Irrigation—Principles & Practices
Part 1 – 216 | Unit 1.5
H. Importance of Distribution Uniformity (DU)
- Distribution Uniformity (DU) refers to how uniformly water is made available to plants over
an area via an overhead sprinkler or drip irrigation system - DU can be measured using a simple “catch bucket” test and the “low quarter DU”
calculation for both overhead and sprinkler irrigation systems (see Appendix 3 for details).
Note that measuring DU of oscillating sprinklers may require more catch buckets to
accurately measure uniformity throughout the coverage area (corners, edges, and middles
of beds). - It is important to maintain high DU in order to optimize water use and ensure that the
entire crop is receiving the intended amount of irrigation
Lecture 2: Irrigation Scheduling & Delivery Systems