Show irrigation essential for growing war I 1 time crops 0 knowing how to apply water will do more than any other single factor on irrigated land to increase the farmers income protect the land from erosion prevent loss of valuable minerals and produce greater harvests for wartime use C S foote fonte district conservationist of the san juan soil conservation district declared there is only one right way to kate t te and that is to put water athe the soil to the depth of plant roots and no deeper he said he added that farmers can accomplish an efficient irrigation job if they will follow a few basic rules first of all the irrigation farmer shoud know where the water is going how deep it is percolating throughout the length of the run and how much is running off the lower end of the field as waste it is wasteful to apply more water than crops can use or to let water percolate so deep that roots cannot reach it the district conservationist said if an excess of water is applied it does not stay in the root zone where plants 1 can utilize it but percolates deeper and is wasted an excess of water will not make plants send roots any deeper he stated plants have definite rooting habits and soils more than anything else determine the depth of roots actually over irrigation usually decreases crop yields and frequently washes away soluble leplant plant foods such as nitrates the only exception to the rule that water should never percolate below the root zone is on alkali land where an occasional extra heavy irrigation may be needed to leach out the alkali the district conservationist recommended om the use of a moisture probe to determine how deep the water is percolating the probe is merely a iya inch rod 4 feet long with a handle on one end the depth of moisture penetration is determined by the ease with which the probe is pushed down I 1 through the soil I 1 when first starting to use a probe farmers should allow the soil to drain for about two days and then check results by digging test holes or using a soil auger to determine dermine how deep the moi moisture sure ly y penetrated it will require oy o y a few checks to show for example that if the probe showed 3 feet of saturation the moisture continued on page four irrigation ESSENTIAL 0 continued from page I 1 will finally percolate to a 4 foot I 1 depth if a farmer wishes to save t water he should irrigate not bYl by the calendar but should apply I 1 water only when then plants need it A shovel or soil auger should be used to find out how far down the plants have used up available moisture and then only enough water should be applied to wet the ground to this depth and no deeper having control of water at all times is also imperative mr fonte asserted for corrugation and furrow irrigation an equalizing basin is arf an aid in the control of water in any irrigation plan however the farmer should have a system of gates turnout boxes s piles or other controls that will enable him to control the water at every place that it is applied to the land tion are to have runs too long and tion are to have runs tooling and to have furrows laid out on an improper gradient he said if the runs are too long water penetration is uneven and if the grade is too steep topsoil is washed away many farmers have cu cut t their water bills as much as 20 raised better crops and kept their soil from eroding by applying irrigation water more efficiently he declared blared irrigation is a full time job which should not be neglected and it should be remembered that putting a shovel into a mans hand automatically make him a good irrigator mr fonte suggested that farmers having complex irrigation problems should consult their county agent the nearest office of the soil conservation service or their AAA committeeman |