Drip Laterals Research Articles

Closed circuits of drip laterals versus open circuits: hydraulic performance and energy-saving potential

Closed circuits of drip laterals versus open circuits: hydraulic performance and energy-saving potential

Design Emission Uniformity of Horizontal Tapered Drip Laterals from the Normalized Pressure Head Distribution Approach

Design Emission Uniformity of Horizontal Tapered Drip Laterals from the Normalized Pressure Head Distribution Approach

Closed‐form solution for the length of drip laterals and easy selection of commercial emitters for low‐slope fields under the Hazen–Williams and Blasius resistance equations

AbstractThis paper proposes a simple method for determining drip lateral length in relatively flat fields in which minor losses are not considered and a uniform emitter flow rate is assumed. This makes it possible to derive a useful relationship in a closed form to determine drip lateral length according to the Hazen–Williams and Blasius resistance equations. An important advantage of the proposed procedure for determining drip lateral length is that it helps users establish the characteristics of the commercial emitters that they should select, an issue that has been poorly addressed in the past. Finally, after deriving this new solution, the same relationship is extended to a case in which minor losses are considered, and the uniform emitters' flow rate assumption is relaxed. The results of all input data sets show that when neglecting minor losses, the relative error between the inlet pressure head estimated with the suggested procedure and that calculated with the exact numerical method is less than 2.5%. However, when minor losses are considered, the number of emitters must not exceed 300 to obtain this threshold error. Several applications are performed, showing the reliability of this new design procedure.

Optimization of Subsurface Drip Irrigation Schedule of Alfalfa in Northwest China

Determination of an optimum irrigation amount and buried depth of subsurface drip irrigation laterals is significantly important in improving crop yield and irrigation water using efficiency in arid regions. In this study, the effects of three irrigation volumes (15.0, 22.5 and 30.0 mm) and three burial depths (10, 20 and 30 cm) of drip laterals on water consumption, yield and water productivity of alfalfa were investigated in a field trial. The water balance equation and FAO-56 crop coefficient methods were applied to determine the evapotranspiration of alfalfa. The results showed that the alfalfa evapotranspiration estimated by the dual crop coefficient method was closer to the actual measured values. The alfalfa water consumption, yield and water productivity increased significantly (p < 0.01) with the increase in irrigation amount, but the increasing trend turned to decrease (p < 0.05) with the increase of the buried depth of the drip irrigation laterals. During the whole growing period of alfalfa, the total water consumption ranged from 400 to 500 mm, the total yield ranged from 7500 to 12,000 kg/hm2 and the water productivity was 1.80 to 2.50 kg/m3. An optimized irrigation amount of 22.5 to 30.0 mm for an irrigation event with a frequency of 5 to 7 days using buried drip irrigation with an irrigation lateral depth of 20 cm was recommended for alfalfa in the study area.

A Comprehensive Model for Hydraulic Analysis and Wetting Patterns Simulation under Subsurface Drip Laterals

In the absence of suitable specialized models to simulate the soil wetting patterns in subsurface drip irrigation systems considering the hydraulic conditions along the laterals, a new model was developed and named a “comprehensive model” in this study. This model couples the subsurface drip irrigation lateral characteristics with the soil hydraulic properties and utilizes the Hydrus-3D software as a complementary section of the model to simulate the wetting front beneath the lateral. To evaluate the model, three 16 mm drip-line pipes of 62 m length with 20, 40, and 50 cm spacing emitters and 2 to 5 L/h discharge were buried at 0.2 m depth in a soil box containing clay loamy soil. Then, the experiments were conducted at 50, 100, and 150 kPa pressures, and the wetting pattern geometry associated with each lateral was measured at 1, 2, 3, and 24 h and compared with the model simulations. Moreover, the values of the root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and the refined index of agreement of the wetting depth beneath the lateral ranged from 0.013 to 0.03 m, 0.002 to 0.004 m, and 0.886 to 0.927 m, respectively. In addition, the mentioned indexes values at the first and the last cross-sections of the laterals varied between 0.001 and 0.004 m, 0.011 and 0.035 m, 0.814 and 0.942 m, respectively. These results proved that the differences between measured and predicted dimensions of the wetting pattern are not significant and comprehensive model provides good estimations of the emitter flow rates, as well as realistic wetting patterns.

