Surface irrigation

Surface irrigation is where water is applied and distributed over the soil surface by gravity. It is by
far the most common form of irrigationthroughout the world and has been practiced in many areas
virtually unchanged for thousands of years.
Surface irrigation is often referred to as flood irrigation, implying that the water distribution is
uncontrolled and therefore, inherently inefficient. In reality, some of the irrigation practices grouped
under this name involve a significant degree of management (for example surge irrigation). Surface
irrigation comes in three major types; level basin, furrow and border strip.

Process
The process of surface irrigation can be described using four phases. As water is applied to the top
end of the field it will flow or advance over the field length. The advance phaserefers to that length
of time as water is applied to the top end of the field and flows or advances over the field length.
After the water reaches the end of the field it will either run-off or start to pond. The period of time
between the end of the advance phase and the shut-off of the inflow is termed the wetting, ponding
or storage phase. As the inflow ceases the water will continue to runoff and infiltrate until the entire
field is drained. The depletion phase is that short period of time after cut-off when the length of the
field is still submerged. The recession phase describes the time period while the water front is
retreating towards the downstream end of the field. The depth of water applied to any point in the
field is a function of the opportunity time, the length of time for which water is present on the soil
surface.

Types of Surface Irrigation

Basin irrigation

Level basin irrigation has historically been used in small areas having level surfaces that are
surrounded by earth banks. The water is applied rapidly to the entire basin and is allowed to
infiltrate. In traditional basins no water is permitted to drain from the field once it is irrigated. Basin
irrigation is favoured in soils with relatively low infiltration rates(Walker and Skogerboe 1987).[1] This
is also a method of surface irrigation. Fields are typically set up to follow the natural contours of the
land but the introduction of laser levelling and land grading has permitted the construction of large
rectangular basins that are more appropriate for mechanised broadacre cropping.
Drainback Level Basins
Drain back level basins (DBLB) or contour basins are a variant of basin irrigation where the field is
divided into a number of terraced rectangular bays which are graded level or have no significant
slope. Water is applied to the first bay (usually the highest in elevation) and when the desired depth
is applied water is permitted to drain back off that bay and flow to the next bay which is at a lower
elevation than the first. Each bay is irrigated in turn using a combination of drainage water from the
previous bay and continuing inflow from the supply channel. Successful operation of these systems
is reliant on a sufficient elevation drop between successive bays. These systems are commonly
used in Australia where rice and wheat are grown in rotation.[2]
Furrow irrigation

Furrow irrigation is conducted by creating small parallel channels along the field length in the
direction of predominant slope. Water is applied to the top end of each furrow and flows down the
field under the influence of gravity. Water may be supplied using gated pipe, siphon and head ditch,
or bankless systems. The speed of water movement is determined by many factors such as slope,
surface roughness and furrow shape but most importantly by the inflow rate and soil infiltration rate.
The spacing between adjacent furrows is governed by the crop species, common spacings typically
range from 0.75 to 2 metres. The crop is planted on the ridge between furrows which may contain a
single row of plants or several rows in the case of a bed type system. Furrows may range anywhere
from less than 100 m to 2000 m long depending on the soil type, location and crop type. Shorter
furrows are commonly associated with higher uniformity of application but result in increasing
potential for runoff losses. Furrow irrigation is particularly suited to broad-acre row crops such
as cotton, maize and sugar cane. It is also practiced in various horticultural industries such
as citrus, stone fruit and tomatoes.
Surge irrigation
Surge Irrigation is a variant of furrow irrigation where the water supply is pulsed on and off in
planned time periods (e.g. on for 1 hour off for 1½ hour). The wetting and drying cycles reduce
infiltration rates resulting in faster advance rates and higher uniformity[3] than continuous flow. The
reduction in infiltration is a result of surface consolidation, filling of cracks and micro pores and the
disintegration of soil particles during rapid wetting and consequent surface sealing during each
drying phase.[4] On those soils where surging is effective it has been reported to allow completion of
the irrigation with a lower overall water usage and therefore higher efficiency and potentially offer the
ability to practice deficit irrigation.[5] The effectiveness of surge irrigation is soil type dependent; for
example, many clay soils experience a rapid sealing behaviour under continuous flow and therefore
surge irrigation offers little benefit.[1]

Bay/border strip irrigation[edit]

Border strip, otherwise known as border check or bay irrigation could be considered as a hybrid of
level basin and furrow irrigation. The field is divided into a number of bays or strips, each bay is
separated by raised earth check banks (borders). The bays are typically longer and narrower
compared to basin irrigation and are orientated to align lengthwise with the slope of the field. Typical
bay dimensions are between 10-70m wide and 100-700m long. The water is applied to the top end
of the bay, which is usually constructed to facilitate free-flowing conditions at the downstream end.
One common use of this technique includes the irrigation of pasture for dairy production.