Within-Row Irrigation Saves Water on Croplands

Rasmussen, W.W. and Berg, R.D. (1986) Within-Row Irrigation Saves Water on Croplands. Agricultural Water Management. 11:31-37.

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Abstract

Excessive water use and soil erosion from furrow irrigation are two of the most serious
management problems on irrigated silt loam soils in southern Idaho, U.S.A. These problems
are especially serious on croplands planted to dry beans. In conventional bean
production, fields are irrigated before planting to wet the entire soil surface. It is not
unusual for farmers to apply as much as 30 cm of water over the entire field during a
single preplanting irrigation.

Results from this study showed that planting beans in the bottom of pre-irrigated
furrows without soaking completely between the furrows reduced preplanting water
application by 60%. The continuing within-row treatments reduced irrigation water use
by 42% compared to conventional irrigation practices. Total bean yields on the preplanting,
within-row treatments were not significantly different from the conventional
treatments.

Item Type:	Article
NWISRL Publication Number:	0573
Subjects:	Practical farm efficiency Mass Import - autoclassified (may be erroneous)
Depositing User:	Dan Stieneke
Date Deposited:	20 Nov 2010 21:52
Last Modified:	13 Jan 2017 20:32
Item ID:	455
URI:	https://eprints.nwisrl.ars.usda.gov/id/eprint/455