Surge Flow Irrigation Research Articles

Effect of Surge Flow Irrigation on Water Use Efficiency and Maize Production

Effect of Surge Flow Irrigation on Water Use Efficiency and Maize Production

Sensitivity Analysis of Performance Indices of Surge-Flow Irrigation with System Variables Using the SIRMOD Model

Sensitivity Analysis of Performance Indices of Surge-Flow Irrigation with System Variables Using the SIRMOD Model

Enhancement of water productivity with surge irrigation

Surge irrigation is the intermittent application of water to surface irrigated furrows or borders in a series of relatively short on and off time periods during the irrigation which may be between 20 minutes to two hours. In this technique, water is usually applied intermittently rather than with a continuous stream, as in conventional surface irrigation..Water productivity and water saving of six crops viz. wheat, cotton, maize, capsicum, onion and fennel under surge irrigation were compared with traditional method for the crops grown in different environmental conditions at different location of the world.It is concluded that surge flow irrigation performs better than continuous flow irrigation in terms of water saving and yield resulting in enhancement of water productivity. In case of wheat crop, surge irrigation saved and decreased irrigation water by 27, 33.4 and 37.4 % and increased yield by 15.1, 17.7 and 12.7 % under slope of 0.0, 0.1 and 0.2 % respectively compared with continuous flow irrigation for the same discharge. It had the maximum water use efficiency values of 1.39, 1.56 and 1.59 kg/m3 for surge flow irrigation under slopes of 0.0, 0.1 and 0.2 %, respectively.Surge irrigation system for maize obtained the highest value of WUE (1.63 kg/m3) with 40 m furrow length under 12.24 l/min inflow rate, while the lowest value of WUE obtained by continuous irrigation system, with 20 m furrow length under 44.4 l/min inflow rate (1.05 kg/m3). It can be applied by farmers in areas where irrigation water is limiting factor in crop production and farmers cannot afford costly micro-irrigation system.

Surge-flow alternate furrow irrigation for enhancing water productivity in semiarid regions

The rainfed regions of India are characterized by aberrant behaviour of monsoon rainfall, eroded and degraded soils with multiple nutrient and water deficiencies, declining groundwater table and poor resource base of the farmers are major constraints for low and unstable yields. The successful production of rainfed crops largely depends on how efficiently soil moisture is conserved in situ or the surplus runoff is harvested, stored and recycled for supplemental irrigation and these are inevitable options to sustain rainfed agriculture in climate change scenario. For better use of harvested or recharged rainwater in rabi season, needs to evaluate and modify the present irrigation practices for enhancing the water productivity of rainfed regions. Keeping these considerations in view, an experiment was conducted during 2014–16 in farmer’s fields of Panchmahal, Gujarat under Department of Science and Technology to study the effect of various furrow irrigation techniques on water saving, water productivity and yield of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) crop. The treatments contained different furrow irrigation techniques such as furrow irrigation, plough furrow irrigation, alternate furrow irrigation with and without surge flow. The experimental data proved that the alternate furrow with surge flow irrigation is the best method that saves up to 78% of irrigation water without affecting the crop growth and yields. The surge flow, alternate furrow irrigation increased the water productivity and amount earned from unit of water over the check basin method of irrigation by 4 times. The saved irrigation water can bring the additional area under cultivation of high-value crops like fennel and vegetable during rabi season.

Surge flow Performance for Furrow Irrigation under Upper Egypt Conditions

The current study was conducted at The Experimental Farm, Fac. of Agric., Al-Azhar Univ., Assuit, Egypt (27° 12- 16.67= N latitude, 31° 09- 36.86= E longitude and at 51 m altitude) during the winter season of 2018 (September to December). The research work aimed to assess the performance of surge irrigation compared to the continuous one by measuring the advance rate of the wetting front, inflow/ outflow rates, distribution uniformity, application efficiency, suitable furrow length and surge numbers. Surge flow irrigation leads to a decrease in advance time compared to continuous flow. The reduction percentages in advance and recession time are more pronounced under low discharge rate and long furrow length. Surge flow irrigation used less amounts of water than continuous one. Surge flow could save almost one third of the applied water by continuous flow especially into long furrow with 5 surges of medium discharge rate. The larger discharge coupled with large furrow resulted in the maximum water saving of about 28% among all the other combinations. For all possible combinations, the volume ratio remained less than one indicating that less total water is required to complete the advance phase in surged irrigation compared to continuous one. Surge flow showed higher application efficiency than that of continuous one. The higher application efficiency (83%) was observed under 5 surges flow into 100 m furrow length with 1.2 L/S discharge rate. Water losses by deep percolation were more pronounced in short furrow length than that of long one and they were minimized by surge flow. Surge flow realized higher distribution uniformity (DU) than that of continuous one.

