A numerical model of three-dimensional soil water distribution for drip irrigation management under cropped conditions was developed using Richards equation in Cartesian coordinates. The model accounts for both seasonal and diurnal changes in evaporation and transpiration, and the growth of plant root and the shape of root zone. Solutions were numerically approximated using the Crank-Nicolson implicit finite difference technique on the block-centered grid system and the Gauss-Seidel elimination in tandem. The model was tested under several conditions to allow the flow rates and configurations of drip emitters vary. In general, simulation results agreed well with experimental results and were as follows. The velocity of soil-water flow decreased drastically with distance from the drip source, and the rate of expansion of the wetted zone decreased rapidly during irrigation. The wetting front of wetted zone from a surface drip emitter traveled farther in vertical direction than in horizontal direction. Under this experimental weather condition, water use efficiency of a drip-irrigated apple field was greatest for 4-drip-emitter system buried at 25 cm, resulting from 10% increase in transpiration but 20% reduction in soil evaporation compared to those for surface 1-drip emitter system. Soil moisture retention curve obtained using disk tension infiltrometer showed significant difference from the curve obtained with pressure plate extractor.