After you and your local T-TAPE® dealer have properly designed the system, the installation process can begin.
Here are a few suggestions:
1. Install proper filtration for efficient, trouble-free operation of the system.
For further information on filters and recommendations for your particular situation, contact your local T-TAPE dealer.
2. T-TAPE is designed to operate at low pressure to reduce power and pumping costs.
You should make sure that proper pressure regulation devices are used as necessary in the system.
3. If there are significant slopes in the field, vacuum relief valves should be used to prevent suction of soil back into the T-TAPE.

1. The T-TAPE reel should be properly protected from the environment before its use.
2. Do not double-stack pallets containing T-TAPE reels.
3. Leave all protective wrapping in place until ready to install.
4. Do not set T-TAPE reels on forklift forks unless reels are on a pallet.
5. Keep cardboard disks in place until T-TAPE reel is empty.
6. Do not throw, drop or roll T-TAPE reels when loading or unloading from truck.
7. Do not lift T-TAPE reel by the core by inserting finger in the end plug hole because this can damage or loosen the plug and possibly cause the cardboard disks to fall off during handling or installation.
Insert fingers under bottom of the reel to lift.
8. Do not drag T-TAPE reels on surfaces that could tear the packaging and possibly damage the T-TAPE.
9. Do not set T-TAPE reels on sharp objects.
10. If cardboard sides come off do not set T-TAPE reel on its side especially on surfaces that could cause damage to the edges of the T-TAPE.
11. Care should be taken when using a knife to cut the plastic wrapper from the T-TAPE reel to avoid slicing or puncturing the T-TAPE.
12. After removal of protective wrap from T-TAPE reel do not remove sticky tape (that keeps the T-TAPE from unravelling) until the reel is secured onto the spool carrier.
13. When lifting T-TAPE reels be sure to use proper lifting procedures to avoid injury.

1. The T-TAPE must be installed with the print side and outlets facing up. This will minimise sediment settling at the inlet which may potentially cause plugging.
2. T-TAPE should be buried a minimum of 2.5cm (one inch). This will result in the following advantages.
· Reduced field damage from animals and workers in the field.
· Maintains the T-TAPE in the proper locations so it is not moved by wind or temperature fluctuations.
· Less surface evaporation of water, chemicals and fertilisers.
· Better uniformity of water, chemical and fertiliser distribution in the soil along the T-TAPE and better placement in the root zone.
· Eliminates the possibility of burning the T-TAPE when used under clear plastic. This is caused by sun rays being focused by water droplets formed on the under side of the plastic. T-TAPE- must be buried when installed under clear plastic mulch.
3. T-TAPE should be placed away from aggressive tap roots that can girdle the T-TAPE and choke the flow of water.
4. Where ground insects are a potential problem, insecticides should be used in advance of, or during installation of the T-TAPE.
5. Allow the T-TAPE TSX reel and side disks to turn freely during installation. Do not drag the drip tape along or under the ground. Avoid jerks which could damage the T-TAPE.
6. Be sure to check your installation tool to ensure that it is free from nicks, burrs and any unnecessary drag.
When installing T-TAPE, the injector tool should be a cylinder of at least 40mm (1.5 inches) I.D. for the TSX 500 model and 50mm (2 inches) I.D. for the TSX 700 model.
7. Be sure the corrugated side disks are supported during installation, ie a wood or metal disk on each side.
It is recommended that the reel be held in place on the shaft by a hub which fits into the end plug on the reel.
8. Please see Figure 1 for examples of T-TAPE closing end and splicing techniques.

The installation can be performed manually or mechanically.
When designing or shopping for an installation tool, consider the following:
Mechanical installation
It should be carried out with the utmost care:
1 - Install metal, wooden, or plastic discs against the corrugated reel sides, for a proper support.
2 - The assembly consisting of the spindle, the reel and the side plates should turn all together.
3 - The distance between the bottom of the reel and the injection tube entrance should be 70 to 80 cm, to avoid subjecting T-Tape to sharp angles which could potentially cause damage from excess friction.
4 - When assembling the injection tube, use tubes (40 mm diameter for TSX 500) with a large radius elbow made of steel or PVC. (50 mm for TSX 700). The tube must be perfectly smooth and other paths are free from sharp edges and burrs.
5 - The tube opening should be flared to avoid the rubbing of the T-Tape against the edges.
6 - Flatten the outlet of the tube to avoid twisting of the T-Tape.
Manual installation
Follow the recommendations below to a successful installation:
1 - Avoid friction on rough or sharp edges, nicks and excessive tension.
2 - Allow the T-Tape reel and side disks to turn freely during installation.
3 - Do not pull the T-Tape lateral from the end of field.
4 - Insure that the T-Tape lateral is not dragged on the soil.
5 - Flush the main and manifold lines thoroughly, then connect the T-Tape lateral to the manifold and operate to check the entire system.
Injection tool drawing

Starting up a drip system is easy if a few guidelines are followed:
First, if using a media filter, backwash it. New sand in media filters contains fine particles which do not wash out during the manufacturing process. These particles restrict flow and must be backwashed out as soon as possible. Usually, a 0.15-0.2 BAR (2-3 psi) differential across the filter bed is acceptable. A large differential may indicate more backwashing is necessary.