Suitable inflow rate and furrow length for simplified surge flow irrigation

In the arid lands covering Uzbekistan, furrow irrigation with low application efficiency is still widely used due to a lack of funds and shortage of labor. To save water and prevent secondary salinization caused by excessive irrigation, it is important to adopt low-cost and easy water-saving irrigation methods. Onishi et al. (2017) proposed simplified surge flow (SF) irrigation that does not require expensive equipment and merely divides the water supply into two phases at 1-day intervals. This study investigated the suitable inflow rate and furrow length of simplified SF to improve water application efficiency in Uzbekistan. Five experimental plots (total area of 2,250 m2, with 25 furrows) were set up, and the inflow rates for two plots were 5 Ls−1 (F5.0) and that for the others were 1.7 Ls−1 (F1.7). The conventional irrigation method (F5.0C and F1.7C) and simplified SF (F5.0S and F1.7S) were applied to cases of furrow length of 100 m under each inflow rate. In addition, simplified SF was applied on a 50-m furrow at F1.7 (F1.7S-50). In the first irrigation using simplified SF, water was supplied from the start point of the furrow (0 m) for half of the furrow length (50 m, 25 m). In the second irrigation, water was supplied from the start point to the end of the furrow (100 m, 50 m). The application efficiency in F1.7S and F1.7S-50 was higher than that in F1.7C and F1.7C-50, and the highest was in F1.7S-50. The water supply duration was shorter in F5.0S, but the total volume of supplied water was larger than that of F1.7C. These results indicate that shortening furrow length might be an effective way to save water using simplified SF with a low inflow rate, and in contrast, that it is necessary to extend furrow length with a high inflow rate.

Irrigation Water Management Practices that Reduce Water Requirements for Mid‐South Furrow‐Irrigated Soybean

Core Ideas Irrigation water management practices reduced total water use 21%. Irrigation water management practices increased irrigation water use efficiency 36%. Sensor‐based scheduling reduced irrigation by 50%. Withdrawal for agricultural uses has decreased water levels in the Mississippi Alluvial River Valley aquifer (MARVA), and Mississippi state regulators have responded by requiring withdrawal permits, establishing permitted withdrawal limits, and instituting required minimum levels of irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) practices. The objective of this research was to determine the effect of integrating irrigation water management (IWM) practices—including computerized hole selection (CHS), surge flow irrigation (SURGE), and sensor‐based irrigation scheduling—on irrigation water use, soybean grain yield, IWUE, and net returns above irrigation costs at the production scale. The experiment was conducted in the Prairie region of Arkansas and the Delta region of Arkansas and Mississippi from 2013 through 2015. The research consisted of 20 paired fields, with the same cultivar, soil type, planting date, and management practices. One field was randomly assigned as the control (conventional, CONV) and the other was instrumented with CHS, SURGE, and soil moisture sensors, that is, IWM. Flowmeters were installed in the inlets to both fields, and the farmers provided yield data. Soybean grain yield averaged 69.0 bu/acre and did not differ between CONV and IWM (P = 0.6703). Relative to CONV, IWM reduced water use 21% (P = 0.0198) and increased IWUE 36% (P = 0.0.0194). Net returns for soybean production above irrigation costs were not different between CONV and IWM, even when pumping depth ranged from 18 ft to 400 ft and diesel costs ranged from $1.60/gal to $3.70/gal (P ≥ 0.5376). These results demonstrate that implementation of integrated IWM at the production scale reduces the demand on depleted groundwater resources without adversely affecting soybean grain yield or on‐farm profitability.