English

Pakistan faces surface water and groundwater shortage which are the main reason for assessing more appropriate method of irrigation water use. Subsurface drip irrigation plays an important role to conserves irrigation water and enhances crop yields by reducing surface water evaporation in Pakistan. Two years (2019-20) trials were carried out at “Water Management Research Center” (WMRC), Mansoor Malangi road Faisalabad, under randomized complete block design (RCBD). Maize (Zea mays L.) hybrid variety “YH-1898” was selected for this experiment with sandy loam soil. Sub-surface drip laterals were buried manually at different depths of 0.15, 0.25 and 0.35 m. The results of subsurface drip irrigation for crop water productivity and maize grains yield were compared with surface drip and gravity irrigation methods (furrow-bed and furrowridge). The outcomes showed that maximum grain yield (8753 and 8860 kg/ha) was achieved in both the seasons in 2019 and 2020, respectively under sub-surface drip irrigation installed at a depth of 0.15 m. Similarly, the results of water productivity also revealed that the highest water productivity (2.074 and 2.085 kg/cm3 ) was concluded both the years in 2019-20, respectively under subsurface drip irrigation installed at a depth of 0.15 m. It is concluded that maximum grain yield and water productivity can be accomplished by the installation of sub-surface drip laterals at 0.15 m depth for maize crop in a semi-arid region of Pakistan.

Evaluation of Different Planting Geometries and Fertilizer Application Rates for Water Productivity and Yield Attributes of Cotton under Surface Drip Irrigation

An experiment was conducted during Kharif 2017 under drip irrigation system in the field to evaluate the two different planting geometries (P1= 60 cm and P2=75 cm wide beds) and two fertilizer application rates (F1=100% and F2=75% of recommended NPK) for cotton productivity and yield related traits at Water Management Research Farm, Renala Khurd, district Okara, Punjab, Pakistan. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Net plot size was 9.0 m × 7.0 m and crop were sown on 60 cm and 75 cm wide beds with 30 cm plant to plant distance manually. Drip laterals were laid in small groves at the center of the beds. Crop variety FH-142 was sown on fifteenth May 2017. Irrigation schedule prepared on the basis of environmental data was used to irrigate the crop with drip irrigation system to maintain the moisture content in the soil. All other agronomic practices were kept uniform. Data were recorded for yield and yield parameters. Data collected was analyzed statistically using Fisher’s analysis of variance technique and by employing computer program Statistix 8.1. Least significance difference test at 5% probability level was evaluated to compare the treatment means. The results indicated that the combination of planting geometry P1 (planting at 60 cm wide beds) with fertilizer application rate F1 (100 % of recommended NPK) performed significantly better regarding cotton seed yield (4354 kg-1) than all other treatments. The crop sown on 60 cm wide beds with 100% of NPK also attained maximum plant height of 131cm, maximum number of bolls per plant (33.33) and the highest water productivity (0.78 kg m-3) for seed cotton yield. The highest boll weight (3.80 g) and plant population of 3.67m-2 were shown by the crop sown under treatment F1P1 and F2P1, respectively.

Effects of the number of drip laterals on yield and quality of apples grown in two soil types

The effects of water distribution patterns in drip irrigation on fruit production and fruit quality were evaluated during two seasons in two commercial orchards of Gala Brookfield apple trees, grafted on M.9 dwarf rootstock. Research was conducted at El Manzano farm, with a clay-loam soil irrigated three times per week, and in Santa Mercedes farm, with a stony loam soil irrigated daily. Both farms are located in the Central Valley of Chile. The farm irrigation system was modified to establish three treatments which differed in the number of drip laterals per row (one, two and four), with 4.0, 2.0, and 1.0 L h−1 emitters spaced at 50 cm in both farms, respectively. All treatments received the same amount of water per week in each farm, based on the technical criteria of the farm advisor. Applied water in each farm was compared against the water use estimated by the AQUASAT platform. In the clay-loam soil, the volume of applied water was similar to the AQUASAT estimate. However, in the stony loam soil applied water was less than that estimated by AQUASAT. The results showed significant differences in production among treatments which varied only in the volume of wetted soil. The best results pooled over the two years were obtained with one lateral per row (T1) in the clay-loam soil (yield of 59.3 t ha−1), and with four laterals per row (T3) in the stony loam soil which yielded 50.8 t ha−1. Higher yields were associated with a tendency of greater fruit numbers per tree in both farms. Fruit quality requirements for export (equatorial diameter > 60 mm, weight > 90 g) were achieved but not the firmness in the second season at the stony loam soil, due to an irrigation deficit. Our results in apple emphasize the need to wet sufficient soil volume under drip irrigation, regardless of irrigation amounts, in light textured soils in particular.

