Irrigation Materials, Tools,

Equipment and Structures

What I need to know

Construction and maintaining a functional irrigation system for your crops

requires the use of irrigation material, tools and equipment. It is important to select and
identify the needed materials, tools and equipment before performing construction or
repair of an irrigation system. These will not only save time but most importantly it
prevents accidents in the workplace.

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

1. Identify the materials, tools, equipment and structures used in irrigation works
and
2. Describe the specific uses of each material, tool, equipment and structure;

What I Know

Multiple Choice
Directions: Read each question carefully and choose the letter that corresponds to
the best answer from the choices provided. Write your answers in your
activity notebook.

1. Which of the following tools will give you a more precise measurement of a pipe
diameter?
A. ruler C. steel tape measure
B. square rule D. Vernier caliper
2. Which of the following is a water lifting device?
A. excavator C. pump
B. tractor D. all of the above
3. Which of the following protects the impeller of pumps from damage?
A. filter C. nipple
B. hoses D. pressure gauge
4. What are substances applied to one surface or both surfaces of materials to be
joined together and resist their separation?
A. adhesives C. valves
B. filters D. fittings

5. Which of the following fittings can stop the flow of irrigation water?
A. plug and cap C. gate valve
B. ball valve D. Barb
 What’s In

In your previous lesson you have learned how to grow crops and part of it is
giving your plants the water that they needed. To perform these irrigation materials,
tools, equipment and structures are needed.

What’s New

Activity 1.1.

In your school/home garden can you identify the materials, tools, equipment and
structures that you use so that you can provide water to your plants? How many can
you identify?

What Is It

Irrigation Materials

Irrigation materials are those things used to make the irrigation system functional
which are not considered to be tools or equipment. Materials used in irrigation vary
depending on the irrigation system. A more complex irrigation system requires more
complicated materials while simple irrigation system will only require fewer simple
materials needed to deliver the required amount of water to the crops. For this reason,
this lesson will only tackle the most common materials used in an irrigation system.

1. Hoses and Pipes and Tapes

Hoses and pipes are hollow tubes with circular cross-section designed to carry fluids
from one location to another. Hoses are flexible while pipes are more rigid. These are
made from different materials and comes in different sizes depending on the purpose it
was designed. Tapes on the other hand are flat which eventually expands into tube-
like form as the water passes through it and is made out of plastic material.

Photo credit: Enrico S. Sevencruz

Figure 1.1. (Left) multipurpose PE pipe (Right) garden hose.

Standard plumbing grade PVC pipe is marked with universal standard code that
tells you several things about the pipe. This marking is required by law so that builders
can easily distinguish the properties and tolerances of the pipe they are using. Photo
below shows an example of the marking on a PVC pipe.

Photo credit: Enrico S. Sevencruz

Figure 1.2. The marking on the pipe will inform you of its manufacturer, size, the type
of the material, where it is supposed to be used, and when the pipe was produced.
The example above shows the manufacturer’s name (omitted on the picture on
purpose), the inner diameter of the pipe is 20mm. Its length is 3 meters, it is made out
of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), it is for multipurpose use, it is a schedule 10 pipe
produced on September 24, 2019. When pressurized water flows inside the pipes and
hoses the working pressure capacity is usually included in the markings.
2. Fittings

These are materials used to connect sections of irrigation tubing. Fittings come in a
variety of styles, materials and sizes.

- A tee has an inlet and an

outlet and is shaped like the
Tee letter “T”.

Photo credit: Enrico S. Sevencruz

 - used to connect pipes on
corners. The angle of
Elbow elbows may vary. Reducer
elbow variations also exist
when piping diameters
Photo credit: Enrico S. Sevencruz
being connected are
different.
- used to join two hoses,
pipes or tapes of the same
Coupling diameter and type.

P hoto credit: Enrico S. Sevenc ruz

This fitting makes a flow

smaller and thus reduces it.

Reducer

Photo credit: alibaba.com

Built in the shape of letter

“Y”. Wyes are similar to tee
Wie fittings but the smoother
angling reduces friction and
turbulence in the water.
P hoto credit: Enrico S. Sevenc ruz
Adaptors connect pipes that
are not the same type.
Adaptor can be male or
Adaptor
female on one end, it can
turn a pipe male or female.
P hoto credit: Enrico S. Sevenc ruz
Connects hoses to pipes. It
is usually male on one end
the other end has a barbed
Barb
tube, which is a ridged or
Photo credit: alibaba.com
tapered cone.
A cross fitting has openings
on all four of its ends and
can connect four pipes.
Cross

Photo credit: alibaba.com

A short fitting made of
metals such as copper,
brass or steel or chlorinated
Nipple
polyvinyl chloride (CPVC).
Instead of connecting two
Photo credit: Enrico S. Sevenc pipes a nipple connects two
ruz fittings.
 Plugs and caps are both
used to close up pipe
openings. The main
Plug and Cap
difference is that the plug is
male and cap is female.
Photo credit: En rico S. Sevenc ruz
Unions have either male or
female threads. They are
similar to couplings but the
Union
difference is unions are
easy to remove making
them convenient for
Photo credit: Enrico S. Sevenc ruz maintenance.

