Reducing erosion from surface irrigation by furrow spacing and plant position

Sojka, R.E. and Brown, M.J. and Kennedy-Ketcheson, E.C. (1992) Reducing erosion from surface irrigation by furrow spacing and plant position. Agronomy Journal. 84:668-675.

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Abstract

Erosion is a serious problem in many furrow-irrigated fields. Erosion
abatement can be costly or inconvenient. Plant placement, row
spacing, and choice of trafficked or non-trafficked furrow have not
been thoroughly exploited for furrow erosion control. It was hypothesized
that reducing furrow spacing and plant distance to the furrow
would reduce erosion for equal amounts of water applied. A study in
1986 and 1987 observed the effect of narrow rows or twin rows with
plants in close proximity to the furrow on infiltration, sediment loss,
and yields in three crops grown under conventional tillage on a Portneuf
silt loam (coarse-silty, mixed, mesic Durixerollic Calciorthids)
with 1% slope. Yields of twin-row dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)
significantly increased in both years (P < 0.05), whereas yield of
sugarbeet or corn (Beta vulgaris L., or Zea Mays L.) were not affected
significantly by any planting pattern. Sediment loss, runoff, and the
ratio of sediment loss to infiltration were greatly reduced by twin-row
configurations, and somewhat reduced, although less consistently, by
narrow single-row configurations. The results point the way to a low-cost,
low-maintenance method of reducing furrow erosion.

Item Type:	Article
NWISRL Publication Number:	0777
Subjects:	Irrigation > Furrow irrigation > Erosion Soil > Erosion Mass Import - autoclassified (may be erroneous)
Depositing User:	Dan Stieneke
Date Deposited:	20 Nov 2010 21:53
Last Modified:	01 Dec 2016 22:38
Item ID:	582
URI:	https://eprints.nwisrl.ars.usda.gov/id/eprint/582