BayG.A.P. SERVICE PROGRAM MODULE 3
OPTIMIZATION OF IRRIGATION SYSTEMS
IN AGRICULTURE
There are several irrigation approaches and each one of them has its specific technique as well as
different factors to be taken into consideration.
Surface Irrigation:
Surface irrigation has been historically the most common watering method in agriculture. The dif-
ference with other irrigation methods is that the soil, and not pipes, is used as a transport means.
Therefore, non high-tech applications are needed to implement it. It is a rather costly method at the
beginning as the field has to be leveled and canals or trenches need to be built. Nevertheless, the
return on the initial investment is recovered in short time and the costs of maintenance are low.
There are certain factors common to all surface
irrigation systems that must be considered when
designing a surface irrigation system independently
from the design: Surface irrigation represents a group of irriga-
tion methods that distribute water by employing
gravity and using the field surface. The following
ones are the most common methods:
• Texture of soil
• Absorption rate of soil
• Slope
• Field height above sea level
• Stream size
• Length of rows
• … • Basin irrigation
• Border irrigation
• Furrow irrigation
• …
In general it is rather difficult to create a consis-
tent water distribution on extensive fields with
roughly textured soils (e.g. sands) compared to
finely textured soils (e.g. clay). Field leveling and
construction of water ditches as well as reservoirs
appears to be rather expensive.
Following the principle of gravity, water enters
at the highest point of a field, allowing it to cover
the surface by flowing. The core of surface irri-
gation methods is using soil as the medium
for transportation (compared to pipelines).
Keep channels where water flows free of rubbish
Protect water tanks and irrigation channels from
animals, birds, etc.
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