A spray tube is a polythene made hose used for spraying of droplets of water to the foliage of plants and the soil.
The spray tube comes with holes or emitters spaced at specified intervals, the holes are used for the sprinkling of water to plants. The spray tube is also called a rain hose or sprinkler hose.
The spray tube is one of the components of a spray tube irrigation system. A special type of spray tube is called the Sumisansui hose.
A drip tape is a tube made of polythene or flexible hose or pipe used for the emission of water to the root zone of plants. The drip tape is laid parallel to the rows of plants.
The drip tape has emitters pre-installed on it at equal distances called emitter spacing. The emitter spacing ranges from 10cm to 90 cm.
Without the drip tape, the drip irrigation system cannot work. The drip tape is the main component of the drip irrigation system.

Differences between a spray tube and a drip tape
The following are the differences between a spray tube and a drip irrigation tape:
- The spray tube sprays droplets of water to the foliage of plants while the drip tape emits water to the root zone of plants.
- The diameter of the spray tube is usually bigger than the diameter of the drip tape. This is due to the fact that the spray the uses more water than the drip tape. Most drip tapes have a diameter of 16mm while most of the spray tubes in Nigeria have a diameter of above 24mm.
- The spray tube needs more water flow and pressure than the drip tape. The spray tube needs significantly more water than the drip tape.
- The spray tube may not work with gravity system while a drip tape can work perfectly with a gravity irrigation system.

The similarities between spray tubes and drip tapes
The following are the similarities between spray tubes and drip tapes:
- The spray tube and drip tape are both irrigation equipment and materials.
- Fertigation and Chemigation can be done while using the drip tape and the spray tube. This means that soluble fertilizers can be passed to the plants with spray tubes and drip tapes.
- The drip tapes and spray tubes are made of polythene material. They are both items and parts of plasticulture.
- The spray tubes and drip tapes both irrigate crops with uniform volume of water. This ensures uniform growth of the plants.
Do you need more information about the spray tube and the drip tape? If yes, kindly contact us through sales@veggieconcept.ng.
You can buy drip tapes and spray tubes here.