Fighting erosion in furrow irrigation

Despite the trend towards center pivot and drip irrigation, furrow irrigation is still used on almost half of the irrigated land in the US. However, soil erosion is an inherent problem when water flows over soil. Erosion causes problems within the field and off the field. Within a field, soil tends to erode from the upper end making furrows deeper. Erosion deposits soil on the bottom end, filling furrows and causing water to flood across rows. Severe erosion can expose plant roots. Fortunately, applying a small amount of polyacrylamide (PAM) to the furrow soil or with irrigation water almost eliminates erosion in irrigation furrows