Management Recommendations for Sloping Blocked-end Furrow Irrigation

Abstract

Excessive ponding of irrigation water at the downstream end of sloping furrow irrigated fields with blocked ends leads to poor infiltration distribution, agri-chemical leaching, and excessive deep percolation. A strategy is developed using the SRFR furrow irrigation model to determine a relationship between the cutoff ratio (ratio of advance time to application time), the application efficiency of the low quarter, the exponent of the Kostiakov infiltration equation, and the field slope. The SRFR simulations and field trials are used to arrive at management recommendations to enhance system performance. Performance is enhanced by selecting the cutoff ratio that, for a general soil texture and field slope, maximizes the application efficiency of the low quarter.