Surface Irrigation systems lecture note

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
 DEFINITION AND SCOPE OF IRRIGATION

 Definition: Irrigation is the science of artificial application of water to the land, in

accordance with the crop requirements throughout the crop period for full
nourishment of the crops. It is the Engineering of controlling and harnessing the
various natural sources of water, by construction of dams & reservoirs, canals &
head works and finally distributing the water to agricultural fields.
 Water is normally supplied to the plants by nature through the rains. However, the
total rainfall in a particular area may be either insufficient, or ill-timed. In order to
get the maximum yield it is essential to supply the optimum quantity of water and
to maintain correct timing of water. This is possible only through systematic
irrigation system by collecting water during the periods of excess rainfall and
releasing it to the crops as when it is needed. Generally the following are some of
the factors that necessitate irrigation.

 Inadequate rainfall
 Uneven distribution of Rainfall
 increasing the yield of the crops
 growing a number of crops
 Insuring against drought.
 Growing perennial crops.

 Scope of Irrigation Engineering

Irrigation Engineering is not only confined to the application of water to the land for
raising crops. It includes all aspects and problems extending from the watershed to the
agricultural fields. It deals with hydrology, river engineering, design and construction of
dams, weirs, canals and various other hydraulic and irrigation structures. It also deals with
surface and sub-surface drainage system, soil reclamation, water-soil-crop relationships.
Other allied sciences such as flood control, hydropower, and inland navigation are also
studied in IRRIGATION Engineering.

 Various aspects of Irrigation Engineering is:

1. Water resources and hydrology aspect – to locate various water sources and to
study the hydrology of the region. This includes study of meteorology,
precipitation, stream flow, floods, river engineering, reservoirs and flood control.
The following information are required while designing various irrigation structures.

 The quantity of water that will be available at a reservoir site for storage.
 Maximum discharge at a river site.

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 Reservoir capacity that ensures adequate Quantity of water for various

purposes.
 Quantity of ground water which can be economically exploited.
2. Engineering Aspect - involves the development of a source of water for irrigation
and construction of various irrigation structures.
 Dams and water power Engineering
 Diversion and Distribution structures
 Minor irrigation schemes (well, Tank / Pond, inundation Irrigation).
3. Agricultural aspect – Involves irrigation practice and the study of agricultural
characteristics of the land.
4. Management Aspect- deals with successful implementation and efficient management
of engineering aspects and agricultural works.

 BENEFITS & ILL-EFFECTS OF IRRIGATION

There are various direct and indirect advantages of irrigation.

 Increase in food production: Irrigation helps in increasing crop yields through
controlled and timely supply of water to the crop.
 Optimum benefits: optimal utilization of water is made possible by irrigation.
Optimum utilization implies obtaining maximum crop yield with any amount of
water. In other words, yield will be smaller for any quantity lesser than or in excess
of optimum quantity.
 Elimination of mixed cropping in areas where irrigation is not ensured, generally
mixed cropping is adapted. Mixed cropping is growing two or more crops
simultaneously in the same field. If the weather condition is not suitable to one of
the crops it may be suitable for the other; and thus at least some yield is obtained.
Mixed cropping can be adopted when irrigation facilities are not available, but if
irrigation is assured it can be eliminated. Mixed cropping is generally not acceptable,
because different crops require different types of field preparations and different
types of manures, amount of water etc.
 General prosperity: Revenue returns are sometimes quite high and helps in all round
development of the country
 Generation of hydroelectric power: cheaper power generation can be obtained on
objects primarily designed for irrigation alone. Also falls on irrigation channels can
be utilized to generate electricity which may help in industrializing the rural area
and so in solving the problem of fuel shortage.
 Domestic water supply:- irrigation helps in augmenting the town water supply
where water is available with great difficulty. It also provides water for swimming
bathing, cattle drinking etc.
 Facilities of communication: Irrigation channels are generally provided with
embankments and inspection roads. These inspection paths provide a good road
way to the villagers for walking, cycling or even motoring.
 In land navigation

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 Ill-effects of irrigation

Ill-effects of irrigation occur only when the scheme is not properly designed and
implemented. Most of these are due to excess irrigation water application. Some of the
common ill-effects are
 Water logging
when cultivators apply more water than actually required by the crops, excess
water percolates in to the ground and raises the water table. Water logging occurs
when the water table reaches near the root zones of the crops. The soil pores
become fully saturated and the normal circulation of air in the root zones of the
crop is stopped and the growth of the crops is decreased. Thus crop yield
considerably reduces. When the water table reaches the ground surface, the land
becomes saline.

 Long term application of pesticides under large scale irrigation system might have
a negative influence on soil microbal activities, on the quality of surface and sub-
surface water resources and the survival of the surrounding vegetation. Irrigation
may contribute in various ways to the problem of pollution. One of these is the
seepage in to the ground of the nitrates that has been applied to the soil as fertilizer.
Sometimes up to 50% of the nitrates applied to the soil sink in to the underground
reservoir. The underground water thus get polluted.

 Irrigation may result in colder and damper climate causing outbreak of disease like
malaria.
 Irrigation is complex and expensive in itself. Sometimes cheaper water is to be
provided at the cost of the government and revenue returns are low.
 The perspective and objectives of irrigation
A reliable and suitable irrigation water supply can result in vast improvements in
agricultural production and assure the economic vitality of the region. Many civilizations
have been dependent on irrigated agriculture to provide the basis of their society and
enhance the security of their people. Some have estimated that as little as 15-20 percent of
the worldwide total cultivated area is irrigated. Judging from irrigated and non-irrigated
yields in some areas, this relatively small fraction of agriculture may be contributing as
much as 30-40 percent of gross agricultural output.

Effective agronomic practices are essential components of irrigated systems. Management

of the soil fertility, cropping selection and rotation, and pest control may make as much
incremental difference in yield as the irrigation water itself. Irrigation implies drainage, soil
reclamation, and erosion control. When any of these factors are ignored through either a
lack of understanding or planning, agricultural productivity will decline. History is
absolutely certain on this point.

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Irrigated agriculture faces a number of difficult problems in the future. One of the major
concerns is the generally poor efficiency with which water resources have been used for
irrigation. A relatively safe estimate is that 40 percent or more of the water diverted for
irrigation is wasted at the farm level through either deep percolation or surface runoff.
These losses may not be lost when one views water use in the regional context, since return
flows become part of the usable resource elsewhere. However, these losses often represent
foregone opportunities for water because they delay the arrival of water at downstream
diversions and because they almost universally produce poorer quality water. One of the
more evident problems in the future is the growth of alternative demands for water such
as urban and industrial needs. These uses place a higher value on water resources and
therefore tend to focus attention on wasteful practices. Irrigation science in the future will
undoubtedly face the problem of maximizing efficiency.
Irrigation in arid areas of the world provides two essential agricultural requirements:
 a moisture supply for plant growth which also transports essential nutrients; and
 Flow of water to leach or dilute salts in the soil. Irrigation also benefits croplands
through cooling the soil and the atmosphere to create a more favourable
environment for plant growth.
The method, frequency and duration of irrigations have significant effects on crop yield
and farm productivity. For example, annual crops may not germinate when the surface is
inundated causing a crust to form over the seed bed. After emergence, inadequate soil
moisture can often reduce yields, particularly if the stress occurs during critical periods.
Even though the most important objective of irrigation is to maintain the soil moisture
reservoir, how this is accomplished is an important consideration. The technology of
irrigation is more complex than many appreciate. It is important that the scope of irrigation
science not be limited to diversion and conveyance systems, nor solely to the irrigated
field, nor only to the drainage pathways. Irrigation is a system extending across many
technical and non-technical disciplines. It only works efficiently and continually when all
the components are integrated smoothly.
 Irrigation methods and their selection
There are many factors to consider before selecting a particular irrigation system. These
include water resources, topography, soils, climate, type of crops to be grown, availability
and cost of capital and labour, type and appropriateness of a particular irrigation
technology to farmers and its associated energy requirements, water use efficiencies, as well
as socio-economic, health and environmental aspects. It is not wise to use a single criterion
for selection purposes. However, there are instances when one criterion can weigh heavily
in favour of a particular irrigation system.
The socio-economic impact of an irrigation system largely determines the success of the
project. This embraces the socio-economic benefits, for and against, that can be derived
not only by the government but also, more importantly, by the communities in which the
project is located, and how these affect the sustainability of the project.
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Health and environmental aspects are also important. The introduction of irrigation in a
particular area can not only improve health, but also introduce health hazards, if mitigation
measures are not adequately addressed during the scheme design, implementation,
operation and management. Irrigation development may also introduce other
environmental risks, such as salinization and the deterioration of biodiversity.
It is therefore necessary to obtain all available information and data and to carry out an
analysis of all the factors before possibly ranking the criteria for purposes of selecting an
irrigation system. In order for a project to be sustainable, all technical, socio-economic,
health and environmental information should be analyzed in such a way that the system
chosen is technically feasible, economically viable, socially acceptable and environmentally
sound.
There are three broad classes of irrigation systems: (1) pressurized distribution; (2) gravity
flow distribution; and (3) drainage flow distribution.
 The pressurized systems include sprinkler, trickle, and the array of similar systems

in which water is conveyed to and distributed over the farmland through

pressurized pipe networks. There are many individual system configurations
identified by unique features (centre-pivot sprinkler systems).
 Gravity flow systems convey and distribute water at the field level by a free surface,

overland flow regime. These surface irrigation methods are also subdivided
according to configuration and operational characteristics.
 Irrigation by control of the drainage system, sub irrigation, is not common but is
interesting conceptually. Relatively large volumes of applied irrigation water
percolate through the root zone and become a drainage or groundwater flow. By
controlling the flow at critical points, it is possible to raise the level of the
groundwater to within reach of the crop roots. These individual irrigation systems
have a variety of advantages and particular applications which are beyond the scope
of this course.
Irrigation systems are often designed to maximize efficiencies and minimize labour and
capital requirements. The most effective management practices are dependent on the type
of irrigation system and its design. For example, management can be influenced by the use
of automation, the control of or the capture and reuse of runoff, field soil and
topographical variations and the existence and location of flow measurement and water
control structures. Questions that are common to all irrigation systems are when to irrigate,
how much to apply, and can the efficiency be improved. A large number of considerations
must be taken into account in the selection of an irrigation system. These will vary from
location to location, crop to crop, year to year, and farmer to farmer. In general these
considerations will include the compatibility of the system with other farm operations,
economic feasibility, topographic and soil properties, crop characteristics, and social
constraints.

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 Compatibility
The irrigation system for a field or a farm must function alongside other farm operations
such as land preparation, cultivation, and harvesting. The use of the large mechanized
equipment requires longer and wider fields. The irrigation systems must not interfere with
these operations and may need to be portable or function primarily outside the crop
boundaries (i.e. surface irrigation systems). Smaller equipment or animal-powered
cultivating equipment is more suitable for small fields and more permanent irrigation
facilities.

 Economics
The type of irrigation system selected is an important economic decision. Some types of
pressurized systems have high capital and operating costs but may utilize minimal labour
and conserve water. Their use tends toward high value cropping patterns. Other systems
are relatively less expensive to construct and operate but have high labour requirements.
Some systems are limited by the type of soil or the topography found on a field. The costs
of maintenance and expected life of the rehabilitation along with an array of annual costs
like energy, water, depreciation, land preparation, maintenance, labour and taxes should
be included in the selection of an irrigation system.

 Topographical characteristics
Topography is a major factor affecting irrigation, particularly surface irrigation. Of general
concern are the location and elevation of the water supply relative to the field boundaries,
the area and configuration of the fields, and access by roads, utility lines (gas, electricity,
water, etc.), and migrating herds whether wild or domestic. Field slope and its uniformity
are two of the most important topographical factors. Surface systems, for instance, require
uniform grades in the 0-5 percent range.

 Soils
The soil's moisture-holding capacity, intake rate and depth are the principal criteria
affecting the type of system selected. Sandy soils typically have high intake rates and low
soil moisture storage capacities and may require an entirely different irrigation strategy
than the deep clay soil with low infiltration rates but high moisture-storage capacities.
Sandy soil requires more frequent, smaller applications of water whereas clay soils can be
irrigated less frequently and to a larger depth. Other important soil properties influence
the type of irrigation system to use. The physical, biological and chemical interactions of
soil and water influence the hydraulic characteristics and filth. The mix of silt in a soil
influences crusting and erodibility and should be considered in each design. The soil
influences crusting and erodibility and should be considered in each design. The distribution

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of soils may vary widely over a field and may be an important limitation on some methods
of applying irrigation water.
 Water supply
The quality and quantity of the source of water can have a significant impact on the
irrigation practices. Crop water demands are continuous during the growing season. The
soil moisture reservoir transforms this continuous demand into a periodic one which the
irrigation system can service. A water supply with a relatively small discharge is best utilized
in an irrigation system which incorporates frequent applications. The depths applied per
irrigation would tend to be smaller under these systems than under systems having a large
discharge which is available less frequently. The quality of water affects decisions similarly.
Salinity is generally the most significant problem but other elements like boron or selenium
can be important. A poor quality water supply must be utilized more frequently and in
larger amounts than one of good quality.