A new system should be filled slowly to prevent problems related to entrapped air. The mainlines and submains should be open and allowed to flush out prior to closing off the ends. After the mainlines and submains have been flushed out, close them and continue to flush out the lateral lines. This will remove dirt and debris that has collected in the lines during installation.

Check the pressure at the pump, filters, mainlines, submains and lateral ends. Your findings should compare with the design calculations. This will also confirm the uniformity throughout the system.

Walk the fields and check for leaks. Pressure readings taken earlier will indicate if major leaks are present.
Little or no water coming out of a lateral indicates a possible restriction upstream. Pinching the drip tape will isolate the problem; upstream of the restriction will be firm, downstream will feel limp.

Guidelines for potential pluggability of water

1. Root intrusion
Drip tube emitters with hole outlets are susceptible to root intrusion. T-TAPE has been innovative with its slit outlet which dramatically reduces the incidence of root intrusion, simply because the root has more difficulty in finding the outlet.
Root intrusion is a direct function of the plant being stressed due to lack of water. Roots and root hairs have a natural tendency to spread out and search for nutrients and moisture. They are only attracted to the emitter if they are stressed or if nutrient is not flushed from the system. More precisely, an acid treatment of 2-3 pH will assist to clear partially blocked emitters.
Should intrusion take place, it can be dislodged or literally burnt out using nitric, hydrochloric, phosphoric or sulphuric acid. To effectively treat intruding roots, a solution
with a pH of 2-3 is required. For more detail refer to section on “Acid and Chlorine Treatment” and their respective sample calculations. Chlorine at 200-500ppm has been found to assist in dislodging roots.
Root intrusion may also occur where the system is operating at low pressures.
Avoid operating the system below 0.56 bar.
For permanent installations using wall thickness of 10mil or greater, it is preferred to operate systems between 0.7 - 1.05 bar. If the root has blocked the emitter to 0% flow, you may never clean the system.
Prevention is always the preferred approach. The use of herbicides is being investigated for the prevention of root intrusion.
In summary, to prevent root intrusion:

· Avoid moisture stress.
· Operate system at 0.7 - 1.05 bar.
· T-TAPE Slit Outlet dramatically reduces the incidence of root intrusion.
· Use of trifluralin at the rate of 0.1L/ha is registered for use in sugar cane.

2. Insect damage
The incidence of insect damage (crickets, wire worms, grubs, etc...) is a direct relationship with insecticide control measures.
Some insecticide control measures are used.
The use of plastic mulch creates a micro-environment that increases insect activity, particularly ground crickets.
Symptoms : Generally no problems on first watering. On second and subsequent waterings, leaks are encountered. Insect activity also seems to be increased after rain.
Solution : Having had the insect causing the damage identified by an entomologist, follow through on his recommendations. If injecting chemical through the drip system is a recommendation, it is generally a good idea to wet up properly before injecting. The active ingredient of most chemicals often has the tendency to lock up quickly on contact with clay particles, therefore restricting its movement within the root zone. A definite advantage would be obtained by using 20cm emitter spacing. Drip irrigation has been known to increase mobility of certain elements in the soil, eg phosphorous.
It may be best to incorporate chemicals during bed preparation. With some chemicals, if they are left exposed to the sun, their effectiveness can be reduced dramatically.

3. Suckback
Where field layout is on sloping ground, upon shutdown of the system, water will flow to the lowest point.
If air is not allowed to enter the system by means of an air/vacuum release valve, a vacuum will be created in the highest end of the tube. Soil particles can be sucked back into the regulating tube. This will gradually block and cause stress to the plant.
Once again emitters with hole outlets are far more prone to suckback problems than T-TAPE with it’s slit outlet.
Upon inspecting a field for low output of water and you suspect suckback, complete the following checks:

· Examine elevation layout of field.
· Ensure that the T-TAPE is operating at normal pressures.
· In shallow installations where flow has ceased, rub drip tape between fingers 5 cm either side of emitter.

If suckback is a problem this should induce flow.
To alleviate suckback plugging:

· Use T-TAPE with slit outlet.
· Use an air/vacuum release valve connected to the submain.
· Operate the system at the highest recommended pressure.
· Inject surfactant that may assist in dislodging particles.

If you have major concerns, contact your T-TAPE dealer

1. Calculation of injection time
To establish the duration of injection time required for the material to reach the furthest point in the proposed block to be treated, work out the distance from the point of injection to the end of the furthest lateral, eg 600m.
Assume the average water velocity to be 1m per 3 seconds.
                          Time required for the material to travel 600m
                                                               = 600 x 3 seconds
                                                               = 1800 seconds or 30 minutes
                          Minimum duration of injection = 30 minutes.
A very accurate procedure to ascertain injection time is to inject a dye following the pressurisation of a system.
Measure time from first injection until the colour solution reaches the furthermost point in the block to be treated.
If you wish to run an acid solution through each emitter for a minimum of 5 minutes, then simply add 5 minutes to your injection time calculated above.

