Frequently Asked Questions

The DRI system offers control: more control over your water and fertilizer delivery, more control over your maintenance costs, and more control over your ability to monitor when your tree or vine needs water. 

Controlled testing confirms that direct delivery of water to the root zone is profoundly more efficient than traditional surface watering methods. Surface watering loses substantial amounts of water to evaporation and run off. DRI does not. A six hour saturation test comparing DRI with Drip, showed that DRI almost stopped emitting water once the column around the DRI unit was fully saturated. Flow of water is significantly reduced once a full level of saturation has occurred in the column of soil, resulting in about a 50% savings of water when compared to standard drip. 

Consider how many of your maintenance costs are actually created by surface watering.

• Energy- The biggest cost of irrigation is energy. If you cut your water consumption in half, you will effectively reduce the energy required to pump it by half.
• Soil amendments- Many orchards are spending on average 135.00 dollars per acre every year for soil amendments intended to enhance the soils ability to absorb water and fertilizer. That cost translates to about 27,000 dollars a year for a 200 acre orchard. This cost could be completely eliminated because the DRI delivers water and fertilizer directly to the root zone. Soil PH can be achieved in a liquid form through the DRI.
• Weed abatement- Weeds are a by-product of excessive surface watering. Using DRI has shown to significantly reduce weed growth.
• Pest abatement- Insects and rodents are attracted to the food and water source provided by surface watering.
• Clogged emitters- Some vineyards and orchards are replacing thousands of Drip emitters a year because of mineralization clogging due to evaporation. This form of calcification clogging does not happen with DRI because the DRI unit seals off the air flow from the Drip emitter, therefore preventing evaporation. Minerals in the water remain soluble and pass through the emitter and DRI into the ground becoming food for the plant.
• ungus- Fungus thrives in areas of high humidity. The use of DRI can represent considerable savings in the cost of fungicide and crops lost to fungus related problems. By using DRI, you eliminate high humidity caused by surface irrigation and evaporation.
• Fertilizers- With DRI, you will see a significant reduction in use of fertilizers because with DRI, fertilizers are being delivered directly to the root zone, instead of being displaced on the ground surface and lost to evaporation and run off.  By using DRI, you can reduce your fertilizer use to only the exact amount that your plants need.

The DRI units are made from materials that have been used in the irrigation industry for decades. Reports from the manufacturers of the soaker hose used for the DRI state that soaker hose installed in sub-surface irrigation in the mid 1990’s is still operating at full flow rate today. 

DRI manufacturers are in their 5th year of field testing the DRI units. Regular inspections for possible clogging due to sediment back flow, root intrusion, and mineralization build up, have shown no clogging of the DRI unit.

• Silt- because of the positive pressure coming from inside the DRI unit from the water supply, silt is constantly pushed away from the pores of the DRI unit.
• Calcification- Mineral build up is a by-product of evaporation. The DRI™ unit is not affected by evaporation because it is sealed off from air flow.
• Root Intrusion- At the point from which water is released from the supply tube inside the DRI there is a copper element which acts as a root deterrent for capillary roots. Copper screening has long been used as a root control for roots from bamboo and other invasive landscape plants.

The DRI unit needs to be attached to a pressure compensating emitter when pressure compensation is necessary, like on hillside planting and long runs of irrigation hose where the friction coefficient is a factor.

We recommend using one unit per vine in a vineyard and two per tree in orchards. One DRI unit per tree is recommended for saplings. Consult your arborist for large heritage trees which may require more than a couple units per tree. Some larger orchard trees like walnuts may also require more than 2 units per tree. Consult your crop advisor or DRD rep for a customized solution.

You should see a 4 to 6 inch wet spot where the quarter inch tube of the DRI enters the ground.

If you don’t see the wet spot, check first to make sure the top of the soaker hose is buried about 3 inches below the surface of the ground. Then check to make sure you’ve closed and slightly compacted the hole where the DRI™ unit enters the ground. This is important to ensure the necessary compaction that will cause water to build up pressure and rise to the surface.