3. Filters

These are irrigation materials used to eliminate debris from clogging pipes,
nozzles and damaging water pump impellers.

Photo credit: Enrico S. Seven cruz

Figure 1.3. Irrigation filter for overhead sprinkler irrigation in a chrysanthemum farm in
Manolo Fortich

4. Valves

These are devices or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of fluids
by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. There are different
types of valves the most common are foot valves, ball valves and gate
valves.

Photo credit: Enrico S. Sevencruz

 Figure 1.4. Example of ball valves

5. Sealants and Adhesives

Adhesives are substances applied to one surface or both surfaces of materials to be

joined together and resist their separation. Adhesives in irrigation are commonly used
to join pipes made out of plastic materials. Sealants however are materials that
prevent the flow of fluids.

Photo credit: Enrico S. Sevencruz

Figure1.5. Example of sealant used in irrigation to prevent fluid leaks

Hand Tools

Hand tools are objects which are operated by hand to carry out tasks with ease
making work efficient and safe. These tools do not rely on electricity and fuel for it to
function. Below are some of the examples of tools used in irrigation:

- a tool commonly used

by rice farmers in
Spade constructing earthen
canals.
Photo credit: Enrico S. Sevencruz
- is used in removing
trash, digging loose soil,
moving soil from one
Shovel
place to another and for
Photo credit: Enrico S. Sevencruz
mixing soil media.
- used in digging
irrigation structures such
Digging Bar as canals, water
Pho to credit: Enrico S. Seven cruz reservoirs etc.
- used for cutting plastic
and metal pipes and
bars.
Hack Saw
Pho to credit: Enrico S. Seven cruz
- as the name implies it
is used to cut pipes.
Pipe Cutter Pipe cutter produces a
Photo credit: alibaba.com
square cut ad much
cleaner than hacksaw.
 -used to cut irrigation
tapes and other
relatively thin materials.
Scissors
Pho to credit: Enrico S. Seven cruz
- a measuring tool that
ca remain stiff and
Steel Tape straight when extended,
Measure but retracts into a coil
to credit: Enrico S. Seven for convenient storage.
Pho cruz
- a measuring device
used for measuring
short distances.
Ruler
Photo credit: alibaba.com

- a more accurate
measuring device which
can measure inner and
Vernier Caliper
outer pipe diameter
Photo credit: alibaba.com which no other
measuring devices can
do.
- a loosening and
tightening tool specially
Pipe Wrench designed for threaded
Photo credit: Enrico S.
Sevencruz
pipes.

Farm Equipment

1. Tractors – a common farm equipment used in various farm activities including

efficient installation of irrigation pipes, hoses and drip tapes.

Photo credit: alibaba.com

Figure 1.5. Farm tractor used in installing and retrieving drip tapes and hoses in the
field

2. Excavators – are machines used in digging canals, construction of water reservoirs

and installation of culverts.
 Photo credit: Enrico S. Sevencruz
Figure 1.6. Excavator used in irrigation system construction.

3. Water Pump – a water lifting device used in irrigation. There are many types of
pumps but the most commonly used are centrifugal pumps which operate with the
use of fossil fuel or electricity.

Photo credit: Enrico S. Sevencruz

Figure 1.7. A 0.5 horsepower electric pump.

What’s More
Activity 1.2. Identify the picture that is shown in column A. Write the name of the
material, tool or equipment in column B.

Column A Column B

Photo credit: Enrico S. Sevencruz

Photo credit: alibaba.com

 Photo credit: Enrico S. Sevencruz

Photo credit: Enrico S. Sevencruz

Photo credit: Enrico S. Sevencruz

What I Have Learned

Activity 1.3: Journal Writing

Directions: Provide sentences to complete the statements. Write the answers in your
activity notebook.
 Journal Writing

Date:
Topic:
I learned that_____________________
___________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

I realized that
_____________________________
___________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

What I Can Do

Activity 1.4. Identification

Directions: On the table below list down the irrigation materials, tools and equipment
which can be found in your home. Check the appropriate box to classify
the item into material, tool or equipment.

Item Material Tool Equipment