 Crops
The yields of many crops may be as much affected by how water is applied as the quantity
delivered. Irrigation systems create different environmental conditions such as humidity,
temperature, and soil aeration. They affect the plant differently by wetting different parts
of the plant thereby introducing various undesirable consequences like leaf burn, fruit
spotting and deformation, crown rot, etc. Rice, on the other hand, thrives under ponded
conditions. Some crops have high economic value and allow the application of more
capital-intensive practices. Deep-rooted crops are more amenable to low-frequency, high-
application rate systems than shallow-rooted crops.

 Social influences
Beyond the confines of the individual field, irrigation is a community enterprise.
Individuals, groups of individuals, and often the state must join together to construct,
operate and maintain the irrigation system as a whole. Within a typical irrigation system
there are three levels of community organization. There is the individual or small informal
group of individuals participating in the system at the field and tertiary level of conveyance
and distribution. There are the farmer collectives which form in structures as simple as
informal organizations or as complex as irrigation districts. These assume, in addition to
operation and maintenance, responsibility for allocation and conflict resolution. And then
there is the state organization responsible for the water distribution and use at the project
level.
Irrigation system designers should be aware that perhaps the most important goal of the
irrigation community at all levels is the assurance of equity among its members. Thus the

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operation, if not always the structure, of the irrigation system will tend to mirror the
community view of sharing and allocation.
Irrigation often means a technological intervention in the agricultural system even if
irrigation has been practiced locally for generations. New technologies mean new
operation and maintenance practices. If the community is not sufficiently adaptable to
change, some irrigation systems will not succeed.

 External influences
Conditions outside the sphere of agriculture affect and even dictate the type of system
selected. For example, national policies regarding foreign exchange, strengthening specific
sectors of the local economy, or sufficiency in particular industries may lead to specific
irrigation systems being utilized. Key components in the manufacture or importation of
system elements may not be available or cannot be efficiently serviced. Since many
irrigation projects are financed by outside donors and lenders, specific system
configurations may be precluded because of international policies and attitudes.
 Advantages and disadvantages of surface irrigation
The term 'surface irrigation' refers to a broad class of irrigation methods in which water is
distributed over the field by overland flow. A flow is introduced at one edge of the field
and covers the field gradually. The rate of coverage (advance) is dependent almost entirely
on the differences between the discharge onto the field and the accumulating infiltration
into the soil. Secondary factors include field slope, surface roughness, and the geometry or
shape of the flow cross-section. The practice of surface irrigation is thousands of years old.
It collectively represents perhaps as much as 95 percent of common irrigation activity
today. The first water supplies were developed from stream or river flows onto the
adjacent flood plain through simple check-dams and a canal to distribute water to various
locations where farmers could then allocate a portion of the flow to their fields. The low-
lying soils served by these diversions were typically high in clay and silt content and tended
to be most fertile. The land slope was normally small because of the structure of the flood
plain itself. With the advent of modern equipment for moving earth and pumping water,
surface irrigation systems were extended to upland areas and lands quite separate from the
flood plain of local rivers and streams. These lands tend to have more variable soils and
topographies, are usually better drained, and may be naturally less fertile. Thus, these lands
usually require greater attention to design and operation.

 Advantages
Surface irrigation offers a number of important advantages at both the farm and project
level. Because it is so widely utilized, local irrigators generally have at least minimal
understanding of how to operate and maintain the system. In addition, surface systems are

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often more acceptable to agriculturalists who appreciate the effects of water shortage on
crop yields since it appears easier to apply the depths required to refill the root zone. The
second advantage of surface irrigation is that these systems can be developed at the farm
level with minimal capital investment. The control and regulation structures are simple,
durable and easily constructed with inexpensive and readily-available materials like wood,
concrete, brick and mortar, etc. Further, the essential structural elements are located at the
edges of the fields which facilitates operation and maintenance activities. The major capital
expense of the surface system is generally associated with land grading, but if the
topography is not too undulating, these costs are not great. Recent developments in surface
irrigation technology have largely overcome the irrigation efficiency advantage of sprinkler
and trickle systems. An array of automating devices roughly equates labour requirements.
The major trade-off between surface and pressurized methods lies in the relative costs of
land levelling for effective gravity distribution and energy for pressurization. Energy
requirements for surface irrigation systems come from gravity. This is a significant
advantage in today's economy. Another advantage of surface systems is that they are less
affected by climatic and water quality characteristics. Even moderate winds can seriously
reduce the effectiveness of sprinkler systems. Sediments and other debris reduce the
effectiveness of trickle systems but may actually aid the performance of the surface systems.
Salinity is less of a problem under surface irrigation than either of these pressurized systems.
There are other advantages specific to individual regions that might be mentioned. Surface
systems are better able to utilize water supplies that are available less frequently, more
uncertain, and more variable in rate and duration. The gravity flow system is a highly
flexible, relatively easily-managed method of irrigation.

 Disadvantages
There is one disadvantage of surface irrigation that confronts every designer and irrigator.
The soil which must be used to convey the water over the field has properties that are
highly varied both spatially and temporally. They become almost undefinable except
immediately preceding the watering or during it. This creates an engineering problem in
which at least two of the primary design variables, discharge and time of application, must
be estimated not only at the field layout stage but also judged by the irrigator prior to the
initiation of every surface irrigation event. Thus while it is possible for the new generation
of surface irrigation methods to be attractive alternatives to sprinkler and trickle systems,
their associated design and management practices are much more difficult to define and
implement. Although they need not be, surface irrigation systems are typically less efficient
in applying water than either sprinkler or trickle systems. Many are situated on lower lands
with heavier soils and, therefore, tend to be more affected by waterlogging and soil salinity
if adequate drainage is not provided. The need to use the field surface as a conveyance

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and distribution facility requires that fields be well graded if possible. Land levelling costs
can be high so the surface irrigation practice tends to be limited to land already having
small, even slopes. Surface systems tend to be labour-intensive. This labour need not be
overly skilled. But to achieve high efficiencies the irrigation practices imposed by the
irrigator must be carefully implemented. The progress of the water over the field must be
monitored in larger fields and good judgement is required to terminate the inflow at the
appropriate time. A consequence of poor judgement or design is poor efficiency. One
sometimes important disadvantage of surface irrigation methods is the difficulty in applying
light, frequent irrigations early and late in the growing season of several crops. For
example, in heavy calcareous soils where crust formation after the first irrigation and prior
to the germination of crops, a light irrigation to soften the crust would improve yields
substantially. Under surface irrigation systems this may be unfeasible or impractical as either
the supply to the field is not readily available or the minimum depths applied would be
too great.

CHAPTER TWO
 Field Measurements
 The evaluation of surface irrigation at the field level is an important aspect of both
management and design. Field measurements are necessary to characterize the
irrigation system in terms of its most important parameters, to identify problems in
its function, and to develop alternative means for improving the system.
 System characterization necessitates a series of basic field measurements before,
during, and after the irrigation. The objectives of the evaluation will dictate whether
the field measurements are comprehensive or are simplified for special purposes. In
some cases, there are alternative methodologies and equipment for accomplishing
the same ends. The selection provided herein is based on a limited selection found
to be most useful during numerous field evaluations and, in some measure, the
practicality in the international sense.
 Five classes of field measurements are presented: (1) field topography and
configuration; (2) water requirements; (3) infiltration; (4) flow measurement; and
(5) irrigation phases.
 Field topography and configuration
All field evaluations should include a relatively simple assessment of the field topography
and layout. These measurements are well enough known that only their brief mention is
required. There is first of all the field's primary elevations. This information requires that a
surveying instrument be used to measure elevations of the principal field boundaries
(including dykes if present), the elevation of the water supply inlet (an invert and likely
maximum water surface elevation), and the elevations of the surface and subsurface
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drainage system if possible. These measurements need not be comprehensive nor as

formalized as one would expect for a land levelling project.
The field topography and geometry should be measured. This requires placing a simple
reference grid on the field, usually by staking, and then surveying the elevations of the field
surface at the grid points to establish slope and slope variations. Usually one to three lines
of stakes placed 20-30 metres apart or such that 5-10 points are measured along the
expected flow line will be sufficient. For example, a border or basin would require at most
three stake lines, a furrow system as little as one, depending on the uniformity of the
topography. The survey should establish the distance of each grid point from the field inlet
as well as the field dimensions (length of the field in the primary direction of water
movement as well as field width). There are important items of information that should
be available from the survey: (1) the field slope and its uniformity in the direction of flow
and normal to it; (2) the slope and area of the field; and (3) a reference system in the field
establishing distance and elevation changes.

It is also worthwhile at this stage of the evaluation to record the location and extent of
major soil types (this may require sampling and some laboratory analyses). The cropping
pattern should be determined and, if a crop is on the field at the time of the evaluation,
any obvious differences in growth and vigor should be noted. Similarly, the cultivation
practices should be recorded.
 Determining water requirements
The irrigation system may not be designed to supply the total amount of moisture required
for crop growth. In some cases, precipitation or upward flow from a water table may
contribute substantially towards fulfilling crop water requirements. It is also unrealistic to
expect that irrigation can be practiced without losses due to deep percolation, or tail water
runoff. The fraction of the water that is used should be maximized, but this fraction cannot
be 100 percent without other serious problems developing such as a salt build-up in the
crop root zone.
The dependency on irrigation in an area requires some analyses of the water balance.
Water balance may have three perspectives.
 The first is the balance of agricultural demands within a watershed (at river basin
level). The outcome of such an analysis establishes the safe yield of water from
various sources and thereby indicates the area of a project, the priorities among
projects, and the configuration of the large systemic components of the project. An
evaluation at the field level presumes that this information is available, and it should
be generally understood in as much as the limits of on-farm irrigation may be
dictated by the magnitude and distribution of the total water supply.

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 The second water balance perspective is the water balance within the farm or
command area. An individual field is generally irrigated in concert with others in
the command or farm through sharing the water delivered through a canal turnout
or a well. Fields also typically share drainage channels. Water balance at the farm
or command area level is established on a field's access to water, its priority, timing
and duration. Again, a field evaluation presumes that these factors have been
formulated and can be determined.
 The last perspective of water balance is at the field level. The water balance within
the confines of a field is a useful concept for characterizing, evaluating or monitoring
any surface irrigation system. In using this aspect of water balance, an important
consideration is the time frame in which the computations are made, i.e. whether
the balance will use annual data, seasonal data, or data describing a single irrigation
event. If a mean annual water balance is computed, then it becomes reasonable that
the change in root zone soil moisture storage could be assumed as zero. In some
irrigated areas, precipitation events are so light that the net rainfall can be
reasonably assumed to equal the measured precipitation. Under other
circumstances, various other terms can be neglected. In fact, the time base and field
conditions are often selected to eliminate as many of the parameters as possible in
order to study the behaviour of single parameters.
 One of the more important is crop evapotranspiration. The upward movement of
groundwater to the root zone can usually be ignored if the water table is at least a
metre below the root zone. Then if the soil moisture is measured before and after
a period when there is no precipitation or irrigation, the depletion from the root
zone is a viable estimate of crop water use.
There are two particularly important components in the field water balance which impact
design and evaluation.
 The first is the irrigation requirement of the crop, or its evapotranspiration and
leaching needs.
 The second important component deals with field evaluation and concerns the
nature of moisture content changes in the soil profile.
 Evapotranspiration and drainage requirements

Evapotranspiration, ET, is dependent upon climatic conditions, crop variety and stage of
growth, soil moisture depletion, and various physical and chemical properties of the soil.
A two-step procedure is generally followed in estimating ET: (1) the seasonal distribution
of reference crop "potential evapotranspiration", Etp, which can be computed with standard
formulae; and (2) the Etp is adjusted for crop variety and stage of growth. Other factors
like moisture stress can be ignored for the purposes of design computations. There are
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perhaps twenty commonly used methods for calculating evapotranspiration, ranging in

complexity from the Blaney-Criddle Method using primarily mean monthly temperature
to more complete equations such as the Penman Method requiring radiation, temperature,
wind velocity, humidity and other factors comprising the net energy balance at the crop
canopy. The actual crop water demand depends on its stage of development and variety.
Generally it is estimated by multiplying Etp by a crop growth stage coefficient, kCO. Some
irrigation water should be applied in excess of the storage capacity of the soil to leach salts
from the rooting region, although this does not have to be achieved during each irrigation
event. It can usually be applied on an annual basis. As a matter of practicality, the normally
occurring deep percolation under most surface irrigation systems exceeds the leaching
fraction necessary for salt balance, particularly for the first and second irrigations each
season when deep percolation losses are typically greatest. In addition, precipitation helps
leach salts throughout the year. Nevertheless some irrigated areas maintain a salt balance
in the root zone with excess leaching during only years of plentiful water supplies, which
may occur as infrequently as every three to eight years.