If that doesn’t work, check your emitter to make sure water is flowing. It is likely that if water is not flowing you have a clogged emitter. Flag emitters can be cleaned out individually while others may need to be replaced. Your main line may need to be flushed.

In sandy soils you may need to replace your emitters with those that have a greater flow rate.

Yes, you can run any liquid through the DRI that you can run through your emitter.

If the intent of evapotranspiration monitoring is to assess how much water the plant, tree or vine needs, then DRI will provide a more realistic reading because there will no longer be the ambiguity caused by the evaporation of excessive surface watering.

This will depend on your soil type. Heavier clay soils require a slower flowing emitter, such as a half gallon or one gallon-per-hour emitter. More porous and sandy soils will use 2 to 4 gallon-per-hour emitters. The objective is to complete saturation at the root zone and still see the 4-6 inch went spot on the ground which indicates that the DRI unit is working. If the wet spot is gets too excessive too quickly, it means you’re putting water in the ground faster than the ground can absorb it. In which case, you need to reduce to an emitter with a slower rate of flow.

No, in all soil types you need to regulate flow otherwise you will create excessive, uncontrolled flow resulting in too much water being lost by perking to the surface

Yes, a lot of growers are turning to DRI as their only method of irrigation but keeping their micro sprinklers to use for winter season frost control.

No

Yes, you can run fresh water through the unit to flush the salt concentration from the root zone.

Using DRI reduces energy used to pump water. It significantly reduces water and fertilizer use. DRI dramatically reduces the need for herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides.

One scientist with whom we spoke was enthusiastic about the idea that using DRI would significantly lessen the nitrous oxide emissions which are a by-product of ground surface fertilizing. Also, fertilizer delivered directly to the root zone is less likely to end up in our rivers, streams and lakes.

It is also important to note that the soaker hose part of DRI is made from recycled tire rubber.

Yes, you can run acid through DRI. You can run anything through DRI that you’ve been running through your existing irrigation system.

Spraying a little chlorine bleach on the DRI stem will typically repel animals and rodents forever, if you should run into such a problem.

Yes. Just irrigate an hour or so before pulling the DRI unit up in order to moisten the soil around it, and then it should pull up just like a carrot.

From an engineering standpoint, a deeper root system makes for a structurally stronger tree or vine. In the right conditions, trees and vines will create both a downward growing and lateral root structure. But roots tend to grow towards water, and if the water is coming from the surface of the ground, the roots will be more inclined to grow towards the surface of the ground. This creates conditions like J-root which make the tree or vine more susceptible to disease. A tree or vine with a deeper root system, like those that are dry farmed, will be less vulnerable to disease and more drought resistant.

Most importantly, DRI employs an internal copper element which deters roots, preventing entanglement. DRI is the first technology of its kind and represents a revolutionary shift towards a future of irrigation that is sustainable both for growers and the planet.

There have been many attempts by growers and irrigation manufacturers to increase water penetration to the root zone. Buried inline emitters is one way growers have attempted to increase water penetration. These lines are buried 6-8 inches below the surface of the ground. This can’t be done in mature orchards and vineyards without damaging existing root structures because they’d be trenching through a mature root system. Also, buried inline emitters are prone to clog and there’s no way of monitoring whether the system is working.

Growers have also run the drip tubing into perforated PVC pipe which they’ve inserted into the ground. But this method actually accelerates evaporation at those points of water delivery.

Also, manufacturers have made products with subsurface delivery vaguely similar to DRI but these products are more labor intensive to install and are 7 to 15 times more expensive.

