Inhibition potential of moringa root extract and ozonized water on biofilm growth in clogged drip irrigation system

This study was conducted to evaluate the possibility of using moringa root extract (MRE) and Ozonized water (OW) as biofilm growth inhibitors in a gravity-fed clogged drip irrigation system. Moringa root phytochemical was extracted from the plant root while OW was produced from an ozone generator and the hydrochloric acid was sourced from the local sources. These three solutions were used in flushing a clogged gravity-fed drip irrigation setup to investigate their effect on the major drip system evaluation parameters like average emitter discharge rate (qa) and emission uniformity (EU) The highest average q
a
of 0.52 L/H was recorded for OW followed by the acid treatment, while the best EU was recorded for MRE (96.26%). In contrast to the repeated chemical applications to cure emitter clogging, the results demonstrate that MRE and OW can remove and inhibit biofilm growth and can be utilized as anti-clogging agents for the treatment of emitters in drip irrigation systems.