Water-saving Effect of Simplified Surge Flow Irrigation on Irrigated Farmlands in Arid Areas

Water-saving Effect of Simplified Surge Flow Irrigation on Irrigated Farmlands in Arid Areas

THREE DIMENSION MODEL FOR SIMULATING INFILTRATION AND REDISTRIBUTION OF FURROW IRRIGATION WATER

Through redistribution, water which entered the soil during infiltration redistributes itself after infiltration has stopped. Both infiltration and redistribution profoundly affect soil water balance. The soil water balance determines the availability of water and nutrients to plants, affects rates of microbial processes, erosion, and chemical weathering, and influence soil thermal and gas composition relations. Therefore, three-dimensional finite difference model for simulating furrow surface flow, infiltration and redistribution water flow under both continuous and surged flow management was developed based on mass balance with the concept of matric flux potential and solved by the Newton-Raphson procedure. Model performance for both continuous and surge flow regimes was verified using field data. Three inflow cycle times ((5/5), (10/10) and (15/15)) were tested with three instantaneous flow rates of 1.45, 1.7 and 2.6 L/s, respectively. Field data were collected to evaluate the advance-recession time for stream flow along furrow length, field infiltration under different flow regimes and soil moisture distribution after irrigation. A sensitivity analysis was made on the response of the model to the changes in specific parameters. Application of the model to surge flow irrigation was demonstrated by analyzing some of the interrelationships between cycle times, flow rates, depth of application efficiency and distribution uniformity. The application efficiency was over 80 % by the surge flow, while it was about 48 % for the continuous flow. Infiltration rate under surge flow approached the basic infiltration in a short time compared to continuous flow. The result showed that a cycle (10/10 min) would create the best distribution uniformity (DU) and application efficiency (AE). The model accurately predicted the transient and steady soil moisture distribution under different inflow and furrow irrigation techniques.

Assessing impacts of surge-flow irrigation on water saving and productivity of cotton

To improve water saving and conservation in irrigated agriculture, a range of field evaluation experiments was carried out with various furrow irrigation treatments in cotton fields to estimate the possibilities of improving furrow irrigation performances under conditions of Central Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan. The research consisted in comparing surge and continuous-flow in long furrows and adopting alternate-furrow irrigation. The best results were achieved with surge-flow irrigation applied to alternate furrows. Field data allowed the calibration of a surface irrigation model that was used to identify alternative management issues. Results identified the need to better adjust inflow rates to soil infiltration conditions, cut-off times to the soil water deficits and improving irrigation scheduling. The best irrigation water productivity (0.61 kg m −3) was achieved with surge-flow on alternate furrows, which reduced irrigation water use by 44% (390 mm) and led to high application efficiency, near 85%. Results demonstrated the possibility for applying deficit irrigation in this region.

Effect of tillage on water advance and distribution under surge and continuous furrows irrigation methods for cotton in Egypt

AbstractA field experiment was carried out to assess the effect of tillage on water advance and water distribution in the root zone area (0.5 m) under continuous and surge flow irrigation in a cotton field. The experiment was conducted at the Agriculture Experimental Station, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt. The location was classified as clay soil. The furrows with blocked ends were 76 cm long and 0.70 m wide with 0.0024 m m−1 of slope. To monitor the advance time, six points were established along the furrows at 9, 18, 27, 36, 45 and 76 m from the inlet. In order to study the water distribution along the furrows, soil moisture content was measured using the gravimetric method at 0–0.25 and 0.25–0.50 m depths at the beginning, middle and end of the furrows. A hand hoeing tillage system (HH) was compared with a weed control tillage system (WC) under continuous flow (CF) and surge flow irrigation (SF).Hand hoeing tillage decreased the water advance time compared to weed control tillage either under continuous or surge flow irrigation. Surge flow also decreased the advance time compared to continuous flow. The greatest effect on the advance time reduction resulted from the combined effect of surge flow with tillage (SFHH), which reduced the total supplied water by 22.4 and 25.7% during the first and second irrigation, respectively. The single effect of either tillage (CFHH) or surging (SFWC) also reduced the total amount of supplied water compared to continuous flow with weed control tillage (CFWC), but the reduction was less than that in the combined treatments. Due to tillage and surge effects, soil water was efficiently used and distributed uniformly along the furrow length. Combining surge irrigation and tillage could be an efficient method to use irrigation water efficiently and ensure uniform distribution of soil water. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Field assessment of the water saving potential with furrow irrigation in Fergana, Aral Sea basin