On average, one DRI unit can be installed in 30 to 60 seconds, using a simple tool with a 3/4 inch thick steel rod. This tool was adapted from a 4 foot long foundation stake that could be bought at any lumber yard. After making a hole about 22 inches deep we straighten the DRI unit and insert it into the hole until the top of the soaker hose is buried 3 inches below the surface of the ground. The 1/4 inch tubing that extends up from the ground is then attached to the existing “woodpecker style” or flag emitter. Try to avoid large loops in your 1/4 inch tubing that can easily be caught by agricultural tools. It’s important to remember to compact dirt into the hole where the DRI™ unit was inserted into the ground to provide the pressure necessary to allow moisture disbursement.

The DRI units vary in price based on size and quantities purchased. Please contact us using the contact us page for pricing information.

We actually prefer you don’t store them. We prefer to deliver them to you when you’re ready to install them. If you need to store DRI units for any period of time, please store the DRI units in a cool shaded area. DO NOT LEAVE THEM EXPOSED TO SUN OR EXTREME HEAT SUCH AS IN A VEHICLE OR THE BED OF A TRUCK. SUN AND HEAT WILL DAMAGE DRI. Once installed underground, the DRI units will last indefinitely.

No. You will need to replace the inline hose with standard hard wall hose and install Woodpecker type or flag emitters.

The DRI-3 is recommended for potted plants and tomato plants etc.

The DRI-6 is recommended for all shrubs and bushes.

The DRI-12 is recommended for all vines and tree crops.

The DRI-18 is recommended for large Heritage type or landscape shade trees.

No. The DRI system uses the same principles of physics as buried drip. As with any other form of subsurface irrigation, farmers have not found the need to change or recalibrate their pumps. Nor have they experienced damage to their pumps.

We recommend installing the DRI units to promote more water flow to the uphill side of the tree or vine.

DRI has been tested at over 500 locations, all with varying soil types and environmental influences. DRI always provides more water to the root zone while demonstrating significant savings in water use over standard drip irrigation.

Once your DRI unit is properly installed, it should last for the life of your plant. Your drip hose, however, should be flushed at the beginning of each season to remove sediment that might clog your emitters.

No. The most obvious advice to folk concerned about too much water is to water less. The tendency of people who have been surface watering for years is to believe that “more is better,” but that is not true with DRI. Because DRI provides an immediate and targeted delivery, you have more control in water (and fertilizer) delivery than you have ever had. With DRI, you can irrigate as much or as little as you want.

With vines, the DRI unit is installed at an angle in order to offset the bulb of saturation so the roots are not sitting in constant saturation. This allows the roots to get the oxygen they need and still have a continuous water source available. Similarly in orchards, although DRI is installed vertically on two sides of the tree, there is enough water available to the tree without compromising oxygen availability. Roots are drawn to the closest source of water, but they are particularly attracted to that zone at the edge of the bulb that contains oxygen.

No. You do not need to change them, but for optimum performance you will want to change your irrigation cycle. You are no longer competing with the ground as you were when you were surface watering. Because DRI provides an immediate and targeted delivery, you are going to use half the water in a considerably shorter period of time.

To determine the amount of time needed for irrigation cycles, you can use Sentek™ probes and monitor the IrriMAX Live images online. Another way is to document the amount of time it takes for the 4- to 6-inch wet spot to start expanding where the ¼-inch tubing enters the ground. If, for example, the 4- to 6-inch wet spot begins growing after 2 hours, then you will know that either you have reached desired saturation or you are close.

To verify that you have reached desired saturation, run a test with DRI in that soil type independent of the tree or vine. Once the 4- to 6-inch wet spot begins expanding to 8 or 10 inches, dig down into the soil with a backhoe to observe the subsurface saturation profile. We call this the “backyard test.”

Yes. Deficit irrigation (watering a lot less) is conducted at the end of the season, just prior to harvest, to bring the sugar content up in the fruit. DRI is perfect for deficit irrigation because you can deliver as much or as little water as you want. Because of the longevity of the subsurface bulb of saturation created by DRI, you may want to start your deficit irrigation earlier.

Most growers are opting to keep their existing line of fan jets, micro sprinklers, and impact sprinklers for frost protection.