 Soil moisture principles

Important soil characteristics in irrigated agriculture include: (1) the water-holding or

storage capacity of the soil; (2) the permeability of the soil to the flow of water and air;
(3) the physical features of the soil like the organic matter content, depth, texture and
structure; and (4) the soil's chemical properties such as the concentration of soluble salts,
nutrients and trace elements. The total available water, TAW, for plant use in the root
zone is commonly defined as the range of soil moisture held at a negative apparent pressure
of 0.1 to 0.33 bar (a soil moisture level called 'field capacity') and 15 bars (called the
'permanent wilting point'). The TAW will vary from 25 cm/m for silty loams to as low as
6 cm/m for sandy soils. Some typical values of TAW, field capacity, permanent wetting
point and miscellaneous features have been given in various texts.

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Figure 1. Relationships between soil types and total available soil moisture holding
capacity, field capacity and wilting point (from Walker and Skogerboe, 1987)

Other important soil parameters include its porosity,  , its volumetric moisture content,  ; its
saturation, S; its dry weight moisture fraction, W; its bulk density,  b; and its specific
weight,  s. The relationships among these parameters are as follows.

The porosity,  , of the soil is the ratio of the total volume of void or pore space, Vp, to the
total soil volume V:

𝑉𝑝
= 𝑉
----------------------------------------------------------------------1

The volumetric water content,  , is the ratio of water volume in the soil, VW, to the total
volume, V:

𝑉𝑤
𝜃= --------------------------------------------------------------------------------2
𝑉

The saturation, S, is the portion of the pore space filled with water

𝑉𝑤
𝑆= -------------------------------------------------------------------------------3
𝑉𝑝

These terms are further related as follows:

 = S *  (4)

When a sample of field soil is collected and oven-dried, the soil moisture is reported as a dry
weight fraction, W:
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------------(5)

To convert a dry weight soil moisture fraction into volumetric moisture content, the dry weight
fraction is multiplied by the bulk density,  b; and divided by specific weight of water,  w which
can be assumed to have a value of unity. Thus:

 =  b W/ w------------------- (6)

The  b is defined as the specific weight of the soil particles,  s, multiplied by the particle
volume or one-minus the porosity:

 b =  s * (1 -  ) ---------(7)

The volumetric moisture contents at field capacity,  fc, and permanent wilting point,  wp, then
are defined as follows:

 fc =  b Wfc/ w (8)

 wp =  b Wwp/ w (9)

where Wfc and Wwp are the dry weight moisture fractions at each point.

The total available water, TAW is the difference between field capacity and wilting point
moisture contents multiplied by the depth of the root zone, RD

TAW = ( fc -  wp) RD (10)

Different Soil–Water Coefficients

 Field Capacity
The soil is at field capacity when all the gravitational water has been drained and a vertical
movement of water due to gravity is negligible. Further water removal for most of the
soils will require at least 7 kPa (7 cbars) tension.
 Permanent Wilting Point
The permanent wilting point is the point/situation where there is no more water available
to the plant. The permanent wilting point depends on plant variety, but is usually around
1,500 kPa (15 bars). This means that for the plant to remove water from the soil, it must
exert a tension of more than 1,500 kPa (15 bars). This is the limit for most plants, and
beyond this they experience permanent wilting.
 Saturation Capacity

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It is the moisture content of soil when all the pores are filled with water. In clayey soil, the
porosity is highly variable as the soil alternatively swells and shrinks, aggregates and
disperses, compacts and cracks. Since clayey soils swell upon wetting, the relative volume
of water at saturation can exceed the porosity of the dry soil
 Water Holding Capacity or Water Retention Capacity
Water is held within the soil matrix by adsorption at the surfaces of particles and by
capillarity in the pores. The size, shape, and arrangement of the soil particles and the
associated voids (pores) determine the ability of the soil to retain water. It is important to
realize that large pores in the soil can conduct more water more rapidly than fine pores.
In addition, removing water from large pores is easier and requires less energy than
removing water from smaller pores.
Sandy soils consist mainly of large mineral particles with very small percentages of clay,
silt, and organic matter. In sandy soils, there are many more large pores than in clayey
soils. In addition, the total volume of pores in sandy soils is significantly smaller than in
clayey soils (30–40% for sandy soils compared with 40–60% for clayey soils). As a result,
much less water can be stored in sandy soil than in the clayey soil. It is also important to
realize that a significant number of the pores in sandy soils are large enough to drain within
a few hours (largely the first 24 h) because of gravity and this portion of water is lost from
the system before the plants can use it
 Flow Measurement

One of the major problems in surface irrigation system is the low efficiency of irrigation
water. A measure that is essential for reducing waste and ensuring more efficient use among
farmers is metering the volumes of water supplied and charge for it. There is a wise saying,
“You cannot manage something if you cannot measure it.”

The amount of water that moves or passes a point in a given time period is termed as
water flow rate. Measurement and determination of flow rate is a critical component of
irrigation water management. Various techniques and tools are available to measure the
flow rate. These range from simple indigenous methods to high-tech automated systems.
Each of these methods has some advantages over the others as well as some limitations.

 Purpose of Water Measurement

Measurement of irrigation water is essential for making recommendations on farm

irrigation practices to reduce water loss. Measuring, monitoring, and control of flow at
scheme levels are important for a fair distribution of irrigation water. Other purpose of
water flow measurement (irrigation pumps, stream, main or tertiary canal, etc.) are as
follows:

 For hydrological water budgeting

 To document water requirement
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 To charge for water used

 To develop water management plans for the effective use of water
 To document water availability baseline for evaluating any future changes and its
impact on land-use and environment
 To document water-use or discharge-rate for performance evaluation of water
development project
 To give the irrigation provider the possibility to control the volume of water that
are supplied to the scheme
 To give the Water User Associations the possibility to check the delivered flows
 Types of Flow Measuring Devices

The methods or approaches used to measure water supplies can be broadly categorized as
follows:

 Volumetric or direct measurement method

 Area-velocity method
 Tracer measurement method

In the area-velocity method, the volume of water flowing per unit time is determined with
the area of flow and velocity of flow. But in the volumetric method, the discharge rate can
be measured directly: the area of flow need not be determined; only the height of water
over the particular section of the instrument is essential. Automated flow meters are
available for different types of flow measurement, and especially for pipe flow, it is
common.

Flow rate through a small opening can be measured simply by collecting the outflow for
a particular time period, and then by measuring the volume of the collected water.
Alternatively, a stopwatch may be used to record the time required to fill in a large
container of known volume (or a particular volume). Then the flow rate,

volume of water collected

𝑄 = 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑

But this approach is not suitable for large discharge or open channel flow.

The tools or devices used for measuring water flow can be categorized as follows:

 Volumetric flow measuring devices

 Velocity measuring devices
 Water level (height) measuring devices

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The volumetric flow measuring devices are referred to as primary devices as water flow
can be known from their measured data. On the other hand, velocity and water-height
measuring devices are referred to as secondary devices as water flow cannot be determined
directly from these readings.

 Volumetric Flow Measuring Devices

This category includes weirs, flumes, V-notch, venturimeter, orifice meter, magnetic meter,
ultrasonic meter, etc. Magnetic and ultrasonic meters require an electronic processor.
Flumes may be of different types: Parshall flume, cut-throat flume, long throated flume,
trapezoidal flume, etc.
 Velocity Measuring Devices
The instruments that fall under this category are current meter, pitot tube, float, etc.
 Water Height Measuring Devices
This category includes staff gauge, meter scale, water level sensor, ultrasonic water level
sensor, etc
 Selection of a Water Measuring Device
Various devices and tools are available for measuring discharge or flow rate. Each type of
water measuring devices has advantage and disadvantage relative to the other type.
Selection of a flow measuring device for a particular application or site depends on the
following:
 The need of precision
 Economic factor (cost of the device)
 Easiness or limitations of the device
 Hydraulically appropriateness
 Site-specific factors
 Technical sophistication or technical know-how of the instrumentation
The type of the device that is to be selected for a particular purpose largely depends on
the precision or accuracy needed for the intended use. The second factor that comes into
consideration is the cost of the device, its maintenance, and operational easiness. The
hydraulic factor include stream size, depth of flow, flow type such as free or submerged
flow, width of the channel, characteristics of channel bed, layout and bend of the channel,
turbidity of water, etc. Appropriateness of the device for the intended use is also important.
The site-specific factor may include the economic condition of the farmer, social
acceptance, reliance, etc. A convenient low-cost device is desirable to obtain reliable flow
data. Traditionally, cutthroat flumes have been used in open drain systems or ditches
because of the ease of fabrication and installation. However, due to the extended
transitional length and width associated with the cutthroat flume, transportation of the
flume requires special facilitation or permits. In monitoring storm and irrigation water,
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plant effluent and sewage water, the Parshall flume is most widely used for permanent
installation. For extremely severe industrial effluents, flume materials may be stainless steel
or other special materials as needed. The selection process often involves reaching a
compromise among several features.
 Basic Terminologies and Hydraulic Principles of Flow Measurement
 Flow Rate or Discharge
The quantity of fluid flowing per second through a channel or pipe is termed as flow rate
or discharge (Q). It is usually expressed in m3/s or liter/s.
 Head of the Fluid
Energy per unit weight of fluid is termed as head.
 Velocity of Approach
It is the velocity with which the water approaches (i.e., reaches) the flow measuring device.
Mathematically, it can be expressed as:
𝑄
𝑉𝑎 =
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤
 Continuity Equation
Continuity equation is based on the principle of conservation of mass. It states that the
quantity of fluid flowing per second through a conduit at all the cross-section is constant
(considering no loss from the system or gain outside the system). It can be written as:

where A1, A2, A3 are the area at section 1, 2, 3 and V1, V2, V3 are the velocity at the
sections, respectively.
 Fluid Pressure: Pascal’s Law
A fluid at rest (static) or in motion (dynamic) exerts pressure on its surface. In a static fluid,
the intensity of pressure at a point is equal in all directions, i.e.

 Steady and Unsteady Flow

In an open channel flow, if the velocity, depth of flow, and flow rate do not change with
time, the flow is termed as steady flow. On the other hand, if the velocity, depth or flow
rate changes with time, the flow is referred to as unsteady flow.
For steady flow,

 Bernoulli’s Equation

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Bernoulli’s theorem states that, in a steady flow of an incompressible fluid, the total energy
at any point of the fluid is constant. Bernoulli’s equation for nonviscous fluid between two
points of a flowing path can be written as:

where P1 is the pressure head (i.e., pressure energy per unit of fluid) is the
kinetic head (i.e., kinetic energy per unit of fluid), V1 is the velocity of flow, and Z1 and
Z2 are the elevations of the two points. The orifice, nozzle, pitot tube, and venture flow
rate meters use the Bernoulli’s equation to calculate the fluid flow rate using pressure
difference through obstruction in the flow.
 Permanent Flow Measuring Structure
Permanent flow measuring structures are specially designed channel shapes that
characterize the flow. Common types are rectangular weirs and parshall flumes. The choice
of flume or weir depends on the application – flow rate, channel shape, solid content of
the flowing water, etc. Flumes and weirs are designed to force a transition from subcritical
to supercritical flow. In case of flume, the transition is caused by designing it to have a
narrowing at the throat and a drop in the channel bottom. Such a transition causes flow
to pass through critical depth in the flume throat. At the critical depth, energy is minimized
and there is a direct relationship between water depth, velocity, and flow-rate.
 Characteristics of Flow Measuring Structure
Flow measuring structures for small irrigation schemes should meet the following
requirements:
 Easy and solid construction
 Low maintenance needs
 Quick and accurate readability of gauges
 Water level drop as small as possible
Long-throated flumes fit well to these requirements. The same applies to measuring weirs,
but the difference in water level up- and down-stream from a weir is substantially bigger
than in case of a measuring flume.
 General Rules for Setting a Flow Measuring Structure
 From the hydraulic point of view, it is important to install a structure in a straight
channel section with a uniform cross section, slope, and roughness. The channel
must be straight upstream from the structure for a distance of 10–20 times of the
water head, depending on the measuring instrument/structure.
By using a canal drop in the design, the risk of submergence of the flow in the
control section can be eliminated.
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 Setting Permanent Structure/Flume in the Canal

The procedure for the installation of a permanent measuring structure consists of the
following phases:
 Selection of the proper location
 Evaluation of canal characteristics
 Formulation of design criteria
 Design and construction
 Selection of Location
The flow measuring structure should be installed at the head of the main canals, as close
as possible to the intake structure and on a well accessible site.
 Canal Characteristics
The upstream water level of the structure is influenced by the shape and level of the control
section of the structure, whereas the corresponding downstream water level is determined
by the characteristics of the canal, namely bed width, inclination of the canal banks,
longitudinal slope, and canal roughness.
Critical flow at the control section of the structure is essential. This requires a control section
with an elevated and/or narrow bed than the canal in which the structure is placed. With
respect to back water curve, a high and/or narrow control section causes a high upstream
water level, and this may result in upstream overtopping of the embankments. On the
other hand, a less high and/or less narrow control section may result in downstream water
level that the flow is submerged and noncritical. So, a solution should be found in which
the upstream water level is lower than the maximum level permitted, and the water level
in the control section is enough for a free flow (i.e., not being influenced by a high
downstream water level).

