Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) has many agronomic advantages, including water and fertilizer conservation, and savings in operating costs.
It also allows us to use effluent and wastewater by eliminating smells or contact between these waters, which contain a high concentration of bacteria, and the people and the plants themselves. The main issue was roots entering the dripper holes and blocking them. Also, where water with a high concentration of bacteria and organic matter was used - such as wastewater or polluted river water - the bacteria and organic matter could block the drippers as well. ROOTGUARD® has an herbicide embedded inside the plastic hose. Our wastewater driplines add an inner anti-bacterial layer which does not attack helpful bacteria but just stops it from blocking the water passages. While common approach is kill all bacteria with chlorine, Metzer’s approach is to work with nature, not against it. We do not want to destroy the helpful bacteria because it helps turn nutrients in the water generally discarded into organic matter, safe for humans and beneficial to farms. Until recently, ROOTGUARD® was expensive and used only in longer-term crops. Our hoses with ROOTGUARD® Band, instead of placing it in the drippers themselves provide a lower unit cost and greater flexibility.