Reducing erosion and sediment loss from furrow irrigated slopes

Brown, M.J. and Sojka, R.E. (1991) Reducing erosion and sediment loss from furrow irrigated slopes. pp. 316-323. In: Proc. Intl. Erosion Control Assoc. Erosion Control: A global perspective. USA-FL-Orlando, 1991/02/20-22. Intl Erosion Control Assoc., P.O. Box 4904, Steamboat Springs, CO 80477.

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Abstract

Furrow-irrigated fields often have different slopes along a furrow, which tend to
cause different water intakes and erosion rates. Irrigated furrows on the steeper slopes
develop deep, narrow channels that reduce the wetted perimeter in the furrows. This results
in increased erosion, lower infiltration, and crops growing on the steep slopes do not
receive adequate water for the highest crop yield. Loose grain straw placed by hand in
furrows, on several different sloping plot studies, slowed the water that in turn reduced
erosion and sediments by as high as 71% while at the same time infiltration increased by
50% which resulted in increased dry bean yields as high as 62%. Machines have now been
commercially developed to mechanically place straw in furrows at desired rates. Seasonal
furrow-irrigation erosion patterns, plotted from nine years of data for various crops, will also
be presented and discussed. The erosion pattern in the absence of cultivation and a
growing crop is compared to the erosion pattern in the presence of cultivation and growing
crops. The maximum peak erosion for sugarbeets, corn, and beans occurred during the
same three-week period of the irrigation season in southern Idaho.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
NWISRL Publication Number:	0729
Subjects:	Irrigation > Furrow irrigation > Erosion Irrigation > Furrow irrigation > Runoff losses > Sediment Soil > Erosion Mass Import - autoclassified (may be erroneous)
Depositing User:	Dan Stieneke
Date Deposited:	07 Mar 2008 19:02
Last Modified:	13 Dec 2016 20:43
Item ID:	874
URI:	https://eprints.nwisrl.ars.usda.gov/id/eprint/874