Patented subsurface direct-delivery irrigation

Pump less.
Grow more.

DRI delivers water and nutrients straight to the root zone, below the reach of evaporation and runoff. In a three-year government trial, that meant 71% less water with comparable yield and quality.

See the field data → How it works

Validated by INIFAP, Mexico's federal agriculture research institute · In market since 2014

Surface watering is lost up top. DRI delivers it below.

Independent trial

INIFAP, Gov. of Mexico

World Ag Expo

Top 10 New Products

Protected design

U.S. Patent 8,381,437

Proven in field

In market since 2014

The water math no longer works

Most irrigation waters the air, not the root.

Surface drip and sprinkler systems lose enormous volumes to evaporation and runoff before a drop reaches where the plant drinks. As aquifers draw down and pumping costs climb, that loss stops being an inconvenience and starts being the whole problem.

01 / EVAPORATION

~50%

lost before it works

Surface systems can lose up to half their water to evaporation and runoff — water you paid to pump and never used.

02 / ENERGY

cost on the farm

Energy to pump water is the single largest irrigation expense. Every wasted liter is wasted electricity and diesel.

03 / GROUNDWATER

↓

faster than it refills

Mexico — like much of the world — is depleting groundwater faster than it recharges. Efficiency is no longer optional.

How it works

A simpler idea: put the water where the roots are.

DRI is a small, durable device that connects to your existing emitter and channels water straight down into the root zone — sealed off from the air, the sun, and the surface.

STEP 01

Connect

Attaches to the emitter you already run. No system to rip out, no parts to replace.

STEP 02

Deliver deep

Water and liquid fertilizer travel down a sealed channel to the root zone — no air interference, no surface pooling.

STEP 03

Root downward

Plants chase the deep water and grow stronger downward roots — more drought resistance, less disease, no J-root.

STEP 04

Install in seconds

Each unit goes in the ground in 30 to 60 seconds. Affordable, durable, long lasting, and built for the demands of large-acre orchards and vineyards.

The evidence — INIFAP three-year trial, Chihuahua

Not a brochure claim. A government study.

INIFAP — Mexico's National Institute for Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock Research — ran a side-by-side trial of five irrigation systems on mature 60-plus-year-old pecan trees in Jiménez, Chihuahua. DRI was measured against the standard micro-sprinkler, two surface drip systems, and standard sprinklers. Here is the first-year data, presented at the 2024 Pecan Conference.

Less water than the micro-sprinkler system that runs almost every pecan orchard in Mexico.

+0%

Higher yield per tree than the control group — more crop, far less input.

Less water than the two drip systems and standard sprinklers in the trial.

Less pumping energy — and energy is the number-one irrigation cost on the farm.

Water used per tree

Volume applied, in centimeters. Lower is better.

DRI

42.22 cm

Netafim drip

67.49 cm

Valdés drip

68.21 cm

Standard sprinkler

77.54 cm

Micro-sprinkler (control)

123.42 cm

Yield per tree

Harvest weight, kilograms. Higher is better.

Standard sprinkler

64.87 kg

DRI

59.93 kg

Netafim drip

54.73 kg

Micro-sprinkler (control)

49.87 kg

Valdés drip

47.27 kg

The standard sprinkler edged out DRI on yield — but used about 1.8× the water and energy to get there.

DRI — water-to-nut efficiency

0 L / kg

Liters of water per kilogram of pecans — the best conversion rate recorded in the entire trial.

Every other system in the study

1,732–3,587 L / kg

The other systems ranged from 1,732 to 3,587 L/kg. DRI used barely a third of the thirstiest.

View the full year-one data table▾

Irrigation system	Yield (kg/tree)	Nut weight (g)	Nut meat (%)	Germinated fruit (%)	Water (cm)
DRI — Deep Root Irrigation	59.93	5.21	57.28	0.40	42.22
Micro-sprinkler (control)	49.87	5.58	58.33	0.13	123.42
Standard sprinklers	64.87	5.39	58.22	0.33	77.54
Netafim drip	54.73	5.68	58.64	0.73	67.49
Valdés drip	47.27	5.56	58.30	1.07	68.21

Source: 2023 INIFAP Pecan Water Use Efficiency Study, presented at the Pecan Conference, Delicias, Chihuahua, 2024. Year-one results; trial ongoing through 2025. Nut size and meat percentage were comparable across systems.

Testimonials

What growers are saying.

Hear directly from the orchards and vineyards putting Deep Root Irrigation to work in the field.

The units

One system. Four sizes.

Every unit uses the same direct-delivery principle. Pick the size that matches your planting.

DRI-3

Potted plants

For newly established trees and vines where every drop counts during the critical early years.

DRI-6

Bush & cane crops

Sized for berry, bush, and cane plantings in production rows.

★ TOP 10 · 2015

DRI-12

Vines & tree crops

The flagship for orchards and vineyards — the unit measured in the INIFAP trial. Named a World Ag Expo Top 10 New Product.

DRI-18

Heritage Trees

DRI-18 is used on mature Heritage trees in landscape environments.

What you get

Good for the aquifer. Good for the ledger.

Direct delivery is not just an environmental story. It changes the cost structure of every acre you irrigate.

Saves water

Direct delivery to the root means almost nothing is lost to evaporation or runoff.

Cuts energy cost

Less water pumped is less power burned — and pumping is the largest irrigation expense.

Stronger roots

Promotes downward root growth, improving resistance to drought and disease and avoiding J-root.

Targeted fertilizer

Send liquid fertilizer straight to the root zone instead of losing it to runoff and displacement.

Cleaner emitters

Sealing water from the air reduces calcification and the clogging that plagues drip emitters.

Fewer weeds & pests

Underground delivery removes the easy surface water and food source that surface systems hand to weeds and pests.

About DRI

Built by people solving the world's water problem.

Deep Root Irrigation LLC designs and manufactures patented direct-delivery irrigation that cuts cost, saves water, and grows more crop.

DRI products went through years of testing since reaching the market in 2014, and are built to meet the demands of orchards, vineyards, and tree-nut operations. As groundwater tables fall worldwide, the team works with growers and crop advisors to rethink how every acre gets watered.

In market since 2014

Years of field testing before launch

★

World Ag Expo Top 10

New Product · 2015

CompanyDeep Root Irrigation LLC

In market since2014

PatentU.S. 8,381,437 (+ pending)

RecognitionWorld Ag Expo Top 10 · 2015

Validated byINIFAP, Gov. of Mexico

Install time30–60 sec / unit

ApplicationsOrchard · vineyard · tree nuts

Pump less.Grow more.