Furrow irrigation

Applications

Furrow irrigation is applicable on:

(i) The topography must be relatively flat with
smooth, uniform slopes.
(ii) Mildly sloping ground of gradient 0.5%.
(iii) Steeping ground of maximum slope 3%.
A minimum slope of 0.05% is recommended to assist drainage following irrigation or
excess rainfall with high intensity.
Applicable if only little water is to be applied per application, for example on sandy
soils and shallow rooting crops thus for depths 20-50mm.
Furrow irrigation with the possible exception of short level furrows requires accurate
field grading is often done by machines.
The maintenance, ploughing and furrowing is also done by machines and this requires
skill organization and use of capital for fuel, machinery and spare parts.
The level furrow is best suited to soils with a moderate to slow intake rate and
moderate to high available-water-holding capacity.
The crops most easily irrigated by level furrows are those grown in rows on beds
between the furrows, because relatively large channels must be maintained to provide
the necessary capacity such as vegetables, maize, bananas and some trees.
Level furrows are suited to all climatic areas except the humid area where a minimum
grade is required to achieve the surface drainage needed to prevent crop damage or
water logging of soils.

Advantages
Furrow irrigation has many advantages on suitable sites. Some of these are:

1. Different crops can be grown in a sequence without major changes in the design layout.
2. Suitable for soils which form crust, because water moves laterally under the surface.
3. Minimising water loss inefficiencies in gravity irrigation system and allows irrigators
to save money and labour.
 4. Minimise chemical leaching.
5. Irrigation streams can be large or small because the number of rows irrigated at one
time can be adjusted as needed according to the available flow.
6. Efficient application can be obtained if water management practices are followed and
the land has been properly prepared.
7. The initial capital investment is relatively low on lands not requiring extensive land
levelling, since the furrows and corrugations are constructed by commonly used farm
implements.
8. The water distribution systems do not normally require high water pressure to
operate; therefore, pumping costs are relatively low.
9. Soils that form surface crusts when irrigated by flood methods can be readily
irrigated by furrows because water moves across the row under the surface.
10. Water is not applied directly on the plants, thus eliminating scalding of the foliage
and loss of insecticides.
11. Excellent field surface drainage is obtained where adequate outlet facilities are
provided.
12. Alternate-row furrow irrigation allows the use of a greater part of the rainfall.

Limitations
Furrow irrigation also has certain limitations. Some of these are:
1. Salts from either the soil or water supply may concentrate in the ridges and depress crop
yields.
2. The lateral spread of water in some soils is not adequate to provide full irrigation
especially in coarse textured soils.
3. The difference in intake opportunity time along the furrow due to the time required for the
stream to advance makes it difficult to obtain uniform application depths.
4. Corrugations create a rough field surface difficult to cross with harvesting and other farm
equipment.
5. The soil-erosion hazard limits use to land having very little slope.
6. Labor requirements may be high because irrigation streams must be carefully regulated to
achieve uniform water distribution.
7. The leaching of salts is difficult or impossible.
8. Land leveling is normally required to provide uniform furrow grades.