Show farm income increased through practice of better irrigation methods method S between the time ot of harvest arid and the time of 0 next years planting is the time for farmers to think of the application of iwer ater on irrigated land proper irrigation will do more than any other single factor to increase the far tarn n ers income protect the soil from erosion conserve water prevent prove ut loss of valuable minerals and produce greater harvest benjamin a D B heywood representative of the Soll Soil conservation service in tile the flute county soil conservation district declares there Is only one right wai wa to irrigate and that Is to pu put water into the soil to the depth I 1 of plant roots and no deeper he says he adds that fa farmers baiers can accomplish an efficient irrigation job if they wilf will follow a few basic rules first ot of all the irrigation tion farmer should know where the water Is going how deeply it 1 percolating throughout t thu I 1 1 1 length of 0 the run and now how muth rabih Is brunni runni running ng oft off the lower end of the field as waste in the ideal irrigation mr air heywood says sais c only III y a as s III much uch water as Is needed Is turned into the border or furrow and n ni waste water runs oft off tho lower end of the field efficient irrigation Is difficult where the land I 1 Is sloping but when a field has hap abeen been properly leveled there Is no excuse for waste water except poor mand management gement mr heywood points out it Is wasteful to apply me moie ce water than crops can use or to let water percolate so deep that roots cannot reach it it if an excess of water Is IB applied it does not stay in the root zone for use by plants but seeps deeper and is wasted an excess of water will not make plants send roots any deeper I 1 mr air heywood says plants have definite rooting habits and soils more than anything els else determine the depth of roots actually over irrigation usually decreases crop yields ana an 1 frequently washes away solvable able plant foods such as nitrates mr heywood points out the only exception to the rule that water should never neier percolate below tho atie root zone Is on oa alkali land where in an occasional extra heavy tion ion may be needed to leach out the alkali and this procedure Is effective only where adequate drainage Is assured mr air heywood recommends tilt the use of a moisture probe to determine how deep the water la is percolating co A probe la Is merely a one halt half inch rod four feet long with a handle on one end the depth of moisture penetration Is dete determined by the ease with I 1 which the probe can be pushed 4 down through the tha soil farmers prefer a soil auger because it gives more positive information on the depth of pene tr atlon when first starting to use a probe farmers should allow the soil to drain JOT or about two days and then check results by digging test holes or wins sing a soil auger to determine low liow deep VIP the moisture finally penetrated a few checks will be required to show for example that if tin the probe indicates three feet of sat ura ur atlon tion the moisture will percolate finally to a four foot dehli it a farmer fanner want to save water lie should not irrigate by all the calendar or use water simply because it Is in the ditch but bui sho should lid apply water only when wh e 11 plants need it A shovel or soil auger should be used to find out how flow tar far down tile the plants have ham used up tip available moisture and then only enough water should be applied to wet the ground to this depth and no deeper mr fr heywood says I 1 having control of water at all ail times is also imperative Inper athe tile the sol sell conservationist explains in am irrigation plan a system ot gates turnout boxes or other controls will enable the irrigator Irrl gator to control water at e ery place where it Is applied t the land two common error in arrigo tion are to have runs too loni ion and to have hae furrows laid out ill n too steep a gradient runs tire are too long water penetration Is uneven while salle it if the grade Is to steep topsoil is washed away the length of run and the grade 1 depend upon type of soil texture of soil cropping practices ane type of management contemplated the soil conservationist rys bays it will vary from farm to farm and field to field and actual work on the ground and seeing what Is brodu produced ced Is the bes method tor for the farmer to decide which Is the best way for his land farmers can reduce IrrIg irrigation atIn time by 20 per cent or more increase crop yields by 25 to 50 per cent save sae 10 to 25 per cent cen 0 of f the water and keep the soil from eroding by applying irrigation water more eff efficiently cent v amri mr heywood declares irrigation Is a full time job which should not be neglected and it should be I 1 1 that putting a shovel into a mans hand automatically make him a good irrigator Irrl gator turning water into a border and going to town for a halfday half halt day Is not irrigating efficiently mr heywood suggests suRe cats that farmers having corri complex plex irrigation j problems consult the soil conservation district supervisors or soil conservation service representatives la the area |