In drip irrigation with emitters positioned subsurfacely there is the potential risk of soil particles being suctioned through the water outlet port, due to the occurrence of vacuum which may result in clogging of drippers. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of vacuum on the performance of different models of subsurface positioned drippers under two conditions of soil texture. The treatments consisted of applying suction levels of -10, -15, -20 and -40 kPa in sandy and clayey soils in 23 models of used drippers with more than 1 year of operation. The performance of the subsurface drip emitters was influenced by soil texture. Overall, in 80% of drippers , -40 kPa vacuum caused the obstruction of emitter and reduced flow in both soils. The largest reduction of uniformity of water application was observed in model Irrimon Irridrip Plus 2.5 L h-1 in sandy soil and application of 40 kPa suction.
subsurface drip; obstruction; flow rate reduction