CHAPTER THREE
Detailed Analysis of Surface Irrigation Methods
 Evaluation of field data
 Objectives of evaluation
The principal objective of evaluating surface irrigation systems is to identify management
practices and system configurations that can be feasibly and effectively implemented to
improve the irrigation efficiency. An evaluation may show that higher efficiencies are
possible by reducing the duration of the inflow to an interval required to apply the depth
that would refill the root zone soil moisture deficit. The evaluation may also show
opportunities for improving performance through changes in the field size and
topography. Evaluations are useful in a number of analyses and operations, particularly
those that are essential to improve management and control. Evaluation data can be
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collected periodically from the system to refine management practices and identify the
changes in the field that occur over the irrigation season or from year to year. The surface
irrigation system is a complex and dynamic hydrologic system and, thus, the evaluation
processes are important to optimize the use of water resources in this system
 Field data
The field measurements outlined in the previous section provide the following elements in
a field evaluation:
 the inflow hydrograph (per furrow or per border or basin);
 the advance and recession of the water over the field surface;
 the runoff hydrograph (if the field is not dyked);
 the soil moisture depletion prior to the irrigation;
 the volume of water on the soil surface at various times
 infiltration and water holding capacities of the soil; and
 the geometry of the cross-sectional flow area.
Not all these data will be needed as part of the field evaluation. In some cases, such as
infiltration, one set of data can be derived from others to reduce the time and expense of
the field measurements.
 Performance measures
 Application uniformity
 Application efficiency
 Water requirement efficiency
 Deep percolation ratio
 Tail-water ratio
 Integration measures of performance

Among the factors used to judge the performance of an irrigation system or its
management, the most common are efficiency and uniformity. These parameters have
been subdivided and defined in a multitude of ways as well as named in various manners.
There is not a single parameter which is sufficient for defining irrigation performance.
Conceptually, the adequacy of an irrigation depends on how much water is stored within
the crop root zone, losses percolating below the root zone, losses occurring as surface
runoff or tail-water the uniformity of the applied water, and the remaining deficit or under-
irrigation within the soil profile following an irrigation. Ultimately, the measure of
performance is whether or not the system promoted production and profitability on the
farm. In order to index these factors in the surface irrigated environment the following
assumptions can be made, the consequences of which are that performance is based on
how the surface flow will be managed:
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 the crop root system extracts moisture from the soil uniformly with respect
to depth and location;
 the infiltration function for the soil is a unique relationship between
infiltrated depth and the time water is in contact with the soil (intake
opportunity time); and
 the objective of irrigating is to refill all of the root zone.

 Application uniformity
When a field with a uniform slope, soil and crop density receives steady flow at its upper
end, a water front will advance at a monotonically decreasing rate until it reaches the end
of the field. If it is not dyked, runoff will occur for a time before recession starts following
shutoff of inflow. Figure below shows the distribution of applied water along the field
length stemming from the assumptions listed above. The differences in intake opportunity
time produce applied depths that are non-uniformly distributed with a characteristic shape
skewed toward the inlet end of the field.
Application uniformity concerns the distribution of water over the actual field. A number
of technical sources suggest the Christiansen coefficient as a measure of uniformity. Others
argue in favour of an index more in line with the skewed distribution shown below. For
example, Merriam and Keller (1978) propose that distribution uniformity be defined as the
average infiltrated depth in the low quarter of the field, divided by the average infiltrated
depth over the whole field. This term can be represented by the symbol, DU. The same
authors also suggest an 'absolute distribution uniformity', DUa which is the minimum depth
divided by the average depth. Thus, the evaluator can choose one that fits his or her
perceptions but it should be clear as to which one is being used

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Figure. Distribution of applied water along a surface irrigated field showing also the depth
required to refill the root zone

 Application efficiency
The definition of application efficiency, Ea, has been fairly well standardized as:

Losses from the field occur as deep percolation (depths greater than Zreq) and as field
tailwater or runoff. To compute Ea it is necessary to identify at least one of these losses as
well as the amount of water stored in the root zone. This implies that the difference
between the total amount of root zone storage capacity available at the time of irrigation
and the actual water stored due to irrigation be separated, i.e. the amount of under-
irrigation in the soil profile must be determined as well as the losses.
 Water requirement efficiency
The water requirement efficiency, Er, which is also commonly referred to as the storage
efficiency is defined as:

The requirement efficiency is an indicator of how well the irrigation meets its objective of
refilling the root zone. The value of Er is important when either the irrigations tend to
leave major portions of the field under-irrigated or where under-irrigation is purposely
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practiced to use precipitation as it occurs. This parameter is the most directly related to the
crop yield since it will reflect the degree of soil moisture stress. Usually, under-irrigation in
high probability rainfall areas is a good practice to conserve water but the degree of under-
irrigation is a difficult question to answer at the farm level.
 Deep percolation ratio
The loss of water through drainage beyond the root zone is reflected in the deep
percolation ratio, DPR, defined as:

High deep percolation losses aggravate waterlogging and salinity problems, and leach
valuable crop nutrients from the root zone. Depending on the chemical nature of the
groundwater basin, deep percolation can cause a major water quality problem of a
regional nature. These losses can return to receiving streams heavily laden with salts and
other toxic elements and thereby degrade the quality of water to be used by others.
 Tailwater ratio
Losses from the irrigation system via runoff from the end of the field are indicated in the
tailwater ratio, TWR:

Runoff losses pose additional threats to irrigation systems and regional water resources.
Erosion of the top soil on a field is generally the major problem associated with runoff.
The sediments can then obstruct conveyance and control structures downstream, including
dams and regulation structures.
 Integration measures of performance
With the five measures of performance defined above, a broad range of assessments is
possible and specific remedies identified. Application efficiency is the most important in
terms of design and management since it reflects the overall beneficial use of irrigation
water. In later sections, a design and management strategy will be proposed in which the
value of application efficiency is maximized subject to the value of requirement efficiency
being maintained at 95-100 percent. This approach thereby eliminates Er from an active
role in surface irrigation design or management and simultaneously maximizes application
uniformity. If the analysis tends to maximize Ea, distribution uniformity is not qualitatively
important and may be used primarily for illustrative purposes. Of course, some may prefer
performance discussed in terms of uniformity or be primarily involved in systems where
under irrigation is an objective or a problem. For these cases, uniformity is still available.
The assumption of maximization of application efficiency in effect states that losses due to
deep percolation or runoff are equally weighted.
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 Intermediate analysis of field data

 inflow-outflow
 Advance and recession
 Flow geometry
 Field infiltration

Individual measurement of these seven processes listed above (inflow, advance, recession,
outflow, soil moisture deficit, surface volume, and infiltration) is time consuming and
therefore expensive. A number of procedures have been developed for estimating one or
more of the seven from an analysis of the others. These are called the intermediate
evaluations. Of the seven parameters listed above, only the inflow hydrograph and soil
moisture deficit must be known in all cases. The evaluation of the remaining data can be
divided into the following intermediate evaluations.
 Inflow-outflow
The flow through the field inlet onto the surface of the field can be measured to yield a
hydrograph which, when integrated, determines the total volume of applied water. The
inflows should be maintained at a steady rate. Tailwater runoff where not restricted with
a dyke (outflow hydrograph) can be obtained in a similar manner.
 Advance and recession
The intake opportunity time is the interval during which water will infiltrate at a specified
location. It begins when the water flow first reaches the point (advance) and ends when
the water eventually drains from the point (recession). Because infiltration is assumed to
be uniform over the field, the variation in intake opportunity time is also an indication of
application uniformity.
The time required for the water to advance to the end of the field length or to cover the
field completely is an important consideration in managing surface irrigation systems. As
will be seen in next Section the advance time dictates in large measure when the inflow
must be terminated and it provides the time when field tail water begins flowing from the
field or when the field begins to pond. The advance trajectory does not have a concise
mathematical description, but can be reasonably well approximated with the simple power
function:

where x is the advance distance in m from the field inlet that is achieved in tx minutes of
inflow, and p and r are fitting parameters. Elliott and Walker (1982) made several
comparisons of Eq. above with more elaborate relationships and methods of fitting and
concluded that the best results are achieved by a two-point fitting of the equation. The
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time of advance to a point near one-half the field length, t.5L, and the advance to the end,
tL, can be simultaneously solved to define the empirical parameters, p and r:

 Flow geometry
It is necessary to segregate the volume of water on the soil surface from the volume which
has infiltrated into the soil during the advance phase in order to evaluate the field
infiltration parameters. To do this it is necessary to describe mathematically the shape of
the flow cross-section and the flow area. Probably the most useful flow equation is the
Manning formula

where Q is the discharge in m3/sec, A is the cross-sectional area of the flow in m2, R is the
hydraulic radius in m, So is the slope of the hydraulic grade lines which is assumed to equal
the field slope, if one exists, and n is a resistance coefficient.
The simplest case of Eq. above is the sloping border in which a width of one metre is taken
as representative of the flow and the relation reduces to:

in which y is the depth of flow in m, and Q is the flow per unit width.
For basins the problem becomes slightly more complex because the field slope is zero.
Under these conditions, it is often assumed that the slope of the hydraulic gradeline can be
approximated by the depth at the field inlet, yo, divided by the distance over which the
water surface has advanced. Equation with this modification becomes:

where x is the advance distance at time tx, in m. Thus, the area of flow in a basin is time
dependent during the advance phase and is continually changing. In sloping furrows and
borders it is assumed constant with time.
The geometry of flow under furrow irrigation is difficult to describe. The furrow shape is
continually changing because of erosion and deposition of soil as the water moves it along,
but its typical shape ranges from triangular to nearly trapezoidal. In most cases, simple
power functions can be used to relate the cross-sectional area and wetted perimeter with

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depth. Figure below shows a furrow cross-section developed from the profilometer
described in Section 3. The simplest way to analyse these data is to first plot the cross-
section as shown, then divide the depth into 10-15 equal increments and graphically or
numerically integrate area and wetted perimeter.
 Field infiltration
The most crucial and often the most difficult parameter to evaluate under the surface
irrigation condition is infiltration. In general, a relatively large number of field
measurements of infiltration is required to represent the average field condition. Methods
which use a static water condition (such as ring infiltrometers) often fail to indicate the
typically dynamic field condition. As a result there is a useful approach to obtain field
representative infiltration functions based on the response of the field to an actual
watering. This method determines the infiltration formula directly from the inflow-outflow
and advance data, along with an assumption concerning the volume of water on the
surface during the advance phase

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Chapter Four
Surface Irrigation System Design
 Introduction to surface irrigation
The term 'surface irrigation' refers to a broad class of irrigation methods in which water is
distributed over the field by overland flow. A flow is introduced at one edge of the field
and covers the field gradually. The rate of coverage (advance) is dependent almost entirely
on the differences between the discharge onto the field and the accumulating infiltration
into the soil. Secondary factors include field slope, surface roughness, and the geometry or
shape of the flow cross-section.
Surface irrigation offers a number of important advantages at both the farm and project
level. Because it is so widely utilized,
 Local irrigators generally have at least minimal understanding of how to operate
and maintain the system.
 In addition, surface systems are often more acceptable to agriculturalists who
appreciate the effects of water shortage on crop yields since it appears easier to
apply the depths required to refill the root zone.
 The second advantage of surface irrigation is that these systems can be developed
at the farm level with minimal capital investment. Also they are less affected by
climatic and water quality characteristics.
Although they need not be, surface irrigation systems are typically less efficient in applying
water than either sprinkler or trickle systems. Many are situated on lower lands with
heavier soils and, therefore, tend to be more affected by water-logging and soil salinity if
adequate drainage is not provided. The need to use the field surface as a conveyance and
distribution facility requires that fields be well graded if possible. Land levelling costs can
be high so the surface irrigation practice tends to be limited to land already having small,
even slopes
Irrigation systems generally consist of four components;
1) Physical systems
2) Social and organizational systems
3) Cropping system
4) Economic systems
The Physical systems of Surface irrigation systems as a whole consist of four subsystems.
These are:
 The water supply subsystem
 The water delivery subsystem
 The water use subsystem
 The water removal subsystem
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I) Water delivery system

 The function of water delivery sub- system is to convey water from the source to
field through main canal, distributaries, minors and field channels, at constant,
regulated rate, at proper elevation, with seepage controlled, without excessive
erosion or sediment taken, with appropriate water quality and amount.
ii) Water supply sub –systems
The output from water delivery sub–system is the input for water application sub–system.
Functions: -
- To distribute the desired amount of water with the designed uniformity over the field.
- To satisfy erosion control standards
- To provide necessary surface drainage
iii) Water use sub- system
The water use sub- system receives water from the application sub –system.
Functions: -
- To supply the water requirement of the crop.
- To maintain acceptable level of soil salinity.
- To ensure adequate nutrients.
- To provide soil conditions for supporting plants, preventing soil crusting facilitating tillage
iv) Water removal sub –system
This sub –system is used for removal and disposal of surface and sub- surface waters from
land to improve agriculture operations.
Functions: -
- To provide proper root aeration by lowering ground water table,
- To maintain appropriate salinity levels with in the soil profile,
- To dispose (remove) excess irrigation or rain water from the field.