Efficacy of drip irrigation in controlling heavy-metal accumulation in soil and crop

This study was aimed at identifying how drip irrigation could be useful in controlling heavy-metal issues, practically and affordably. A vegetable crop (i.e. cauliflower) was the subject of the test. Heavy-metal accumulation in soils and uptake by cauliflower curds were observed for two consecutive years. Municipal wastewater and groundwater were used for irrigation, to make it a comparative study. There were eight treatments: drip irrigation with groundwater through inline (non-pressure-compensating) surface drip (T1), inline subsurface drip (T2), bioline (pressure-compensating) subsurface drip (T3), bioline surface drip (T4) and the same drip systems using primarily treated municipal wastewater (T5to T8). The results showed that significantly higher concentrations of heavy metals – namely, copper, iron, manganese and zinc – were recorded in cauliflower curds irrigated with wastewater compared with those irrigated with groundwater. Subsurface placement of pressure-compensating drip laterals was found more effective in reducing the heavy-metal concentrations in both cauliflower and soil profile compared with surface-placed non-pressure-compensating drip laterals. This study suggests that drip irrigation systems could be an effective method to reduce heavy-metal concentration in vegetable crops and soils irrigated with treated municipal wastewater.

Growth response of greenhouse-produced muskmelon and tomato to sub-surface drip irrigation and soil aeration management factors

BackgroundHypoxia causes injury and yield loss. Soil aeration has been reported to accelerate the growth of plants and increase crop yield. The aim of this study was to examine growth response of greenhouse-produced muskmelon to 3 levels of sub-surface drip irrigation (I), 3 different installation depths of drip laterals in the soil (D), and 4 levels of supplemental soil aeration frequency (A). A fractional factorial experiment was designed to examine these treatment effects on marketable fresh fruit yield, leaf area index during 3 growth stages, and dry matter partitioning at harvest. In addition, we studied the response of fruit yield and dry matter of tomato to 2 levels of burial depths of subsurface tubing in combination with 3 frequency levels of soil aeration.ResultsResults showed that soil aeration can positively influence the yield, leaf area index, dry matter and irrigation use efficiency of the muskmelon (p < 0.05). The fruit yield of muskmelon and tomato were increased by 21.5 and 30.8% respectively with 1-d and 2-d aeration intervals compared with the no aeration treatment.ConclusionsThe results suggest that soil aeration can positively impact the plant root zone environment and more benefits can be obtained with aeration for both muskmelon and tomato plants.

AN ALTERNATIVE FOR ENERGY CONSUMPTION REDUCTION IN DRIP IRRIGATION

The energy consumption in drip irrigation systems as well as in the other irrigation techniques and technologies is an important indicator and an essential part of the operating costs. In contrast to the other irrigation techniques, the irrigation water runoff is smaller because of the fact that only part of the soil surface around the plants is wetted. Nevertheless, taking into account that in most cases the working head in the drippers is 10 m, and there are hydraulic head losses in conducting network, losses in the filters and accessories in the network, then the working head at the beginning of these systems reaches comparatively high values – 35 - 45 m. Taking this into consideration, the author suggests for the first time a new technical solution aimed at the reduction of the working head in the drip laterals and drippers, and more reliable operation of the drip irrigation systems. By now, all companies producing systems for classic drip irrigation in the world offer drip laterals with built-in single and similar nozzles drippers with a long path of the water at the point of water supply, the drippers being of two types-cylindrical and flat. The essence of the suggested solution is that instead of single drippers at the water supply point polynomial drippers are suggested to be built-in, also with a long path of water, consisting of several, located one after another, smaller drippers, connected between each other with a flexible tie (like a chain), both in the cylindrical type and in the flat type. Besides the energy consumption reduction, the new solution features other advantages as well: realization of a larger wetted area of the soil contour and consequently, wetted volume due to the disconcerted water supply at several points of the polynomial dripper; increasing the working flow rate of the drippers for minimum growth of the pressure in them, and a lower probability for termination of the water supply in case of clogging of some of the nozzles drippers; the time for irrigation is reduced.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF TEST RESULTS OF DRIP LATERALS WITH CIRCULAR AND ELLIPTIC CROSS SECTION