2. Acid calibration of irrigation water



3. Calculation of acid required to reduce the water to PH2
Duration of injection treatment = 30 minutes.
Conduct a test on a 200L sample of water to lower the pH.
Continue adding small amounts of acid until pH reaches 2.

For this sample calculation let us assume that to lower the pH to 2 requires 120ml of acid per 200L water = 600ml per 1000L (1m3) water. Assume a flow rate of 31,000 L/hour (31m3).
                
             Acid required
                                                            Acid rate ml/m3 x Flow Rate m3    = 600 x 31
                                                                                                                               = 18,600 ml
             Total quantity of acid required for 30 minutes of injection     = 18.6L x 30min
                                                                                                                               = 60 min (1 Hr)
                                                                                                                               = 9.3 L

CAUTION: NEVER ADD WATER TO ACID,
ALWAYS ADD ACID TO WATER

4. Calculation of injection rate of chlorine
Check your flow rate, if possible with a flow meter.
For this example, assume the flow rate is 31,000L/hour which equals 31 m3/hr (cubic meters), the desired rate of chlorine is 15 ppm and the active ingredient of chlorine is 12.5% or 125 ml/L.

Injection rate (ml/hr) =	desired ppm X flow rate (m3/hr)
	concentration %

Injection rate =	15 x 31	= 3720 ml/hr = 3.72 L/hr
	0.125

5. calculation of total quantity of chlorine required

Duration time required =

30 min

Injection rate of chlorine =

3.72 L/hr

Total chlorine =	30 x 3.72	= 31.86 L/hr
	60 min

The residual chlorine should then be checked in the field at the end of the furthest lateral.

6. Achieving desired PPM (parts per millon)
When calculating for chlorine, chemicals and fertilizer concentrations:

1 gram or 1 ml in

1 cubic meter

= 1 ppm

150g of pure boron in 1m3 =

150 ppm

10g of pure chlorine in 1m3 of water =

10 ppm chlorine

Injection rate =	Desired concentration (in ppm)	X	Flow rate (m3 x hour)
	ml x hour		Chemical purity %

The number of growers applying fertilizers through their irrigation systems has risen dramatically over the last few years. With the assistance of plant tissue and sap analysis, growers are now able to “fine tune” their nutritional programs to maximise yields.
When growers are selecting the products to suit their nutrient requirement, factors such as solubility, compatibility and reaction with salts in the irrigation water must be taken into account. Good quality fertilizers limit the risk of plugging.
The amount of fertilizer which can be dissolved depends on the water temperature, the type of fertilizer and whether other products are contained in the solution.
Check the pH of the solution and the conditions of use in order to obtain total solubility. Flush the laterals thoroughly after the injection period.

Table 1: Solubility of the more commonly used fertilizers

Product	Maximum amount in kg 100 L at 20ºC	Practical amount kg/100L at 20°C	Time to dissolve (minutes)	pH of the	Insolubles	Comments
				Solution	%
Urea	105	40	20	9.5	Negligible	Solution cools as product dissolves.
Ammonium nitrate (NH 4 NO 1 )	195	60	20	5.62	-	Corrosive to galvanised-iron and brass. Solution cools as product dissolves.
Sulphate of ammonia	75	40	15	4.5	0.5	Corrosive to mild steel.
((NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 )
Mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP)	40	35	20	4.5	11	Corrosive to carbon steel.
Di-Ammonium phosphate (DAP)	60	60	20	7.6	1.5	Corrosive to carbon steel.
Muriate of potash	34	25	5	7.9	0.5	Corrosive to brass and mild steel.
(Kcl)
Sulphate of potash (K 2 SO 1 )	11	10	5	8.5-9.5	0.4-4	Corrosive to mild steel, concrete.
K-spray	11	10	5	8.5-9.5	0.4-4	Corrosive to mild steel, concrete.
(K 2 SO 4 )
Potassium nitrate	31	30	3	10.8	0.1	Solution cools as product dissolves.
(K NO 3 )
Zinc sulphate hepta	54	40	/	/	/	/

Table 2: Difference in solubility with temperature change

Temperature	Potassium Nitrate	Muriate of potash	Sulphate of potash	Ammonium nitrate	Urea
10ºc	21	31	9	158	84
20ºc	31	34	11	195	105
30ºc	46	37	13	242	133

The compatibility of these products is important if you intend mixing them. Also remember, less of each product will be able to dissolve if you are using two or more products



Table 3: International Conversions for Concentration of Solutions

%	Ratio	Oz/U.S. Gal	Oz/Imp. Gal	Grams /Litre	p.p.m
0.2	1,0833333	0.25	0.3	2	2
0.5	0,1805556	0.6	0.72	5	5
0.8	0,1305556	1.0	1.2	8	8
1.0	0,1111111	1.25	1.5	10	10
1.6	0,0861111	2.0	2.4	16	16
2.0	01:50	2.5	3.0	20	20
3.0	01:33	3.75	4.5	30	30
3.3	01:30	4.16	5.0	33	33
4.0	01:25	5.0	6.0	40	40
5.0	01:20	6.25	7.5	50	50
8.33	01:12	10.4	12.5	83.3	83,333
10.0	01:10	12.5	15.0	100	100