀ followed a typical month-by-month pattern from your sowing month (Ahmedabad values, or Western Ghats hill values for ginger and coffee). Hover for any day, or click to jump the slider there.

    Drip layout from above

    Soil, region and system tips

    Material list for your field Estimate

    Change the field and pump details to match the farm. The soil type set at the top also changes dripper spacing here.

    ItemQuantitySize and notes

    Full fertigation calendar kg per acre per application

    DayStageApplyNP₂O₅K₂O

    What the rest of the world says Global

      Sources for this crop

        Keeping the system clean

        JobWhenHow
        Clean the filterDaily, or after about 8 hours of running on muddy waterBackflush the sand filter, open and rinse the disc or screen element. JAU advises cleaning a screen filter every day, or every 8 hours of run on low-turbidity water, and more often on muddy water. Official
        Flush lateralsEvery 1–2 weeksOpen the lateral end caps and run until the water comes out clear. General practice
        ChlorinateWhen slime or algae showsInject bleaching powder solution to kill bacteria and algae. ICAR-NRCP names chlorination as the key control for biological clogging. Official
        Acid treatmentEnd of season, or when salts build upInject acid to bring the water to pH 4.5–5, either for 1 hour or overnight, then flush with clean water. Nitric acid works best. Sulphuric, hydrochloric or phosphoric acid also work. Official, ICAR-NRCP
        Fertigation orderEvery doseRun plain water for 15–20 min, then fertilizer through the venturi, then 15–20 min of plain water to clear the lines. Never put biofertilizers through drip (ICAR-NRCP). Never mix calcium nitrate with phosphates or sulphates in one tank. General practice

        How the numbers are worked out

        • Daily water uses the FAO-56 method: crop water need = ET₀ × Kc. ET₀ is the weather's drying power. Kc is the crop coefficient for that growth stage, from FAO-56 Table 12. We divide by 0.9 for drip efficiency. Fruit trees are also multiplied by canopy cover. Default ET₀ values are typical Ahmedabad monthly figures, so use the local agromet advisory when you have it. On rainy days, cut or skip irrigation.
        • Soil type (general practice): sand needs closer drippers and short, frequent sets; clay spreads water wider, so drippers can be further apart and sets longer. We move inline dripper spacing one standard step (20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 75, 90 cm) closer for sandy soil and one step wider for heavy soil, and add 50% more drippers per plant for trees and widely spaced plants on sandy soil. Sources: Rivulis (drip manufacturer), Clemson University Extension, and a 2018 study that found optimum spacing widening from 35 cm in sandy loam to 45 cm in clay (Irrigation and Drainage).
        • Material list assumes a square, level field with a sub-main across the middle. Pipes are sized to keep water below 1.5 m/s. Filter ratings are typical figures and vary by maker; use the maker's pressure-loss chart.
        • Run time = daily water depth ÷ the system's application rate. Application rate = dripper flow ÷ (dripper spacing × lateral spacing).
        • Per acre = per hectare ÷ 2.471. Fertigation products: wherever the source names the products, we use its exact amounts. Where it gives only nutrients, P comes from 12:61:0 or 19:19:19 and K from 13:0:45, 0:0:50 or MOP, and any N still needed comes from urea (46% N).

        Main sources

        Indian sources set the schedules. Global sources are there to compare and to sense-check.

        1. Junagadh Agricultural University (JAU), CAET recommendations: Bt cotton and summer groundnut drip; castor drip fertigation studies. jau.in
        2. Anand Agricultural University (AAU): summer groundnut dose and gypsum. aau.in
        3. ICAR-National Research Centre on Pomegranate, Solapur; National Horticulture Board. nrcpomegranate.in
        4. TNAU Agritech Portal. Sugarcane, maize and capsicum drip pages; fertigation schedules for banana, tomato, chilli, tapioca, jasmine, rose, marigold and tuberose. agritech.tnau.ac.in
        5. ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI): arecanut fertigation. krishi.icar.gov.in
        6. TNAU Agritech Portal. Fertigation schedules for brinjal, bhendi, bitter gourd, watermelon / muskmelon, cabbage and potato. ferti_schedule.pdf
        7. TNAU Agritech Portal. Mango, guava, papaya, grapes and coconut crop pages. agritech.tnau.ac.in
        8. ICAR-National Research Centre for Grapes, Pune. Fertigation schedule for table grapes. nrcgrapes.icar.gov.in
        9. ICAR-Central Citrus Research Institute, Nagpur (linked studies). Nagpur mandarin fertigation. epubs.icar.org.in
        10. VNMKV Parbhani. Okra crop coefficients by lysimeter. pub.isae.in
        11. TNAU turmeric fertigation; Kerala Agricultural University packages for ginger, black pepper, cardamom, tea and coffee. celkau.in
        12. ICAR All India Coordinated Research Project on Spices: drip for black pepper and cardamom. aicrpspices.icar.gov.in
        13. UPASI Tea Research Foundation: drip and fertigation in tea. upasitearesearch.org
        14. Tea Board of India: global tea production 2023. teaboard.gov.in
        15. Global: Tea Research Institute of Sri Lanka; Tea Research Institute of East Africa (Kenya / Tanzania trials). dl-tri.nsf.gov.lk
        16. Global: Iran cumin lysimeter studies (Birjand, Khorramabad); Brazil black pepper water-deficit study; Queensland (Australia) ginger nitrogen study; ICTA Guatemala cardamom. scielo.br
        17. Global: FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 56, Table 12 (crop coefficients), Rome. fao.org
        18. Global: FAO Land & Water crop information: potato. fao.org
        19. Global: University of Georgia Extension (USA). Drip fertilizer schedules for vegetable crops, Circular 1325, 2025. fieldreport.caes.uga.edu
        20. Global: University of Florida IFAS (USA). Watermelon crop updates; citrus nutrition; guava cost estimates. ifas.ufl.edu
        21. Global: World Vegetable Center (Taiwan). Bitter gourd cultural practices. PDF
        22. Global: Queensland Department of Primary Industries (Australia). Papaw nutrition and irrigation. era.dpi.qld.gov.au
        23. Global: Australian Mango Industry Association. Nitrogen and potassium fact sheets. industry.mangoes.net.au
        24. Global: Texas Tech University (USA): subsurface drip cotton. scholars.ttu.edu
        25. Global: South African Sugarcane Research Institute; Suranaree University of Technology (Thailand): drip sugarcane. sasri.org.za
        26. Global: Peanut Science (Georgia, USA): subsurface drip peanut. peanutscience.com
        27. Global: Agricultural Research Corporation, Sudan: drip vs surface irrigation for Grand Nain banana. agris.fao.org
        28. Global: University of California / CDFA FREP: drip and N management of onion. cdfa.ca.gov
        29. Global: IVIA Valencia (Spain): regulated deficit irrigation in pomegranate. record
        30. Global: University of Nebraska / USDA-ARS: subsurface drip maize. usda.gov
        31. Global: FAO date palm technical calendar; Sudan, Kuwait, Iran and Egypt date palm drip studies. fao.org
        32. Global: Brazil (Revista Ceres) and Nigeria (FUTA): irrigated cassava. scielo.br
        33. Global: NC State University (USA) cut-flower nutrition; Netherlands "Nutrient Solutions for Greenhouse Crops". ncsu.edu
        34. Global: Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka; International Coconut Community journal. Coconut irrigation. jnsfsl.sljol.info
        Gajanand

        Gajanand Irrigation, Ahmedabad · making drip and agriculture products since 1993. This handbook is a reference guide, not a substitute for a soil and water test or advice from your local KVK.

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