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Figure 1 Typical Irrigation System Components

A surface irrigation event is composed of four phases as illustrated graphically in Figure

2. When water is applied to the field, it 'advances' across the surface until the water extends
over the entire area. It may or may not directly wet the entire surface, but all of the flow
paths have been completed. Then the irrigation water either runs off the field or begins to
pond on its surface. The interval between the end of the advance and when the inflow is
cut off is called the wetting or ponding phase. The volume of water on the surface begins
to decline after the water is no longer being applied. It either drains from the surface
(runoff) or infiltrates into the soil. For the purposes of describing the hydraulics of the
surface flows, the drainage period is segregated into the depletion phase (vertical recession)
and the recession phase (horizontal recession). Depletion is the interval between cut off
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and the appearance of the first bare soil under the water. Recession begins at that point
and continues until the surface is drained.
Summarizing the four distinct hydraulic phases of surface irrigation system:
1. Advance phase: the time interval between the start of irrigation and arrival
of the advancing (wetting) front at the lower end of the field.
2. Ponding (wetting storage or continuing) phase: the irrigation time extending
between the end of advance and inflow cutoff. The term “Wetting” phase is
usually used for furrow and border where tail water runoff can occur,
whereas ponding is the preferred term for basin irrigation (no tail water
runoff).
3. Depletion (vertical recession) phase: the time interval between supply cut-
off and the time that water dries up at the inlet boundary.
4. Recession (horizontal recession) phase: the time required for the water to
recede from all points in the channel, starting from the end of the depletion
phase. The time difference at each measuring station between the clock time
or cumulative time for advance and recession is the opportunity time, T,
infiltration to occur.
5. Cut off time (tco): Cumulative time since the initiation of irrigation until the
inflow is terminated.
6. Cutback irrigation: The practice of using a high unit discharge during the
advance phase and a reduced one during the wetting or ponding phase to
control runoff
7. Opportunity time (τ req): The cumulative time between recession and
advance at a specific point on the surface irrigated field. Usual units are
minutes or hours.

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Figure 2: Time-space trajectory of water during a surface irrigation showing its advance,
wetting, depletion and recession phases.

The time and space references shown in Figure 2 are relatively standard. Time is cumulative
since the beginning of the irrigation, distance is referenced to the point water enters the
field. The advance and recession curves are therefore trajectories of the leading and
receding edges of the surface flows and the period defined between the two curves at any
distance is the time water is on the surface and therefore also the time water is infiltrating
into the soil.
It is useful to note here that in observing surface irrigation one may not always observe a
ponding, depletion or recession phase. In basins, for example, the post-cut off period may
only involve a depletion phase as the water infiltrates vertically over the entire field.
Likewise, in the irrigation of paddy rice, irrigation very often adds to the ponded water in
the basin so there is neither advance nor recession - only wetting or ponding phase and
part of the depletion phase. In furrow systems, the volume of water in the furrow is very
often a small part of the total supply for the field and it drains rapidly. For practical
purposes, there may not be a depletion phase and recession can be ignored. Thus, surface
irrigation may appear in several configurations and operate under several regimes.

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 Objective and scope of design

The surface irrigation system should replenish the root zone reservoir efficiently and
uniformly so that crop stress is avoided, and resources like energy, water, nutrient, and
labour are conserved. The irrigation system might also be used to cool the atmosphere
around sensitive fruit and vegetable crops, or to heat the atmosphere to prevent their
damage by frost. An irrigation system must always be capable of leaching salts accumulating
in the root zone. It may also be used to soften the soil for better cultivation or even to
fertilize the field and spread insecticides.
The design procedures outlined in the following sections are based on a target application,
Zreq, which equals the soil moisture extracted by the crop. It is in the final analysis a trial
and error procedure by which a selection of lengths, slopes, field inflow rates and cutoff
times can be made that will maximize application efficiency. Considerations such as erosion
and water supply limitations will act as constraints on the design procedures. Many fields
will require a subdivision to utilize optimally the total flow available. This remains a
judgement that the designer is left to make after weighing all other factors that he feels are
relevant to the successful operation of the system. Maximum application efficiencies, the
implicit goal of design, will occur when the least watered areas of the field are just refilled.
Deep percolation will be minimized by minimizing differences in intake opportunity time,
and then terminating the inflow on time. Surface runoff is controlled or reused.

The design intake opportunity time is defined in the following way:

where Zreq is the required infiltrated volume per unit length and per unit width (and is
equal to the soil moisture deficit) and rreq is the design intake opportunity time. For most
surface irrigated conditions, rreq should be as close as possible to the difference between
the recession time at each point and the associated advance time.
An engineer may have an opportunity to design a surface irrigation system as part of a
new irrigation project where surface methods have been selected or when the performance
of an existing irrigation system requires improvement by redesign. In a new irrigation
project, it is to be hoped that the surface irrigation system design is initiated after a great
deal of irrigation engineering has already occurred. The selection of system configurations
for the project is in fact an integral part of the project planning process. If a new or
modified surface system is planned on lands already irrigated, the decision has presumably
been based, at least partially, on the results of an evaluation at the existing site. In this case,
the design is more easily accomplished because of the higher level of experience and data
available.
 The basic design process

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The surface irrigation design process is a procedure matching the most desirable frequency
and depth of irrigation and the capacity and availability of the water supply. This process
can be divided into a preliminary design stage and a detailed design stage.

 Preliminary design
The operation of the system should offer enough flexibility to supply water to the crop in
variable amounts and schedules that allow the irrigator some scope to manage soil
moisture for maximum yields as well as water, labour and energy conservation.
Water may be supplied on a continuous or a rotational basis in which the flow rate and
duration may be relatively fixed. In those cases, the flexibility in scheduling irrigation is
limited to what each farmer or group of farmers can mutually agree upon within their
command areas. At the preliminary design stage, the limits of the water supply in satisfying
an optimal irrigation schedule should be evaluated.
The next step in the design process involves collecting and analysing local climatological,
soil and cropping patterns to estimate the crop water demands. From this analysis the
amount of water the system should supply through the season can be estimated. A tentative
schedule can be produced by comparing the net crop demands with the capability of the
water delivery system to supply water according to a variable schedule. On-demand
systems should have more flexibility than continuous or rotational water schedules which
are often difficult to match to the crop demand. Whichever criterion (crop demand or
water availability) governs the operating policy at the farm level, the information provided
at this stage will define the limitations of the timing and depth of irrigations during the
growing season.

The type of surface irrigation system selected for the farm should be carefully planned.
Furrow systems are favoured in conditions of relatively high bi-directional slope, row
crops, and small farm flows and applications. Border and basin systems are favoured in the
flatter lands, large field discharges and larger depths of application during most irrigations.
A great deal of management can be applied where flexibility in frequency and depth are
possible.
 Detailed design
The detailed design process involves determining the slope of the field, the furrow, border
or basin discharge and duration, the location and sizing of headland structures and
miscellaneous facilities; and the provision of surface drainage facilities either to collect
tailwater for reuse or for disposal.
Land levelling can easily be the most expensive on-farm improvement made in preparation
for irrigation. It is a prerequisite for the best performance of the surface system. Generally,
the best land levelling strategy is to do as little as possible, i.e. to grade the field to a slope

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which involves minimum earth movement. Exceptions occur where other considerations
dictate a change in the type of system, say, basin irrigation, and yield sufficient benefits to
off-set the added cost of land levelling.
If the field has a general slope in two directions, land levelling for a furrow irrigation system
is usually based on a best-fit plane through the field elevations. This minimizes earth
movement over the entire field and unless the slopes in the direction normal to the
expected water flow are very large, terracing and benching would not be necessary.
A border must have a zero slope normal to the field water flow which will require terracing
in all cases of cross slope. Thus, the border slope is usually the best-fit subplane or strip.
Basins, of course, are generally 'dead' level, i.e. no slope in either direction. Thus, terracing
is required in both directions. To the extent the basin is rectangular, its largest dimension
should run along the field's smallest natural slope in order to minimize land levelling costs.
The detailed design process starts with and ends with land levelling computations. At the
start, the field topography is evaluated to determine the general land slopes in the direction
of expected water flow. This need not be the extensive evaluation that is needed to
actually move the earth. In fact, the analysis outlined earlier under the subject of evaluation
is sufficient. Using this information along with target application depths derived from an
analysis of crop water requirements, the detailed design process moves to the selection of
flow rates and their duration that maximize application efficiency, tempered however by
a continual review of the practical matters involved in farming the field later. Field length
becomes a design variable at this stage and again there is a philosophy the designer must
consider. In mechanized farming and possibly in animal power as well, long rectangular
fields are preferable to short square ones in most cases except paddy rice. This notion is
based on the time required for implement turning and realignment. In a long field, this
time can be substantially less and therefore a more efficient use of cultivation and
harvesting implements is achieved.
The next step in detailed design is to reconcile the flows and times with the total flow and
its duration allocated to the field from the water supply. On small fields, the total supply
may provide a satisfactory coverage when used to irrigate the whole field simultaneously.
However, the general situation is that fields must be broken into 'sets' and irrigated part
by part, i.e. basin by basin, border by border, etc. These subdivisions or 'sets' must match
the field and its water supply. Thus, with the subdivisions established, the final land
levelling is undertaken.
Once the field dimensions and flow parameters have been formulated, the surface
irrigation system must be described structurally. To apply the water, pipes or ditches with
associated control elements must be sized for the field. If tailwater is permitted, means for
removing these flows must be provided. Also, the designer should give attention to the
operation of the system. Automation will be a key element of some systems. The treatment

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of these topics is not detailed since there are other technical manuals and literature already
available for this purpose.
The design methodology used in the guide relies on the kinematic-wave analysis for furrow
and border advance and a fully hydrodynamic model for basin advance. These are
transparent to the user of the guide, however, and further explanation for those interested
can be found in Walker and Skogerboe (1987). Simple algebraic equations are used for
depletion and recession. This guide has reduced the role of these hydraulic techniques to
the advance phase to allow the User to participate more in the design process. The
interested reader can refer to several references in the bibliography for other graphical
techniques which extend beyond those given here, but as one does so, it becomes more
important to understand the nature of the hydraulic assumptions.
 Hydraulic design of Surface Irrigation Systems
The design of a surface irrigation system first involves assessing the general topographic
conditions, soils, crops, farming practices anticipated and farm operators’ desires and
finance for the field or farm in question. Moreover, the first priorities in agriculture today
is the development of irrigation design that are more efficient in the use of both water and
energy resources for the varieties of crops and farming practices. One of the purposes of
design of surface irrigation systems is to facilitate operational practices so that the system
can be managed and operated according to the plan and the desired goal can be achieved.
Surface irrigation systems are designed and operated to supply the individual irrigation
requirements of each field on the farm while controlling deep percolation, runoff,
evaporation and operational losses. Beside this, the objective of any water application is
to uniformly replenish the root zone moisture with enough percolation for the effective
leaching of harmful salts.
Properly designed and operated surface irrigation systems can enhance crop yields. Often,
however, inadequate design and management result in excessive water losses through deep
percolation and/or tail water runoff. It can be also stated that high efficiencies are not
generally attained with surface methods unless design, operation and management are of
a higher standard and distribution. Despite the fact that surface irrigation is the most widely
practiced method of irrigation and feasible under many circumstances, its low energy
requirements and simplicity of operation, it is not only a major consumer of water but also
one of the most inefficient users of water.
For example, the annual project efficiencies of some selected 16 countries (worldwide, by
FAO, 1998) ranges from 13 % (Saldana in Colombia) to 99 % (Tadla in Morocco).
Similarly, the overall efficiency of state farms in the Middle Awash was about 40 % (1986).
Generally, FAO (1995) pointed out that only 40% to 60% of the water is effectively used
by the crop, the reminder of the water is lost in the system, in the farm and on the field,
either through evaporation, through run-off or by percolation into the ground water.
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Design can be viewed as the process of making decisions concerning the values of flow rate
(Qo), length of channel (L), and time of cutoff (tco), prior to the onset of every irrigation
season and during the project development phase. The available stream size, and the
length and grade of the land units must be combined to achieve acceptable results without
excessive labor, waste of water, erosion and inconvenience to other farming operations.
Since the performance of a surface irrigation system is dependent on three sets of variables;
design, management, and field variables (system parameters), which are shown in the
following functional relationship.

