Decreasing sufficiency of water sources necessitate wider dissemination of irrigation systems with higher irrigation performance. Thus the existing water sources can be used for irrigation of larger areas. In addition, today use of irrigation systems which require lesser workforce and energy and which increase efficiency and quality continues to grow in importance. One of the best methods fulfilling these requirements it the drip irrigation method. It can be particularly said to be the most suitable method of irrigation for vegetable and fruit gardens.

The main principle in drip irrigation method is to provide a small amount of irrigation water only and directly to the area where plant roots develop, without causing stress on the plant due to moisture deficiency. This method allows irrigation every day, or even multiple times per day. In drip irrigation method purified water is transferred through a pressurized pipeline down to drippers located close to the plants and passed to the soil surface at low pressure from the drippers. At this point water permeates into the soil by infiltration and moisturizes the soil volume housing plant root development by gravity and capillary force. 

In drip irrigation the irrigation water is only applied to the root area of the plan, avoiding irrigating the entire agricultural surface. Significant part of the soil surface remains dry. Therefore water usage efficiency of this method is higher in comparison to other irrigation methods and thus allows significant water savings. In comparison to surface irrigation methods, drip irrigation also minimizes losses arising due to surface flows and deep leaks, achieving irrigation performances up to 70-95%. This way, drip irrigation allows agricultural production where there is not sufficient water for surface irrigation, and provides more revenue per unit of water used.

Advantages of drip irrigation method:Drip irrigation method has many advantages in comparison to other irrigation methods. These advantages include the following;

• Since only a certain part of the land is irrigated, the required amount of irrigation water is smaller. In conditions where the amount of irrigation water is limited, this allows irrigation of larger areas with the same amount of water.
• The irrigated area remains under the shadow of the plant, thus decreasing the amount of water lost to evaporation, thus decreasing the water consumption per plant in comparison to other methods. With drip irrigation the root area of the plant is constantly kept moist, thus decreasing moisture stress on the plant.
• Due to low moisture street at the plant root, the plant can absorb the water without expending too much energy, which is one of the most important factors in increasing crop yield.
• As there is no need to irrigate the entire surface of the soil, less water is used, water loss due to deep leakage is prevented and better irrigation performance is achieved thanks to equal distribution of water.
• As only the plan row line is irrigated the row breaks remain dry, which allow performance of other agricultural processes during irrigation. As the plant organs above the soil are not moisturized development of diseases and pests is prevented.
• Weed development rate is also lower. Plant nutrients can be delivered to plant root area in the required amounts and ratios with drip irrigation, providing utmost benefit from fertilizer application.