IRRIGATION STRUCTURE & EQUIPMENT

BY: KENT JOHN M. ACASO

LEVELING
Land levelling is a measure used in surface irrigation, such as basin and furrow irrigation. It consists of:
▪ preparing the irrigation plot in a way that no high and/or low spots disturb the uniform distribution of
irrigation water on the field, and
▪ ensuring the optimal slope for water movement across a field when irrigated.
Levelling results in more efficient irrigation and, if fertigation and chemigation are applied, in more
efficient use of fertilizers and pesticides.
Technical parameters
▪ Levelling can be done manually or with machinery and corresponding equipment. Heavy earth
movement should be avoided in order to keep the natural soil structure undisturbed, thus
maintaining good growing conditions for the crop roots and keeping costs low.
Benefits
▪ Permits uniform and efficient application of irrigation water to leveld land
▪ Helps reduce runoff and erosion
DITCHER OR TRENCHER
▪ a machine that digs ditches and usually piles the dirt in a bank to the side (as by means of a conveyor
belt)
▪ come in different sizes and may use different digging implements, depending on the required width and
depth of the trench and the hardness of the surface to be cut.
▪ In 1983 , James B. hill claimed to have built the first ditching machine at Bowling Grenn, Ohio. After
two years Van Buren Foundry and Machine Company ,who bulit his ditchers on a royalty basis.
Mounted on massive 8 foot wide crawler tracks these machines were excellent for digging drainage
ditches in swampy ground; and remote areas too because the machine came equipped with living
accommodations for the crew including bedroom, kitchen, living room, bath and electric lightning.
DIKES & DIKERS
▪ Dikes used to hold back water are usually made of earth. Sometimes, dikes occur naturally. More often,
people construct dikes to prevent flooding. When constructed along river banks, dikes control the flow of
water. By preventing flooding, dikes force the river to flow more quickly and with greater force.
▪ The depth of water stored and maintained in a paddy is controlled and regulated by properly adjusting
the spillway height. The recommended spillway height is 5 cm to be able to store the same depth of
water.
▪ However, when irrigating the field during rainless days, the depth of water applied must be shallow (1
cm or less) to provide freeboard for the storage of rainwater. Freeboard refers to the difference
between the spillway height and the depth of water in the paddy.
Technical parameters
Dikes may be constructed with any number of different implements. Those in common use are the
plow ,disc, blade and v type ridger. Before making dike, the ground should be leveled. An easily
made device which virtually makes dikes in one operation is, V-type diker.