Abstract

Water front advance in relation to crop geometry T on-off timing under continuous and surge flow was studied in Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. The soil was sandy clay loam. The slope was 0.5 per cent. Cost free surge layout was adopted using inlet pipes (50 x 7.5 cm) and manually operated. Water front advance took more time for continuous irrigation as compared to surge flow. Among the crop geometry, water front advance was faster under double row as compared to single row. Out of three T on-off timings there was not much difference in water front advance between 10 and 15 minutes. Water front advance was faster in 20 minutes. Surge irrigation in maize with single crop row geometry and T on-off timings of 10-15 with a flow rate 1.5 Ips is optimum from the point of view of water front advance.

Keywords: Surge irrigation, Water front advance. Geometry