ABSTRACT

The drip-line spacing is a major design decision, and it depends mainly on the texture of the soil, water quality, and the cost. An experiment was conducted over three years to evaluate the yield response to water and different drip line spacing. Partial budget and investment analysis results were used to compare two drip-line spacing (40 and 80-in.). After a three year study, there is not a clear trend to conclude that the 40-in. line spacing resulted better than the 80-in. spacing. However, it is important to mention that there was a germination problem with the 80-in. drip line spacing during one year of the study. The average total gross return for the three years of the study was $810.5 for the 40-in. line spacing and $805.0 for the 80-in. line spacing. Considering the higher initial cost of the 40-in. drip line spacing, about 18% higher returns were obtained for the 40-in. drip line spacing.