IDE

Layout of IDE bucket system. Drawing: RELMA.

The International Development Enterprise (IDE) of the USA has also designed and tested a bucket system. The IDE bucket drip irrigation system consists of a bucket, a valve, a filter, an end cap and a 10-m long 12-mm diameter lateral line fitted with 26 micro-tubes, 13 on each side. All the pipes are pre-fitted and packed in a small box. The 13 micro-tube connections are spread over the length of the drip lateral at a spacing of 0.75 cm. Water from the bucket flows out like a small stream from all 26 micro-tubes and spreads out in a circular pattern. Four plants are planted in each of the circles and therefore a total of 104 plants can be watered by the IDE bucket system. The valve is used for flow regulation—giving the advantage that the bucket can be filled beforehand and irrigation started when required. The end cap is used to close the end of the lateral line.

What is a bucket kit?
A bucket kit system comprising two 15-m long drip lines can be used to grow 50 plants such as tomato, egg plant and similar crops requiring a spacing of 60 cm along the plant rows; 100 plants of spinach, cabbage, kale, pepper and similar plants requiring a spacing of 30 cm along the plant rows; or 300 plants of onion, carrot and similar plants requiring a spacing of 10 cm. The standard bucket kit system consists of two drip lines placed 0.5 m apart on a bed with a width of 1 m. A bucket is placed on a stand at one end of the bed and connected to the drip lines. These bucket kit systems can irrigate 10–20 m2, depending on the length of the drip tube and plant spacing.

The bucket should be filled once in the morning and once in the afternoon to supply 30–60 litres of water to the crop per day. The actual amount of water depends on crop water requirements and rainfall. In very dry areas and during the dry season 60 litres of water will be required per day. There is a growing demand for bucket kits. For example, Chapin bucket kits are reported to be in use in over 80 countries world wide and the demand is growing fast. By 2001, more than 5,000 kits had been sold by KARI to Kenyan farmers who have adopted the bucket drip irrigation system. It has been shown that plants that are watered using the bucket system have higher yields.

Construction, operations and maintenance

System components

20-litre bucket
Regulating valve
Line filter
10-m long PE lateral fitted with 26 micro-tubes
End cap.

Assembly instructions

Prepare the planting bed.
Construct a bucket stand such that the bottom of the bucket is at a height of at least 0.5 m.
Unroll all the pipes and lay them on the ground.
Connect to the bucket with the snap-in collar provided at the bottom of the bucket.