Erosion Control in Furrow Irrigation Using Polyacrylamide

Abstract

Currently gravity irrigation remains the most widely used in agricultural areas and 90 percent of plantings, the water is applied to the plots by gravity. One of the main problems with these systems is erosion, which is a by product of the erosive forces of water over the row, which brings soil loss and therefore decreases in crop yield. Erosion is the removal of surface soil material caused by water or wind (Kirkby, 1984). It is caused by several factors, such as steep slopes, climate, inadequate use of soil, vegetation cover and natural disasters; however, human activities can greatly accelerate erosion rates. This phenomenon is considered a severe problem because it is associated with inappropriate agricultural practices, overgrazing, poor utilization of forests, thickets, grasslands, forests, and changes in land use from forest land primarily for agricultural purposes. According to Becerra (2005), the two main types of erosion are geological erosion and accelerated erosion. Geological erosion includes both training and erosive processes, which maintain the soil in a favorable balance, suitable for plant growth. Accelerated erosion and loss of soil degradation is a result of human activities. Geological erosion when the soil is found in its natural environment under the cover of native vegetation. This type of erosion is responsible for the formation of soils and its distribution on the Earth's surface. The long-term effect of this type of erosion has led to larger landscape features such as canyons, meandering rivers, and valleys. In other words, this type of erosion is the result of the action of water, wind, gravity and glaciers. Accelerated erosion, soil loss is usually associated with changes in vegetation and soil conditions and is caused mainly by water and wind. The forces involved in accelerated erosion are: (1) attack forces, which remove and transport the soil particles, (2) resistance forces, which limit the erosion. Soil erosion is the main source responsible for the gradual decrease in fertility and therefore the productive capacity of soils. Erosion caused by hydric erosion, include the action of rain and runoff. In general, water erosion is divided into erosion or splashing raindrops, sheet erosion, rill erosion, gully erosion and irrigation channels. Soil splashing occurs when raindrops fall directly onto the soil particles or very thin areas of water, spraying huge amounts of soil due to the kinetic energy of impact. In plane soils, the