The average emitter operating pressure is an important parameter in drip irrigation because it influences pressure, discharge and cost of the system. In this study, a calculation method for the minimum value of the average emitter operating pressure is proposed. A lateral design procedure is also presented where the average emitter operating pressure is regarded as the design variable. Then, in order to simplify the design procedure, the equations for estimating the average emitter operating pressures are given for both flat slope and downslope cases. When the lateral is set on upslope, the average emitter operating pressure can be decided based on minimizing the lateral annual cost, it also shows that the traditional average emitter operating pressure (7-10 m) is much higher than the optimal average emitter operating pressure for flat slope and downslopes. However, for the upslope case, it is sometimes less than the optimal value.
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