PRINCIPLES Irrigation

methods and
OF IRRIGATION
Ms. Hala Rawabdeh systems
 On farm irrigation system

Irrigation Methods:
1.Surface irrigation system
(Basin, Furrow or Border Irrigation)
2. Sprinkler irrigation system
3. Drip irrigation system
To choose an irrigation method, the farmer must know:
 The advantages and disadvantages of the various
methods
 Which method is suitable for the local conditions.

In many cases there is no single best solution: all

methods have their advantages and disadvantages.
Testing of the various methods - under the prevailing
local conditions - provides the best basis for a sound
choice of irrigation method.
1. Surface, Sprinkler or Drip Irrigation
The suitability of the various irrigation methods, i.e.
surface, sprinkler or drip irrigation, depends mainly
on the following factors:
- natural conditions
- type of crop
- type of technology
- previous experience with irrigation
- required labor inputs
- costs and benefits.
2. Basin, Furrow or Border Irrigation
Which surface irrigation method is most suitable:
basin, furrow or border irrigation.
Factors to be taken into account include:
- natural circumstances (slope, soil type)
- type of crop
- required depth of irrigation application
- level of technology
- previous experience with irrigation
- required labor inputs.
 Surface irrigation

The most common method of applying irrigation

water is by flooding the surface through:
• Furrow: Water fed into small, parallel channels
• Basin: Entire field is flooded
• Border: Water is fed into small strips of land
1. Furrow irrigation system
Furrow is running water in small parallel channels
along or cross the slope of the field in order to irrigate
the crop.
Furrow has been practiced since old ages. Construction
of furrow was usually carried out using conventional
ploughs. Nowadays, farmers use furrow openers
mounted on tractors to construct furrows.
The crop is usually grown on the ridges between
the furrows.
WHEN IT USED ?

 Furrow irrigation is suitable for many crops,

especially row crops.
 I.E. Maize, sunflower, sugarcane, soybean, tomatoes,
wheat, Vegetables, potatoes, citrus, grapes
 Crops that would be damaged if their stems or crown
should be irrigated by furrows.
 Furrow layout
1. Length
2. Shape
3. Spacing
1. Furrow Length
( Clay: can reach 300 to 400 m, Sand: 60
to 300 m )
Depend on:
A. Slope
B. Soil type
C. Stream size
D. Irrigation depth
E. Cultivation practice
F. Field length
A. Slope
 Land slope does not exceed 0.5% to achieve effective
drainage and avoid soil erosion.
contour furrowing if slope > 0.5%
The main slope should not exceed 3%
B. Soil type:
Sandy soils, rapid infiltration – shorter furrows
Clay soils, slower infiltration – longer furrows
Wetted zone

Sand Loam Clay

 C. Stream size
Larger streams  water move more rapidly  longer
furrows
Note: Maximum stream should not cause soil erosion.
Should not exceed 3 l/s

D. Irrigation
Shorter depth
furrow require a lot of attention but easier to reduce
Longer
the furrowsloss.
percolation can provide larger irrigation depth as
there is more time available for water to infiltrate the
soil
2. Furrow shape
sandy soils
V shape to reduce vertical infiltration in Sandy soils
clayey soils

Low infiltration  large wetted area to allow more infiltration

Infiltration rates

Soil type Basic infiltration rate (mm/hour)

sand less than 30
sandy loam 20 - 30
loam 10 - 20
clay loam 5 - 10
clay 1-5
3. Furrow spacing

• Sandy soils between 30 – 60 cm

– 30 cm coarse sand
– 60 fine sand
• Clay soils between 75 -150 cm
 Poor management

Wide spacing

Suffocation Plant
Ideal wetting pattern
Planting techniques
 Water Conveyance to furrow irrigation system

Small ditches Siphons

Gated pipes
Small ditches
Gated pipes
Siphons
 Furrow irrigation in Jordan
• Crop is planted in the side of furrow

•Zigzag pattern is practiced by farmers

Zigzag pattern
FURROW IRRIGATION IN JORDAN
 MAINTENANCE OF furrows

 water should be reach the end of all furrows is

regularly checked.
 There should be no dry places or spots where water
stays ponding.
 Overtopping of ridges should not occur.
 Field channels and drains should be kept free from
weeds.
2. Basin irrigation system
 Basin is rectangular or square small plots surrounded by
levees or checks.