A) Surface irrigation Design inputs (System Parameters and System Variables)

Generally there are two types of design data inputs in surface irrigation: field parameters
and field decision variables. The designer can manipulate decision variables. They include
flow rate, the field dimensions and cut-off time. On the other hand, however, the designer
cannot influence Field parameters; they are measured or assumed properties of the given
situation. They primarily consist of the soil infiltration characteristics, the flow resistance,
the required net application depth, and the field slopes (for borders and furrows).
A description (explanation) of each design input parameter as related to its influence,
dimensions and the procedures followed to determine each parameter would be presented
in the subsequent sections.
System Parameters
1. Required amount of application (dn): This parameter represents the amount of water
that needs to be stored in the crop root zone reservoir during every irrigations, in order
to sustain normal crop growth. The crop type, stage of growth, presence or absence of
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shallow water table, and limiting soil horizons (such as hard pans), among other things,
determine the effective crop root depth. Soil type is the factor that determines how much
water can be stored per unit depth of soil. These factors, along with the climatic conditions
of an area should be considered to determine the required amount of application (dn).
For basins and borders the characteristics width is unit width, i.e. 1m, whereas for furrows
it is the furrow spacing.
Note: dn is the same as MAD - management allowable depletion or maximum allowable
deficiency. MAD is the soil moisture at which irrigations should be scheduled, and is
determined as:

2. Maximum allowable flow velocity (Vmax): This is used in estimating the non-erosive flow
rate, Q max, which can be turned on into a furrow or a border or a basin without causing
soil erosion. The value of Vmax is generally depend on soil type, and may vary within the
range of 8 m/min for erodible silt to 13 m/min for more stable clay and sandy soils
3. Manning’s roughness coefficient (n): A parameter in Manning’s equation, known as the
Manning’s n, is used as a measure of the resistance effects that flow might encounter as
it moves down the furrow, border or basin, which is in fact a representation, in lumped
form, of the effect of the roughness of the physical boundaries of the flow and cultivation
practices. Most of the time, the values for Manning’s n used for furrow, border and basin
irrigation are based on the recommendation of the SCS and are given in the following
table.

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4. Channel bed slope (So). The bed slope of a furrow or a border or a basin needs to be
known in order to estimate maximum non-erosive flow rates as well as flow cross-sectional
area or depth of flow at any given channel section using, say, Manning’s equation. Bed
slope is the average slope in the direction of irrigation and is an easy parameter to measure.
For borders and furrows bed slope should not be too high to cause scouring and must not
too low as to result a very slow advance with the end outcome being inefficient irrigation.
Usually the values recommended by USDA, which depend on soil (type and profile depth),
crop combination (for borders) and size of individual furrows, are used. (See tables)
5. Infiltration parameter (I). Knowledge of the infiltration characteristics of the soil is
critically important for evaluation, design or management of a surface irrigation system,
without which it is very difficult to accurately judge system performance, application
efficiency and uniformity. Therefore, infiltration parameter, k, a, and fo should be
determined prior to the actual design stage.
Generally infiltration rate and cumulative infiltration into an initially dry soil from a
ponded water body can be represented as a sole function of time. Over the years several
mathematical models have been developed which may broadly classified as:
i) Models based on one- dimensional Porous media flow Equation- Numerical
Equations of Richard’s Equation.
ii) Physically based models – (Green & Ampt , 1911)
iii) Empirical relationships - (Kostiakov 1932; Lewis 1933; Horton 1940; USDA 1979)
Owing to their simplicity and minimal data requirement commonly utilized equations in
surface irrigation models are the Kostiakov- Lewis and modified Kostiakov- Lewis
Equations.
Kostiakov – Lewis Equation
This was independently developed by Kostiakov and Lewis and has a form in which the
infiltration rate is expressed as a single term monotonic decreasing power function of time.
The cumulative intake function (depth of infiltration) is given by

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The SCS has developed the concept of soil intake families, which classify soils in to broad
categories according to their infiltration properties. The SCS soil intake families are
identified by numerals ranging from 0.05 - 2.00 (sometimes 4).

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The intake family denoted by 2 for example represents a soil which absorbs 2 inches or
25.4mm of water over a unit surface area per hour after sufficiently long period of
application.
6. Channel geometry: The geometry of a channel cross-section has a significant effect on
the surface hydraulics as well as infiltration. Generally, basins and borders can be
considered as wide rectangular channels, where the depth of flow is by far less than their
width. Furrows, on the other hand, can have parabolic, triangular or trapezoidal cross-
sections. It is therefore important to take account of channel geometry in modeling of
furrow irrigation processes.
For reasons of simplicity and practical considerations, such as accounting for irregularities
in channel cross-sections, it is customary to assume that a power relationship holds between
the following important channel geometry elements of a furrow

System Variables
1. Channel length (L): The length of a basin or border or a furrow should be
determined considering the soil type, method of irrigation and from previous
studies to estimate advance and recession over the length of the channel, the
resulting distribution of infiltrated water, volume of runoff and the performance
indices. There always exist a certain optimal channel length that would minimize
irrigation water losses yet results in acceptable levels of adequacy and uniformity. If
the above data is not available the following Tables can be used as guides.
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2. Unit inlet flow rate (Qo): This is the discharge diverted into a furrow, or a unit
width border or a basin. Inlet flow rate is one of the key variables in influencing the
outcome of an irrigation event; it affects, the rate of advance to a significant degree
and also recession to a lesser but appreciable extent. Thereby having a significant
effect on uniformity, efficiency and adequacy of irrigation, it should not be too high
as to cause scouring and should not be too small as otherwise the water will not
advance to the downstream end.
3. Cutoff time (tco): Cut off time is the time at which the supply is turned off,
measured from the onset of irrigation. The ideal time of cutoff occurs when the
infiltrated depth in the least-watered portion of the field is equal to the irrigation
requirement. The most important effect of cutoff is reflected on the amount of
losses, deep percolation and surface runoff, and hence efficiency and adequacy of
irrigation. In general for any given factor level of combination the selection of an
appropriate value of tco is made on the basis of the target application depth and
acceptable level of deficit.
B) Surface irrigation system performance
Ideally the best surface irrigation scenario (event) is one that can apply the right amount
of water over the entire subject area and without loss, a situation which requires that equal
amount of water be applied over the entire reach of the channel. In practice however
there exist no surface irrigation system or operation scenarios that can apply water without
loss and with perfect uniformity. In any case making uneven application of water over the
length of run of a channel is unavoidable. The inevitable consequence of this is that in

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order to apply a certain target amount of water at a point, say down stream end of the
subject area, a larger amount must be applied at another point. What all these indicate is
that in real life systems uneven and excess application of irrigation water are the “twins
facts of life’ that engineers and irrigators ought to live with. We cannot do without them
but we ought to strive to minimize them. That is what system design and management is
all about. The merit of an irrigation scenario (event) is judged in terms of indices that
“measure how close an irrigation scenario is to the ideal one”. These indices are collectively
referred to as performance indices. The performance of a surface irrigation event can be
evaluated from three distinct but complementary perspectives.
(1) Excess application of irrigation water, though unavoidable in real life situation must be
minimized (minimum loss). Application efficiency (Ea) is the index which is used as a
measure of how effective irrigation is in minimizing unavoidable losses.
(2) Adequacy of irrigation, evaluated in terms of a perceived requirement is necessary to
sustain normal crop growth and result in satisfactory yield. Water storage efficiency (Es)
uses how close the applied amount is to the perceived requirement (right amount).
(3) Uniform (even) application of irrigated water over the entire subject area not only
enhances productive use of available water by spreading deficit, if any, over the subject
area but also helps minimize losses. Distribution uniformity (DU) and Christiansen’s
uniformity coefficient (UC) are the most commonly used indices in surface irrigation
application. Moreover, deep percolation and run-off losses are vital in constraining as well
as guiding operational decision making processes. It nonetheless is appropriate to treat
them as performance term as per se.
 Irrigation uniformity
Uniformity of infiltration under surface irrigation depends on the spatial and temporal
variability of surface and sub-surface hydraulic characteristics such as field slope, furrow
geometry, surface roughness, field length, flow rate and soil pore size distribution.
Two parameters are used to evaluate distribution uniformity.
The first parameter is distribution uniformity coefficient DU, and is defined as the ratio of
the minimum infiltrated amount expressed as percentage of the average infiltrated amount
over the subject area. A general expression for DU is

Where, Zmin = minimum infiltrated amount over the length of the run of the subject area
(m3.m-1).
Zav = average infiltrated amount over the length of the run of the subject area (m3.m-1)

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The second parameter is Christiansen `s uniformity coefficient, (UCC), defined as the ratio
of the difference between the average amount applied and the average deviation from the
average amount applied to the average amount applied

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Chapter Five
Surface irrigation methods
Surface irrigation has evolved into an extensive array of configurations that can broadly be
classified as:
 basin irrigation
 border irrigation
 furrow irrigation
 wild flooding
The distinction between the various classifications is often subjective. For example, a basin
or border system may be furrowed. Wild flooding is a catchall category for the situations
where water is simply allowed to flow onto an area without any attempt to regulate the
application or its uniformity. Since no effort is made to regulate the application or
uniformity, this type of surface irrigation does not need attention in this course. If control
of the wild flooding event is introduced, it then evolves into a border, basin, or furrow
system.
 Surface irrigation configurations
Choosing a particular surface irrigation system for the specific needs of the individual
irrigator depends on the proper evaluation and consideration of the following factors:
 costs of the system and its appurtenances
 field sizes and shapes
 field slope and slope variability
 oil intake and water holding characteristics the quality and availability (timing of
deliveries, amount, and duration of delivery) of the water supply
 climate
 cropping patterns
 historical practices and preferences
 accessibility to precision land leveling services.
1. Basin irrigation
Basin irrigation is distinguished by a completely level field with perimeter dikes to
control and/or prevent runoff. Figure below illustrates the most common basin
irrigation concept.
 Development costs—Basin irrigation is generally the most expensive surface
irrigation configuration to develop and maintain, but often the least expensive
to operate and manage. Land leveling is the most costly development and
maintenance requirement, although the perimeter diking can also be expensive
to form and maintain. In areas where turnouts from the delivery system have
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relatively small discharges, development costs may also be increased by

necessary changes in the irrigation system upstream of the basin.
Since basins are typically designed to pond the water on their surfaces and prevent
tailwater, they are usually the most efficient surface irrigation configurations.
In addition, management is almost always simpler.
 Field geometry—In the absence of field slope to aid the movement of water on
the field surface, the run length, or distance the water has to advance over the
field, tends to be minimized. Many basins take on a square rather than a
rectangular shape, but this depends entirely on the availability of sufficient flow
rates and the intake characteristics of the soil. One of the major advantages of
basins is their utility in irrigating fields with irregular shapes and small fields.