Lately, the drip irrigation systems find more and more application, which led to the production of a new type of drip laterals – with flat to elliptic cross section and comparatively small thickness of the wall – from 0.2 to 0.9 mm, compared to the conventional ones with circular cross section and wall thickness over 1 mm. The main advantage of the first type is that they are comparatively cheap and are offered in the form of small rolls, the length of the hose being from 500 to 3500 m which makes their transportation to warehouses, assembly and disassembly very convenient. With the smaller thickness of the walls, the laterals have almost clenched form and are intended to be used for one irrigation season, while those with higher thickness, with elliptic form, may be used for several seasons. The inside welded emitters are flat and have a very small water-stopping head area compared to the annular water-stopping cross section of the cylindrical drippers in the conventional circular type of laterals. This is connected with the smaller head losses in the movement of water in them, which is an important advantage. The paper presents and analyses the results of the hydraulic test of the two types of drip hoses – with circular and elliptic cross section, in order to find the head losses for different lengths - 40, 60 and 80 m and heads in the beginning of 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 m, as well as the coefficients of uniformity for both types. The following hoses of both types were tested: JUNIOR, with circular cross section and internal diameter of 13.8 mm, nominal diameter 16 mm, thickness of wall 1.1mm, cylindrical type of drippers with a flow rate of 2.1 l/h and interval between nozzles 0.30 m (Irritec, Italy); DP Line (D5), with elliptic cross section, with the same sizes and intervals but with a wall thickness 0.6 mm and flat type of drippers (Irritec, Italy). The results indicate that irrespectively of the elliptic form of the cross section which is with a very small hydraulic radius, the head losses are almost equal to those with the circular cross section with cylindrical drippers, which is due to the minor head losses because of the flat nozzles in them. The values of the absolute coefficient of uniformity and the calculated one according to the method of Christiansen for all options are presented. The test is performed for zero slope, while modelling is performed for slopes 1% and 2%. The analysis of the data indicates that for zero slope of the terrain the increase of head leads to increase of the coefficients of uniformity for the three tested lengths of laterals; for 1% are observed very small tendencies for reduction of those coefficients, while for 2% the coefficients have higher values compared to the other slopes, again with slightly expressed tendency for change. The higher values in the 2% slope are due to the additional head caused by the geodetic level difference of the terrain.

Performance Evaluation of Drip Irrigation Systems on Production of Okra (Hibiscus esculentus) in Southwestern, Nigeria

This study was carried out to evaluate the performance of drip irrigation systems on the production of okra (Hibiscus esculentus) in southwestern, Nigeria. Application of water to crops in an area of scarcity of water is very important to meet the food demand of the ever-increasing population and modified irrigation techniques that can assist the okra farmers to have affordable irrigation systems that will get them great yields at the end of the season was evaluated in this paper. A field experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research farm of Agricultural and Bio-Environmental Engineering Department, School of Engineering Technology, The Federal Polytechnic, Ado, Ekiti - State, Nigeria. The field area of 150 mby 400 m was properly cleared, stumped, ploughed and harrowed. The topography of the land was flat with its suitable soil structure, texture, retention capacity and loamy clay soil. The cultivated area of land was divided into three and on each experimental plot, high yield and disease resistant okra variety seeds obtained from a research institute (IITA) were carefully selected and planted at a regular interval of 0.6 m. Drip laterals were laid in between rows of okra plants with inline drippers at a spacing of 20 cm. The parameters measured include okra seed germination, plant height, stem girth, number of leaves and yield production. The study also includes soil properties, crop water requirement and crop water use efficiency. There were no significant difference in the okra agronomic parameters at each experimental plots under drip irrigation system. The water applied to crop was greater than the actual crop water requirement and the efficiency of the drip irrigation was 68.5%. There is high in seed germination percentage in with 3.5%, 3.6% and 3.8% at each experimental plot respectively. The selected okra agronomic parameters showed that okra performed very well under drip irrigation systems. Based on the results, water application through drip irrigation has a positive impact on growth and vegetative development of okra.