The Aral Sea basin is a region that faces water scarcity due to aridity and man-made desertification. To reduce the disproportion between water demand and supply improved water management is required, particularly aimed at water saving and conservation in irrigated agriculture. One main issue is demand management by reducing the farm irrigation water demand by improved crop irrigation management since the modernization and rehabilitation of the conveyance and distribution systems are presently out of the scope in Uzbekistan. Under this perspective, the improvement of furrow irrigation systems, which are used on 98% of the irrigated lands, is a main issue. To assess the potential for improving the performance of furrow irrigation in the central part of the Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan, a set of evaluation experiments was carried out. Irrigation management alternatives included several furrow inflow rates (1.2–2.4 l/(s furrow)) and furrow lengths (130 and 400 m); comparing every-furrow irrigation with alternate-furrow irrigation. Results were evaluated through the application efficiency ( E a), the distribution uniformity (DU) and total applied irrigation depths. The best performances were obtained for alternate long furrows adopting the inflow rate of 1.8 l/(s furrow), which produced high E a and DU, superior to 80 and 83%, respectively, and led to seasonal water savings from 200 to 300 mm when compared with actual water use in every-furrow irrigation. Large water saving also resulted from reducing the irrigation cut-off times in every-furrow irrigation, corresponding 150–200 mm through the irrigation season. Also, improving the multi-tier reuse method when adjusting the cut-off times in agreement with the inflow rates produced high irrigation performances and water savings larger than 300 mm for the season. The field research provided information for alternative approaches to be further considered, such as surge-flow irrigation aiming at reducing advance times and tail-end runoff.

Surge flow irrigation with sediment-laden water in northwestern China

Field experimental studies on surge flow irrigation with sediment-laden water in northwestern China showed that a sealing layer was formed on the soil surface as a result of the sediments in the irrigation water going through a ‘trapping’, ‘settling’ and ‘sealing’ processes in the irrigated field. The sealing layer reduced the surface roughness and intake rate of the surface soil, and thus sped up the flow advance. Therefore, higher irrigation efficiency can be achieved with less irrigation water requirement. Analytical studies on water saving efficiencies indicated that the water saving effect of surge irrigation with sediment-laden water was achieved by an interactive impact of sediment content and the intermittent feature of surge flow, but the sediments effect was more pronounced.

Water productivity and crop production simulation under surge flow irrigation in short furrows in Egypt

This paper describes the simulation results of water productivity and yield production in relation to water supply by either continuous or surge flow irrigation in short fields for clay and sandy soils in Egypt. The input data required by the Cropwat model are meteorological data, plant and soil characteristics and water supply. The meteorological data for the year 1999 were obtained from the Assiut Station, Egypt. Cotton was used as the most important crop for the simulation and its growing characteristics come from the Cropwat model. Soil characteristics and water supply are measured data obtained from field experiments in Assiut. During the simulation all the parameters considered have been kept constant except for the water supply and application efficiency, which are variable. The yield has been determined with Cropwat at the beginning, middle and the end of a furrow as well as for the average stored water depth along the whole furrow. The simulation has been carried out for two different approaches; one based on optimal continuous flow and the other based on optimal surge flow irrigation. The simulation indicates that using an optimal surge flow gives higher crop yields than using an optimal continuous flow. For optimal surge flow irrigation the simulation revealed distinct differences in yield reduction between continuous and surge flow irrigation compared to the results based on optimal continuous flow. Surge flow irrigation is an efficient tool either to produce the same yield with less water than in continuous flow or to produce higher yields than continuous flow by using the same gross irrigation supply. Surge flow irrigation is an effective tool for water saving in short fields as prevails in Egypt. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Simulation of continuous and surge flow irrigation under short field conditions