Figure 1. Typical basin irrigation system in the Western United States

 Soil characteristics—Basin irrigation systems usually operate at less frequent

intervals than furrows or borders by applying a larger depth during irrigation.
Consequently, medium- to fine-textured soils with their high moisture holding
capacity are better suited to basins than coarse-textured soils. The efficiency and
uniformity of basin irrigation depend on the relative magnitude of the field
inflow and the soil intake. A soil with a relatively high intake characteristic will
require a substantially higher flow rate to achieve the same uniformity and
efficiency as for a heavier soil.
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Since the water may cover the entire basin surface, a soil that forms dense crusts upon
drying may have detrimental impacts on seed germination and emergence.
It is common practice to furrow soils of this nature to reduce crusting problems. On the
other hand, basin irrigation is an effective means for reclamation and salt leaching.
Many of the heavier soils will form cracks between irrigations which may be responsible
for much of the water that infiltrates during irrigation. These soils are also susceptible to
forming compacted layers (hard pans or plow pans) at the cultivation depth. The impact
of cracking in basin irrigation is an increased applied depth. The impact of a plow pan is
to restrict it.
 Water supply—The water supply to a basin irrigated field has four important
characteristics:
 quality
 flow rate
 duration
 frequency of delivery
The quality of the water added to the field will be reflected in the quality of the water
throughout the root zone. Salinity is usually the most important quality parameter in
surface irrigation, and the higher the salinity in the irrigation water, the higher the
concentration of salts in the lower regions of the root zone. However, since basins do not
apply water to the crop canopy as does sprinkle irrigation, water supplies with relatively
high salinities can be used. Some water supplies also have poor quality due to toxic
elements like boron. The most important factor in achieving high basin irrigation
uniformity and efficiency while minimizing operational costs is the discharge applied to the
field. In basin irrigation, the higher the available discharge the better, constrained only by
having such a high flow that erosion occurs near the inlet. The water delivered to a basin
is usually done with jack gates or other methods that can apply large amounts of water
quickly. The duration of irrigation is dependent on the depth to be applied, the flow rate
onto the field, and the efficiency of the irrigation. Basin irrigation’s typically high discharges
and high efficiencies mean that basin irrigations may require less total time than borders
and furrows. This, coupled with the fact that basins usually irrigate heavier soils and apply
larger depths, means that the irrigation of basins are typically less frequent than borders or
furrows. The duration and frequency of basin irrigation can impose different requirements
on the water supply system compared to systems operated to service border and furrow
systems.
 Climate—Whenever water ponds on a cropped surface for an extended period
of time, the oxygencarbon dioxide exchange between the atmosphere and the
roots is disrupted. If the disruption is long enough, the crops will die. This process

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is sometimes called scalding. Scalding is perceived as a serious risk in basin

irrigation by irrigators in hot dry climates. Rice farming, however, depends on
this process for weed control.
Another climate-related impact of basin irrigation is the effect of water temperature on the
crop at different stages of growth. Irrigation with cold water early in the spring can delay
growth, whereas in the hot periods of the summer, it can cool the environment— both of
which can be beneficial or detrimental in some cases.
One important advantage of basins in many areas of high rainfall is that they can more
effectively capture it than can borders or furrows. Thus, basins enjoy the benefits of higher
levels of effective precipitation and may actually require less irrigation delivery during rainy
periods as long as the crops are not damaged by subsequent scalding or flooding.
 Cropping patterns—With its full wetting and large applied depths, basin
irrigation is most conducive to the irrigation of full-stand crops like alfalfa, grains,
grass, and rice. Row crops can be and often are grown in basins, as well. Widely
spaced crops like fruit trees do not require as much of the total field soil volume
to be wetted and thus, basin irrigation in these instances is less useful. Although,
it should be noted that mini basins formed around each tree and then irrigated
in pass-through or cascade fashion are found in many orchard systems. Cascading
systems are usually less efficient and have low uniformity due to poor water
control. Basin irrigation is also more effective with deep-rooted crops like alfalfa
than with shallow-rooted crops like vegetables. Crops that react adversely to
crown wetting do not favor basins.
 Cultural factors—because surface irrigation depends on the movement of water
over the field surface whose properties change from year to year and crop to
crop, as well as from irrigation to irrigation, surface irrigation management is a
difficult task to do well and consistently. Basin irrigation reduces this burden by
eliminating tail-water from the management process.
However, where basin irrigation has not been practiced previously, the added costs and
the uncertainty associated with a lack of experience are often substantial barriers to its
adoption. One of the major criticisms of basin irrigation is the equipment turning time.
Because basins lengths are generally shorter, they require more preparation time in turning
equipment during cultivating, planting, and harvesting operations.
 Land leveling—Before the advent of the laser-guided land grading equipment, it
was common to find surface elevations as much as one or two inches lower or
higher than the design elevations of the field. Land leveling operators varied in skill
and experience. The precision of laser-guided land grading equipment is much
greater and does not depend nearly as much on operator skill and experience.

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Since the field surface must convey and distribute water, any undulations will impact the
flow and, therefore, the efficiency and uniformity. Basin irrigation is somewhat more
dependent on precision field topography than either furrow or border systems because of
high flows or the ponding. Many users of basin irrigation insist that the most important
water management practice is laser-guided leveling. Precision land leveling is an absolute
prerequisite to high-performance surface irrigation systems, including basins. This includes
regular precision maintenance during field preparations (land smoothing).
 Basin Layout
Basin layout not only refers to the shape and size of basins but also to the shape and size
of the bunds. What is the shape of the basin: square, rectangular or irregular? What is the
size of the basin: 10, 100, 1000 or 10 000 m2? How high should the bund be: 10, 50 or
100 cm? What is the shape of the bund?
 Shape and size of basins
The shape and size of basins are mainly determined by the land slope, the soil type, the
available stream size (the water flow to the basin), the required depth of the irrigation
application and farming practices.
 BASIN WIDTH
The main limitation on the width of a basin is the land slope. If the land slope is steep, the
basin should be narrow, otherwise too much earth movement will be needed to obtain
level basins. Table below provides some guidance on the maximum width of basins or
terraces, depending on the land slope. Three other factors which may affect basin width
are:
 depth of fertile soil,
 method of basin construction,
 agricultural practices.
If the topsoil is shallow, there is a danger of exposing the infertile subsoil when the terraces
are excavated. This can be avoided by reducing the width of basins and thus limiting the
depth of excavation

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Basins can be quite narrow if they are constructed by hand labour but will need to be
wider if machines are used so that the machines can easily be moved around. If hand or
animal powered tillage is used then basins can be much narrower than if machines are used
for cultivation. If machines are used then it is important to make sure that basin widths are
some multiple of the width of the machines for efficient mechanization.
 BASIN SIZE
The size of basins depends not only on the slope but also on the soil type and the available
water flow to the basins. The relationship between soil type, stream size and size of the
basin is given in Table 2. Values are based on practical experience, and have been adjusted
in particular to suit small-scale irrigation

 Example of how to estimate Basin Sizes

Question: Estimate the dimensions of basins, when the soil type is a deep clay loam and
the land slope is 1%. As basin construction is mechanized, the terraces should be as wide
as possible. The available stream size is 25 l/sec.
Answer: From Table 1 the maximum basin or terrace width for a slope of 1% is 25 m
(range 15-25 m). From Table 2 the maximum basin size for a clay loam soil and an available
stream size of 25 l/sec is 1000 m2.
If the total basin area is 1000 m2 and the width is 25 m, the maximum basin length is
1000/25 = 40 m.
Note: This example shows how to estimate the maximum basin dimensions. This basin can
be made smaller than this if required and still be irrigated efficiently with the available
stream size. The size of the basin is also influenced by the depth (in mm) of the irrigation
application. If the required irrigation depth is large, the basin can be large. Similarly, if the
required irrigation depth is small, then the basin should be small to obtain good water
distribution.
The size and shape of basins can often be limited by farming practice. Many farms in
developing countries are very small and cultivation is by hand. In these circumstances basins
are usually small as they are easy to level and efficient irrigation can be attained with
relatively small stream sizes. On the large mechanized farms, basins are generally made as
large as possible to provide large uninterrupted areas for machine movements. Basin
dimensions are chosen to be some multiple of the width of the machines so as to use the
equipment as efficiently as possible. Other reasons to make basins as large as possible are

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that less land is wasted in this way (less bunds) and large stream sizes and a relatively large
application depth can be used. The shape of the basin can be square, rectangular or
irregular. The shape is mainly determined by the slope. On steep and irregular sloping
lands, the basins may be long and narrow. The long side of the basin is along the contour
line. If the slope and thus the contour line is irregular, the shape of the basin will also be
irregular.

 BASINS SHOULD BE SMALL IF THE:

1.slope of the land is steep
2. soil is sandy
3. stream size to the basin is small
4. required depth of the irrigation application is small
5. field preparation is done by hand or animal traction.
 BASINS CAN BE LARGE IF THE:
1. slope of the land is gentle or flat
2. soil is clay
3. stream size to the basin is large
4. required depth of the irrigation application is large
5. field preparation is mechanized

 Shape and dimensions of bunds

Bunds are small earth embankments which contain irrigation water within basins. They are
sometimes called ridges, dykes or levees. The height of bunds is determined by the
irrigation depth and the freeboard. The freeboard is the height above the irrigation depth
to be sure that water will not overtop the bund. The width of bunds should be such that
leakage will not occur, and that they are stable.
 Temporary bunds are normally 60-120 cm wide at the base and have a height of
1.5-30 cm above the original ground surface, including a freeboard of 10 cm (which
means an irrigation depth of 5-20 cm). Temporary bunds surround fields on which
annual crops are grown; these bunds are rebuilt each season
 Permanent bunds usually have a base width of 130-160 cm and a height of 60-90
cm when constructed. The settled height will be 40-50 cm. This settling (compaction
of the soil) will take several months. Permanent bunds are mostly used in rice
cultivation, where the same crop is planted on the same fields year after year. The
bunds are used as paths in the rice fields as well. Temporary bunds may be used to
subdivide the various fields further.

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 Basin Construction
The following steps are involved in the construction of basins: setting out; forming the
bunds; and smoothing the land within the basins.
 Step 1: Setting Out
Before construction can begin the location of the basins and bunds must be set out on the
ground. This can be done using pegs, string lines or chalk powder to mark the lines of the
bunds. On flat land basins may be square or rectangular in shape. Setting out is relatively
simple and involves only straight lines. On sloping or undulating land basins may be
irregular in shape and terracing required. Terraces are set out so that the bunds are located
along contour lines; the differences in elevation within each basin should not be excessive
so that the amount of earth movement required to obtain a level land surface is small. A
terrace is set out by first locating a suitable contour line across the land slope. This is the
line along which the first bund is constructed. A second line is then set out along a contour
further up the slope to mark the location of the next bund.
 Step 2: Forming the bunds
Both temporary and permanent bunds can be formed by hand labour or by animal or
tractor powered equipment. When soil is gathered from an area close to the bund a
'borrow-furrow' is formed. This furrow can be smoothed out later or be used as a farm
channel or drain. When forming bunds for terraces, soil should only be taken from the
uphill side of the bund. A useful piece of equipment for forming bunds is an A-frame. This
consists of two boards set on edge and cross-braced, with a wide opening at the front and
a narrow opening at the rear. The boards act as blades for cutting into the soil and
crowding it into a ridge or bund. A typical A-frame suitable for drawing by animals has
blades 20 cm deep and 2 m long spaced 1.5 m apart at the front and 30 cm apart at the
rear.
Before forming bunds with an A-frame it is useful to loosen the top soil to a depth of 10-
15 cm so that the blades can easily collect sufficient soil. Whichever method is used it is
important that the bunds are properly compacted so that leakage cannot occur.

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 Step 3: Smoothing the land

This can be the most difficult part of basin construction and involves very careful levelling
of the land within each basin. On flat land this involves smoothing out the minor high and
low spots so that the differences in level are less than 3 cm. This can be done by hand or
by a tractor-drawn land plane depending on the size of the basin. However, 3 cm level
differences are almost impossible to judge by eye and only when applying water will it
become obvious where high and low spots still exist. Thus several attempts may be
required to correct the levelling. Levelling rice basins can be much simpler. These are first
cultivated and then filled with water. As the water surface is level, it will be obvious where
the high spots are. These can be smoothed put and the water in the basin gradually lowered
to reveal other high areas. The smoothing is usually done by an animal or tractor drawn
float. This method of smoothing usually destroys the soil structure. This is not a problem
when growing rice, but it is not a recommended procedure for other crops. On sloping
land, where terraces are constructed, levelling is achieved by moving soil from the upper
part of the slope to the lower part. Care is needed when filling in the borrow furrow to
ensure the bund height is maintained so that overtopping is avoided.
 FURROW IRRIGATION
Furrows are small, parallel channels, made to carry water in order to irrigate the crop. The
crop is usually grown on the ridges between the furrows

 When to Use Furrow Irrigation

Furrow irrigation is suitable for a wide range of soil types, crops and land slopes, as
indicated below.
 Suitable crops
Furrow irrigation is suitable for many crops, especially row crops. Crops that would be
damaged if water covered their stem or crown should be irrigated by furrows.