English

Field experiment was conducted at Ambo during the 2017/2018 to investigate effects of drip lateral spacing and mulching on yield, water use efficiency and net return of onion. Eight treatments with three replications were randomized in complete block design to conduct the experiment. Two levels of drip lateral spacing and four levels of mulch were used to evaluate their effects. The result showed that both onion yield and water use efficiency were affected by main effects of drip lateral spacing and mulching but not affected by their interaction effect. The maximum bulb yield 34990 and 35117 kg ha-1 of onion were recorded from onion grown under drip lateral in every row and white plastic mulching, respectively. Water use efficiency of 1.14 and 1.15 kg L-1 were recorded from onion grown under drip lateral spacing in every row and white plastic mulching, respectively. Even though white plastic mulch scores significantly higher yield and water use efficiency, highest net returns of 246,410 and 284,616 ETB ha-1 were obtained from drip laterals in every rows and no mulch, respectively. This suggests that drip laterals in every rows and no mulching is economically feasible for drip irrigated onion production at Ambo. Key words: Drip irrigation, drip lateral spacing, mulching, bulb yield, water use efficiency, net return, Ambo woreda. &nbsp

HYDRAULIC ANALYSIS OF DRIP LATERALS WITH INSIDE WELDED PRESSURE COMPENSATING DRIPPERS

Lately, the drip irrigation systems built with pressure compensating (PC) drippers (emitters) inside welded in the drip laterals, find more and more application in Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece and other countries having well-developed irrigation-based agriculture, especially where the ground is not flat but rather is of hilly nature. The main advantage of these systems is the provision of uniform flow rate along the laterals and batteries (blocks) in the whole drip systems irrespectively of the alteration of the operating pressure, and, besides, this allows long laterals to be designed. The recommended operating pressure starts from 0.5 – 1.0 atm and reaches 4 – 5 atm. Reaching equal drip flow rate in these systems is realized thanks to an elastic membrane with fixed strength parameters, located at the outlet of the nozzles in a specially arranged bed (nest) for this purpose. The advertisement of the applications of those nozzles in the company catalogs is very intensive but is it true for all types of pressure compensating drippers? In laboratory conditions we carried out hydraulic tests of drip laterals with inside welded pressure compensating drippers, cylinder type, in order to find out the head losses along the drip lateral. The laterals were with a nominal outer diameter 16 mm, inner diameter 13.8 mm, thickness of the wall 1.1 mm and flow rate 2.1 l/h, at intervals of 33 cm between the drippers, with lengths 60, 80 and 100 m. The results showed considerable head losses, with great deviations from the ones obtained by analytic way through formulas. For example, in a 100 m long lateral, the losses reach 60 to 75% of the applied operating pressure at the beginning of the lateral. Some specific data from the tests – in case of inlet pressure of 18, 20 and 25 m, the head losses are respectively 12, 14 and 17 m which means that in case of flat ground and such with back slope it is almost impossible to realize a length of 100 m and more of the lateral. All drippers will not operate at the horizontal part of the curve “pressure-flow rate” but at the transitional part of this curve. It follows from this that irrespectively of the pressure compensating action of those nozzles, this type of laterals will hardly find application in real conditions in the design of an engineering project for drip irrigation respecting the admissible coefficients of the distribution uniformity of the irrigation water. The same is valid for the other tested laterals as well. Sometimes, laying conventional type of laterals is more appropriate and brings better results. All this is due to the considerable minor head losses in those nozzles because of the sizable constriction of the cross section of the laterals by the nest (bed) of the membrane.

Sub-surface drip fertigation with conservation agriculture in a rice-wheat system: A breakthrough for addressing water and nitrogen use efficiency

The future of the South Asia’s rice-wheat (RW) production system is at stake due to continuously depleting aquifers and increasing pressure on underground water under projected climate change scenario. Conventional management factors such as flood irrigation, intensive tillage and residue burning are threatening sustainability of RW system. With increasing adoption of conservation agriculture (CA), sub-surface drip fertigation (SSDF) provides an exceptional opportunity for complementing irrigation water saving benefits. Presently, there is no research evidence on optimum spacing and depth for drip laterals in a CA (direct drilling and residue mulch) based RW system around the globe. This study was therefore, planned to evaluate effects of residue mulch, different spacing and depths of laterals for SSDF on crop yield, irrigation water productivity (WPi), nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and net returns for CA based RW system in a silt loam soil in northwestern India. Drip laterals were spaced either at 33.75 cm or 67.5 cm, and installation depths were 0, 15 or 20 cm beneath the soil surface and compared with conventional and zero tillage based flood-irrigated RW systems. Grain yield and irrigation water input in rice and wheat were generally similar under different SSDF treatments. Irrigation water savings were 48–53% in rice and 42–53% in wheat under combination of SSDF and CA compared to flood irrigation system. A similar trend in WPi was recorded in both the crops. Residue mulch contributed to higher irrigation water savings, wheat yield and WPi compared to no mulch. Both rice and wheat needed 20% less N fertilizer under SSDF system to obtain grain yields similar to that under flood irrigated crops. Net returns from SSDF system with 67.5 cm lateral spacing were significantly higher compared to flood irrigation system. In conclusion, SSDF system having laterals spaced at 67.5 cm and installed at 15 cm depth provides tangible benefits for substantial saving in irrigation water and energy and increasing NUE and net income for CA based RW system in South Asia.