This paper describes the simulation results for continuous and surge flow irrigation under short field conditions by the computer model SIRMOD III in order to evaluate the performance and applicability of the model for short furrows and to investigate the viability of the two-point method for calculating infiltration parameters under continuous and surge flow irrigation in short fields. These specific field conditions are found on farms smaller than 1 ha and with a furrow length of 70 m. To evaluate the model a series of experiments has been carried out in two locations in Egypt and in one site in the Netherlands. The experiments in Egypt were conducted on a field with clay soil situated at the Agriculture Experimental Station, Assiut University, and on a sandy soil field located at the Assiut University Experimental Station for Desert Land, El-Wadi El-Assuity, Assiut. The experiments in the Netherlands were carried out at the Tunnel Experimental Setting of the Irrigation and Water Engineering Group of Wageningen University. The tunnel was covered as a greenhouse to protect the investigations against the external weather conditions, especially rainfall. Two soil types were available inside the tunnel, namely sandy clay and sandy clay loam. All the experiments were carried out in furrows with a blocked end and their length and width were 70 and 0.70 m, respectively. Measured field data were used to evaluate the computer model SIRMOD III. The results of the evaluation indicated that the model can accurately simulate continuous and surge flow irrigation under short field conditions for the measured infiltration parameters. These field data are very important for a good simulation of the advance time and consequently the infiltration. The two-point method can be successfully used to obtain the infiltration parameters for continuous and surge flow irrigation under short field conditions and for different soil types. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Surge flow irrigation under short field conditions in Egypt

AbstractSeveral studies carried out in long furrows have shown that surge flow irrigation offers the potential of increasing the efficiency of irrigation. The effects of surge flow in short fields, such as in Egypt, are still not well known, however.To investigate the effect of surge flow irrigation in short fields a series of experiments have been carried out at two different locations in Egypt. The first location with a clay soil was situated at the Agriculture Experimental Station, Assiut University, Assiut. The second location with a sandy soil was situated at the Assiut University Experimental Station for Desert Land, El‐Wadi El‐Assuity, Assiut. The blocked end furrow lengths and widths were 70 and 0.70 m respectively. Three discharges were selected for each soil type, namely 0.46, 0.74 and 0.90 l s−1 for clay soil and 0.73, 1.0 and 1.4 l s−1 for sandy soil. For each discharge two cycle times were investigated, namely 16 and 24 minutes. For each cycle time three cycle ratios were chosen, 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 for the 16‐minute and 1/3, 1/2, and 2/3 for the 24‐minute cycle time. The water content was measured at three locations, namely at the beginning, middle and end of the furrow. In each location three points were measured in a vertical line at a depth of 0–0.1, 0.1–0.3 and 0.3–0.7 m.The results show that surge flow irrigation leads to a more uniform water distribution along the furrows than continuous flow. This uniformity is more pronounced in clay soil than in sandy soil. Surge flow irrigation decreases the advance time in comparison to continuous flow. The reduction in advance time was more pronounced with the discharges of 0.74 and 1.0 l s−1 in clay and sandy soil respectively. The 24‐minute cycle time is better than the 16‐minute cycle time. The reduction in advance time with a cycle time of 24 minutes is due to the effect of the off‐time. Different cycle ratios can be used but the 1/3 cycle ratio may be the best. In conclusion, surge flow irrigation under the short field conditions as prevailing in Egypt decreases the advance time, increases uniformity and efficiency by decreasing deep percolation and reduces applied water volume by 15–35%. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Salinity and sodicity influences on infiltration during surge flow irrigation

