I use this in my landscape...not for tropical fruit trees, but for hardy shrubs and trees. I use a system by Netafim which uses a 1" line connected to the hose. These lines are buried. From there, 1/4" lines are added, easy to do with a little punch tool. On the end of the 1/4" lines there are spike microsprinkler which cover generally an area 3 x 4 feet in size and emit 3, 5, or 7 gallons (per hour?). Some people use a timer, I don't, but it works great. I've got about 300' of the 1" line and another 150' to install this next year.

You have to check the spikes because occasionally a bit of debris gets in the line, probably from the hose hookup, and then obstructs the sprinkler. A simple filter would fix that. It is easy to clear, just pull the spike off of the 1/4" line and reattach.

Hope that helps.

Stressb,
Thanks for the info, how long has your system been in place? I'm wondering about durability of a drip system. I plan on doing something similar to racor also, and would be burying lots of the piping to avoid mowing it, and don't want to have to replace it for many years if possible. Thanks to both for the question and info.

I have used 1/2" o.d tubing (comes in 50ft rolls)around the perimeter of the yard attached to an existing sprinkler valve/timer system. Tap into the 1/2" tubing with 1/4" couplings and 1/4" tubing and either a drip or spray head, depending on the situation.Put the emitters anywhere you like. You can even mount misters to add humidity to the air. I have been very happy with this arrangement.I would not recommend burying tubing because you need to be able to check it for leaks and disturbances, or to add more emitters. If you want to put something underground I would recommend pvc piping. If you do not have a sprinkler valve with a timer, you can use a male hose adapter to attach to a hose bib. You can even purchase a battery operated timer that attaches to the hosebib, but I think a hardwired timer is the foolproof way to go. After installation you can fine tune the amt of water by using drips with different GPM or sprayers with simple valves attached. In this way you can customize your system for every plant or location.

dghays, my system has been in the ground for 3 years. The 1" tubing is supposed to be flexible enough to withstand water freezing inside. Therefore, I have never flushed or drained the systems, all I do is disconnect the hose. I have had no leaks. The only problems I can cite are: 1) the buried 1" line tends to get heaved up out of the ground in the winter, so this year I'll have to rebury a couple of sections; 2) occasional clogs at the microsprinkler connection, easily cleared as I mentioned above; 3) breakage of the sprinkler spikes...I have 2 or 3 spikes that have broken off at the tip after 3 years. This is easy to fix by cutting off 1/2" of the 1/4" tubing and sticking another sprinkler spike on. This generally happens after I trip on the 1/4" line walking through the garden.

I was told by the nurseryman who sold me the parts that ants can make their home in the tubing. For this reason I put a simple hose-type shutoff valve on the end of each line. I close it whenever the hose is not attached, and this seems to work to keep the ants out.

Hope that helps. SB