Effect of dripline depth on the agronomic parameter of eggplant Solanum melongena L. (Solanaceae)

Despite numerous researches investigated on subsurface drip irrigation (SDI), local information about the response of eggplant growth and water dynamics on SDI still very limited in Tunisia. Results showed that lower values of soil water contents were obtained under traditional drip irrigation (DI) treatment, as a consequence of higher evaporative demand. Leaf area, the number of fruits per plant, as well as the crop yield obtained on SDI treatment, resulted significantly higher (P = 0.05) than the corresponding measured on DI treatment. The better performance associated to SDI compared to DI, was due to the minor evaporation losses from the soil surface and consequently higher irrigation water use efficiency. When the drip laterals were buried, the wet bulbs in the soil induced the concentration of roots around the points where water is applied. Moreover, the occurrence of capillary rise could contribute to a redistribution of water stock around zones of active roots.

Removing Peanut Foliage Adjacent Shallow Subsurface Drip Laterals to Reduce Rodent Damage

Removing Peanut Foliage Adjacent Shallow Subsurface Drip Laterals to Reduce Rodent Damage

Explicit relationships for optimal designing rectangular microirrigation units on uniform slopes: The IrriLab software application

Many attempts have been made to provide easy tools for designing microirrigation units. However, most of these have dealt with numerical solutions, which require many trial-and-error attempts and time-consuming iterations, performed by applying the basic hydraulic equations from the manifold to the end of both the downhill and the uphill sides of the laterals. Recently, analytical procedures to optimally design paired drip laterals on uniform slopes were proposed, providing readily obtainable results and energy saving. Although these analytical solutions can be practically applied, they only make it possible to design a one-lateral unit; to be really interesting for practical application, a design tool must address the design of the entire irrigation unit. In this paper, the one-lateral unit relationships previously obtained were applied to analytically derive explicit design relationships for the optimal design of rectangular microirrigation units (corresponding to 25 layouts), with branching pipe networks with many laterals and one manifold, laid on uniform slopes. It is shown that these explicit relationships allows calculating the design variables, i.e. the emitter's hydraulic characteristics, the required inlet flow rate, the inlet pressure head, the manifold inside diameter, the number of rows, the irrigation unit area, and the water application rate, as well as other important variables such as the Reynolds number for the laterals and the manifold. A software simple to use, named IrriLab, following the described procedure, is presented and applications were successfully carried out.

Minor Losses and Best Manifold Position in the Optimal Design of Paired Sloped Drip Laterals

AbstractArranging paired laterals so that two distribution pipes extend in opposite directions from a common manifold contributes to providing more uniform pressure to all laterals in the system, increasing water use and energy efficiency of micro‐irrigation. Towards this end, by neglecting emitters’ minor losses, analytical procedures to design paired drip laterals laid on uniform slopes were introduced. More recently, it was shown that for an optimal paired sloped lateral design the best position of the manifold (BMP) equals 24%. In this paper, first the mentioned analytical procedure is extended to the case in which minor losses are considered. Second, by neglecting minor losses, a comparison in terms of energy saving, between designing paired sloped drip laterals by fixing BMP = 0.24 and other suggested manifold position from the literature, is performed. Third, it is shown that fixing BMP = 24% of the optimal lateral length can be also applied when minor losses are taken into account. By considering the minor losses of integrated emitters, some practical solutions are presented. The procedure proposed here was compared with that derived by the step‐by‐step exact procedure. Applications by considering different design variables are performed and discussed. © 2018 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.