Variance of water advance in wide-spaced furrow irrigation

• Published in: Agricultural water management 1989, Vol.16 (1), p.5-13
• Main Authors: Hodges, Mark E., Stone, John F., Garton, James E., Weeks, David L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural and forest climatology and meteorology. Irrigation. Drainage; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Biological and medical sciences; ESSAI; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; FURROW IRRIGATION; General agronomy. Plant production; IRRIGATION A LA RAIE; Irrigation. Drainage; PRUEBAS; RIEGO POR SURCOS; TRIALS
• ISSN: 0378-3774; 1873-2283
• DOI: 10.1016/0378-3774(89)90036-X

Characteristics of water flow in wide-spaced furrow irrigation (W), 2.84 m spacing, were compared to every furrow irrigation (E), 1.42 m spacing. The study was conducted at Goodwell, Oklahoma on a clay loam soil with grain sorghum. Water was applied at a constant 0.75 L s −1 rate to all furrows. Because W prevents meeting of wetting fronts from adjacent furrows, it was expected that water would advance more slowly in the W than in E due to the continual lateral wetting in W. Rate of advance of water down the furrow in the E treatment ranged from 1.23 to 1.48 times greater than in the W depending upon soil type and slope. Logarithm of distance of advance of furrow stream varied closely with logarithm of time for each furrow indicating that measurements made relatively early in the irrigation of a furrow could predict rate of advance while irrigating. Advance rates of the W treatment were no more variable than the E. W could be adjusted by trial and error to advance at the same rate as E by making needed adjustments to furrow inflow rate to W early in the irrigation. One would merely need to have several adjacent E furrows in the field close by for comparison.