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Furrow irrigation is also suited to the growing of tree crops. In the early stages of tree
planting, one furrow alongside the tree row may be sufficient but as the trees develop then
two or more furrows can be constructed to provide sufficient water. Sometimes a special
zig-zag system is used to improve the spread of water.
Corrugation irrigation, frequently mentioned in literature, is a special type of furrow
irrigation, used for broadcast crops. Corrugations are small hills pressed into the soil surface.
The application of this method is limited and is not included in this manual.
In summary, the following crops can be irrigated by furrow irrigation:
o row crops such as maize, sunflower, sugarcane, soybean;
o crops that would be damaged by inundation, such as tomatoes, vegetables,
potatoes, beans;
o fruit trees such as citrus, grape;
o broadcast crops (corrugation method) such as wheat.
 Suitable slopes
Uniform flat or gentle slopes are preferred for furrow irrigation. These should not exceed
0.5%. Usually a gentle furrow slope is provided up to 0.05% to assist drainage following
irrigation or excessive rainfall with high intensity. On undulating land furrows should
follow the land contours. However, this can be a difficult operation requiring very careful
setting out of the contours before cutting the furrows
 Suitable soils
Furrows can be used on most soil types. However, as with all surface irrigation methods,
very coarse sands are not recommended as percolation losses can be high. Soils that crust
easily are especially suited to furrow irrigation because the water does not flow over the
ridge, and so the soil in which the plants grow remains friable.
 Furrow Layout
This section deals with the shape, length and spacing of furrows. Generally, the shape,
length and spacing are determined by the natural circumstances, i.e. slope, soil type and
available stream size. However, other factors may influence the design of a furrow system,
such as the irrigation depth, farming practice and the field length.
 Furrow length
Furrows must be on consonance with the slope, the soil type, the stream size, the irrigation
depth, the cultivation practice and the field length. The impact of these factors on the
furrow length is discussed below.
 Slope
Although furrows can be longer when the land slope is steeper, the maximum
recommended furrow slope is 0.5% to avoid soil erosion. Furrows can also be level and
are thus very similar to long narrow basins. However a minimum grade of 0.05% is
recommended so that effective drainage can occur following irrigation or excessive rainfall.
If the land slope is steeper than 0.5% then furrows can be set at an angle to the main slope
or even along the contour to keep furrow slopes within the recommended limits. Furrows
can be set in this way when the main land slope does not exceed 3%. Beyond this there is

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a major risk of soil erosion following a breach in the furrow system. On steep land, terraces
can also be constructed (see Basin Irrigation) and furrows cultivated along the terraces.
 Soil type
In sandy soils water infiltrates rapidly. Furrows should be short (less than 110 a), so that
water will reach the downstream end without excessive percolation losses.
In clay soils, the infiltration rate is much lower than in sandy soils. Furrows can be much
longer on clayey than on sandy soils.
 Stream size
Normally stream sizes up to 0.5 l/sec will provide an adequate irrigation provided the
furrows are not too long. When larger stream sizes are available, water will move rapidly
down the furrows and so generally furrows can be longer. The maximum stream size that
will not cause erosion will obviously depend on the furrow slope; in any case, it is advised
not to use stream sizes larger than 3.0 l/sec.
 Irrigation depth
Applying larger irrigation depths usually means that furrows can be longer as there is more
time available for water to flow down the furrows and infiltrate.
 Cultivation practice
When the farming is mechanized, furrows should be made as long as possible to facilitate
the work. Short furrows require a lot of attention as the flow must be changed frequently
from one furrow to the next. However, short furrows can usually be irrigated more
efficiently than long ones as it is much easier to keep the percolation losses low.
 Field length
It may be more practical to make the furrow length equal to the length of the field, instead
of the ideal length, when this would result in a small piece of land left over. Equally the
length of field may be much less than the maximum furrow length. This is not usually a
problem and furrow lengths are made to fit the field boundaries.
 Furrow shape
The shape of furrows is influenced by the soil type and the stream size.
 Soil type
In sandy soils, water moves faster vertically than sideways (= lateral). Narrow, deep V-
shaped furrows are desirable to reduce the soil area through which water percolates.
However, sandy soils are less stable, and tend to collapse, which may reduce the irrigation
efficiency. In clay soils, there is much more lateral movement of water and the infiltration
rate is much less than for sandy soils. Thus a wide, shallow furrow is desirable to obtain a
large wetted area to encourage infiltration.
 Stream size
In general, the larger the stream size the larger the furrow must be to contain the flow.
 Furrow spacing
The spacing of furrows is influenced by the soil type and the cultivation practice.
 Soil type
As a rule, for sandy soils the spacing should be between 30 and 60 cm, i.e. 30 cm for
coarse sand and 60 cm for fine sand.
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On clay soils, the spacing between two adjacent furrows should be 75-150 cm. On clay
soils, double-ridged furrows - sometimes called beds - can also be used. Their advantage is
that more plant rows are possible on each ridge, facilitating manual weeding. The ridge
can be slightly rounded at the top to drain off water that would otherwise tend to pond
on the ridge surface during heavy rainfall
 Cultivation practice
In mechanized farming a compromise is required between the machinery available to cut
furrows and the ideal spacings for crops. Mechanical equipment will result in less work if
a standard width between the furrows is maintained, even when the crops grown normally
require a different planting distance. This way the spacing of the tool attachment does not
need to be changed when the equipment is moved from one crop to another. However,
care is needed to ensure that the standard spacings provide adequate lateral wetting on all
soil types.
 Irrigating Furrows
Water is supplied to each furrow from the field canal, using siphons or spiles. Sometimes,
instead of the field canal with siphons or spiles, a gated pipe is used.
Depending on the available flow in the farm channel, several furrows can be irrigated at
the same time. When there is a water shortage, it is possible to limit the amount of
irrigation water applied by using 'alternate furrow irrigation'. This involves irrigating
alternate furrows rather than every furrow. Figure below is an example of this procedure.
Instead of irrigating every furrow after 10 days, furrows 1, 3, 5, etc. are irrigated after 5
days and furrows 2, 4 and 6, etc. are irrigated after 10 days. Thus the crop receives some
water every 5 days instead of a large amount every 10 days. Small amounts applied
frequently in this way are usually better for the crop than large amounts applied after
longer intervals of time.
Runoff at the ends of furrows can be a problem on sloping land. This can be as much as
30 percent of the inflow, even under good conditions. Therefore a shallow drain should
always be made at the end of the field, to remove excess water. When no drain is made,
plants may be damaged by waterlogging. Light vegetation allowed to grown in the drain
can prevent erosion. Excessive runoff can be prevented by reducing the inflow once the
irrigation water has reached the end of the furrows. This is called cut-back irrigation. It
may also be possible to reuse runoff water further down the farm.
 Wetting patterns
In order to obtain a uniformly wetted root zone, furrows should be properly spaced, have
a uniform slope and the irrigation water should be applied rapidly. As the root zone in the
ridge must be wetted from the furrows, the downward movement of water in the soil is
less important than the lateral (or sideways) water movement. Both lateral and downward
movement of water depends on soil type as can be seen in Figure below

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 BORDER IRRIGATION
Borders are usually long, uniformly graded strips of land, separated by earth bunds. In
Contrast to basin irrigation these bunds are not to contain the water for ponding but to
guide it as it flows down the field. They are separated by parallel dykes or border ridges
(levées). Normally water is let onto the border strip from the canal through intakes, which
can be constructed with gates on the wall of the canal or, when unlined canals are used,
by temporarily making an opening in the canal wall. The latter is not recommended since
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it weakens the walls of the canal, leading to easy breakage. Other means used for the same
purpose is the insertion of short PVC pipes into the canal through the wall. The short pipes
are usually equipped with an end cup, which is removed when irrigation is practiced. Some
farmers use cloth or plastic sheet to close and open the pipe. The most appropriate method
of supplying water from the canal to the field, however, is the use of siphons.
 When to Use Border Irrigation
Border irrigation is generally best suited to the larger mechanized farms as it is designed to
produce long uninterrupted field lengths for ease of machine operations. Borders can be
up to 800 m or more in length and 3-30 m wide depending on a variety of factors. It is
less suited to small-scale farms involving hand labour or animal-powered cultivation
methods.
 Suitable slopes: Border slopes should be uniform, with a minimum slope of 0.05%
to provide adequate drainage and a maximum slope of 2% to limit problems of
soil erosion.
 Suitable soils: Deep homogenous loam or clay soils with medium infiltration rates
are preferred. Heavy, clay soils can be difficult to irrigate with border irrigation
because of the time needed to infiltrate sufficient water into the soil. Basin irrigation
is preferable in such circumstances.
 Suitable crops: Close growing crops such as pasture or alfalfa are preferred.

 Border Layout
The dimensions and shape of borders are influenced in much the same way as basins and
furrows by the soil type, stream size, slope, irrigation depth and other factors such as
farming practices and field or farm size.
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 Border strip length

To determine the border strip length, the following factors need to be considered:
 oil type
 Stream size
 Irrigation depth
 Land slope
 Field size and shape
 Cultivation practices
 Soil type
The border strip length can be longer on heavy soil than on light soil because water
infiltrates heavy soil more slowly. If a border is made too long on a light soil, too much
water will infiltrate the soil at the top part, leading to too much water loss due to deep
percolation.
 Stream size
When a larger stream size is available, border strips can be longer on the same soils, because
water will spread more rapidly across the soil surface. As a rule of thumb, the stream size
must be large enough to adequately spread water across the width of border. However, it
should not exceed the maximum non-erosive stream size. The design of the stream size
must also result in rates of advance and recession that are essentially equal
 Irrigation depth
A larger irrigation depth requires more contact time for water to infiltrate to the desired
depth than does a shallow irrigation depth. The irrigation depth can be increased by
making the border strip longer in order to allow more time for the water to reach the end
of border strip, which increases the contact time. However, soil type is a limiting factor.
 Slope
Border strips should be put on proper gradients that allow water to flow downstream over
the surface yet at the same time to allow some water to infiltrate the soil. The border strip
can be longer on steeper slopes, since water moves more rapidly. However, precautions
should be taken against erosion.
 Field size and shape
Existing field size and shape are often practical limits to the size of borders. However, the
same remarks as mentioned under furrow irrigation are valid for border strip irrigation.
 Cultivation practices
Because borders are normally long so as to achieve good water distribution, they are very
suitable for mechanized farming. The width should preferably be a multiple of the farm
machinery used.
 Irrigating Borders
Borders are irrigated by diverting a stream of water from the channel to the upper end of
the border. The water flows down the slope. When the desired amount of water has been
delivered to the border, the stream is turned off. This may occur before the water has
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reached the end of the border. There are no specific rules controlling this decision.
However, if the flow is stopped too soon there may not be enough water in the border
to complete the irrigation at the far end. If it is left running for too long, then water may
run off the end of the border and be lost in the drainage system.
As a guideline, the inflow to the border can be stopped as follows:
 On clay soils, the inflow is stopped when the irrigation water covers 60% of the
border. If, for example, the border is 100 m long a stick is placed 60 m from the
farm channel. When the water front reaches the stick, the inflow is stopped.
 On loamy soils it is stopped when 70 to 80% of the border is covered with water.
 On sandy soils the irrigation water must cover the entire border before the flow is
stopped. However, these are only guidelines. Realistic rules can only be established
locally when testing the system.
 Wetting patterns
As with the other irrigation methods it is important to ensure that adequate irrigation water
is supplied to the borders so that it fills the root zone uniformly. However, there are many
common problems which result in poor water distribution. These include:
 poor land grading;
 wrong stream size;
 stopping the inflow at the wrong time.
 Poor land grading
If the land is not graded properly and there is a cross-slope, the irrigation water will not
spread evenly over the field. It will flow down the slope always seeking the lowest side of
the border. This can be corrected by regrading the border to eliminate the cross-slope or
by constructing guide bunds in the border to prevent the cross flow of water.
 Wrong stream size
A stream size which is too small will result in deep percolation losses near the field channel,
especially on sandy soils. If the stream size is too large the water will flow too quickly
down the border and the point where the flow should be stopped is reached before
sufficient water has been applied to fill the root zone. In this situation the flow will need
to be left running until the root zone has been adequately filled and this results in
considerable losses from surface runoff. Large stream sizes may also cause soil erosion.
 Inflow stopped at the wrong time
If the inflow is stopped too soon, the water may not even reach the end of the border. In
contrast, if the flow is left running too long, water will run off the border at the
downstream end and be lost in the drainage system
 Maintenance of Borders
Maintenance of borders consists of keeping the border free from weeds and uniformly
sloping. Whatever damage occurs to the bunds must be repaired and the field channel and
drains are to be weeded regularly. By checking frequently and carrying out immediate
repairs where necessary, further damage is prevented.

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