The interactive influences of water quality and surge-flow irrigation (intermittent application of water) on infiltration into a bare loam soil, packed into a long metal flume, were measured with a laboratory recirculating infiltrometer devised for the experiments. Cumulative infiltration and final infiltration rates were measured over three irrigation episodes using synthetic waters of different qualities. Four water-quality combinations of low and high salinity levels (i.e., electrical conductivity, EC=1.5 and 7.5 dS/m) and low and high degree of sodicity [i.e., sodium adsorption ratio in the range of 5–10 and 25–35 mmol1/2 l–1/2] were tested. Results showed that surge-flow cumulative infiltration of low saline waters – especially during the first irrigation episode – was lower than the corresponding continuous-flow cumulative infiltration. Conversely, it was higher for high saline and high saline-sodic waters. Effects of the water-quality treatments on final infiltration rate were similar to and in agreement with the effects on cumulative infiltration. However, the range of the final infiltration rates among surge-flow treatments was larger than with the continuous-flow treatments. Overall, infiltration was higher with surge-flow application of high saline and high saline-sodic waters than with the continuous-flow treatment. The observed contrasting results for the surge effect with the low saline, high saline, and high saline-sodic water-quality treatments were attributed to soil consolidation, formation of a depositional seal layer, and the different levels of irrigation water salinity and sodicity. It was concluded that the "surge effect" phenomena (reduction in soil infiltration caused by surge flow) under brackish (saline, sodic, and saline-sodic) water application was not pronounced and had adverse effects, in comparison to the low saline-sodic water application. Consequently, from theory, practical application of surge-flow irrigation under these circumstances, from viewpoints of infiltration reduction and irrigation efficiency improvements, is questionable.

Comparison of surge and continuous furrow methods for cotton in the Harran plain

This study compares surge flow with conventional steady flow irrigation in 130–160 m field lengths in order to analyze the potential of the former for reducing deep percolation and tailwater runoff together with the improvement of irrigation efficiency. The field experiment comprises of four surge treatments with two inflow rates of 0.0498 and 0.12 m 3/min ( Q 1 and Q 2), and two cycle ratios of 0.33 and 0.50 (CR 1 and CR 2), respectively, with 30 min on-times, along with two steady flow treatments with the same inflow rates. Surge flow irrigation of the level furrows was successfully managed under the field conditions with decreases in the total water applications (2–22%) and the water intake (14–25%), except in the treatments of surge S 11 ( Q 1 CR 1) with 9% increase in the latter together with 21–38% decrease in the tailwater runoff and 19–70% decrease in the calculated deep percolation below the root zone of 1.20 m depending on inflow rates and cycle ratios of the permeable Harran soils. Surge flow reduced the water intake of a surface soil loosened by tillage by 13–23% as compared to continuous flow, thus manifesting an incomparable advantage to the level furrow systems.

Performance of three infiltration models under surge irrigation

Three models were developed to predict infiltration under a surge-flow irrigation regime. One model (2P) utilized the Kostiakov-Lewis infiltration equation. The other two models (2PF and 3P) utilized the modified Kostiakov-Lewis infiltration equation. All three models combined continuous-flow furrow irrigation volume-balance hydraulic models presented by Reddell and Latortue (1986, 1988) with a numerical variation of the Cycle Ratio-Time Model (CRTM) for surge irrigation presented by Blair and Smerdon (1987). The volume–balance component of the models estimated the soil's continuous-flow furrow irrigation infiltration function using first surge-cycle advance data. The numerical CRTM component used the estimated infiltration function in conjunction with the surge-flow irrigation infiltration opportunity-time to predict infiltration. An assessment of overall model accuracy was based upon an infiltrated volume root mean square error (RMSE) statistic. Overall, the 2PF model returned the lowest RMSE values and the 3P model was the next most accurate. The 2P model was the least accurate. While the 2PF model was the most accurate, this model has limited applicability since it requires inflow and outflow measurements throughout an irrigation event to evaluate the soil's basic infiltration constant. Despite its good overall performance, anomalous results from the 3P model suggest that further testing is needed. Although the 2P model was the least accurate of the three models evaluated here, and although it consistently underpredicted infiltration, it appears to be the most stable and effective of the three models evaluated.

An efficient cost-sharing program to reduce nonpoint-source contamination: theory and an application to groundwater contamination

This research evaluates the economics of cost-sharing improved irrigation technologies to reduce agricultural, nonpoint-source contamination. Irrigation and fertilization inefficiencies are modeled within a nonjoint production process to evaluate both private and public costs of technology adoption and its effect on groundwater nitrate-contamination levels. A central Nebraska application indicates that even without a current government subsidy, a farmer is economically better off switching from gravity-flow to surge-flow irrigation rather than a center-pivot system. An annual government subsidy of $22.50 (US$) per hectare per year is required over the life of a center-pivot system to make the farmer financially indifferent. However, cost-sharing center-pivot adoption improves the groundwater contamination level, while other irrigation systems result in continued deterioration of groundwater quality.