 Conduct water from delivery channels or pipelines

through gated outlets, siphon.
 Size from 1m2 (vegetables) to 16 hectares (rice)

 Basins must be designed to spread water evenly

 Lower infiltration implies more time for infiltration and
hence basins can be larger
 For a given soil, basins can be larger for larger stream
sizes (Discharge) as water will spread more rapidly
across the soil surface
 Water source

Ponded water
No runoff
Basin beds are levelled

Return flow
When it used ?

 Crops roots which required submergence in water for

periods longer than 24 hours.
 i.e. pasture, alfalfa, grasses, wheat, barley, Potatoes,
beet, carrots, rice, citrus, banana, clover.
 The flatter the land surface, the easy to construct basins.
 It is also possible to construct basins on sloping land,
evenwhen the slope is quite steep.
 Basin layout

Basin layout refers to the shape and size of the basins

 width
Main limitation of basin width is land slope. (Steep
slope then narrow basins)

Factors affect basin width

1)depth of fertile soil
2)method of basin construction
3)agricultural practices
Basin size
Main limitation of basin width is land slope.
(Steep slope then narrow basins)

Factors affect basin size

1)soil type
2)available water flow to the basin
3)land slope
Slopes
Flat land (easier to construct)
Minor leveling is required

Soil
Clay and soils with low infiltration are preferable
Sandy soil  high infiltration rate  high percolation
losses
 Summary
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.
Basin
Basin: Under irrigation
Over irrigation
Basin for wheat Drainage in basins

Source: ICARDA
BASIN FOR TREES
 Maintenance of basin

 Erosion control is made which may be caused by

rainfall, flooding or the passing of people when
used as footpaths
 Rats may dig holes in the sides of the bunds.
 Leveling of basins also required at regular time.
3. Border irrigation system
Borders are long, uniformly graded strips of
land , separated by earth bunds.

80-200 mm depth with 30-450m length

When it used ?

 Suitable for larger farms

 Suitable crops: close growing crops pasture and
alfalfa also crop will low depth of irrigation water
like mint and parsley
 Where machines operations are involved in
agriculture
 Less suited to small scale farms involving hand labor
or animal powered cultivation methods.
 Uniform slope (min. 0.05% and max. 2% slope)
 Deep homogenous loam or clay, medium infiltration
rate.
Border
Border
Gated Pipes for basins and borders
 Border layout
Factors affecting size of border
 Soil type
 Stream size
 Slope
 Field size and shape
 Farming practices
 irrigation depth

Borders generally much longer on clay than sand

Borders can generally be longer for larger unit stream size
Borders must be short on steeper sloping land to prevent erosion
Borders can be wider when larger unit stream widths are available
Some runoff can be expected (<10%)
 Specifications of design

Width: 5-30 m
Length: 150-450m
Slope: 0.2% - 4%.
Clay soils  60% of the border is covered
Loam soils  70 to 80% of the border is covered
Sandy soils  100% of the border is covered

Well designed and managed borders

 Efficiency can be as high as 80%
Common faults
 Poor land preparation: subtract 10-20%
 Different soil types within border: subtract 5-10%
 Using wrong stream size: subtract 10-15%
 Fixed irrigation schedule: subtract 10-20%
 BORDER IRRIGATION
Advantages
Low energy – flow by gravity
Low capital costs
Mechanization can work.
Disadvantage:
Low efficiency compared to basin.
Not suitable for many crops
Maintenance of border

 borders are kept free from weeds

Uniformly sloped borders
Channel and drains are to be weeded regularly