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<br />7 <br /> <br /> <br />w <br />l\:) <br />o <br />00 <br /> <br />g~r,;E~!i <br /> <br />Irrigation is the artificial application of water to <br /> <br />land to supply and maintain optimum soil moisture necessary <br /> <br />for plant growth. In arid and semi-arid regions of the <br /> <br />world, irrigation accounts for almost all of the life _ <br />supporting water for agriculture whereas in sub-humid and <br /> <br />some humid areas irrigation is supplementary and principally <br /> <br />used to maintain soil moi!sture during periods of drouth. <br /> <br />The practice of irrigation was known to the peoples of <br />ancient Egypt and Asia Minor. Irrigation systems in that <br />part of the world are evident today. This beginning was in <br /> <br />arid and semi-arid lands similar to those in many parts of <br /> <br />the Western United states. Increases in population created <br /> <br />concentrations in cities and villages and a reduction in the <br /> <br />nomadic way of life. This created increased crop demands <br /> <br />and irrigated agriculture was the method that could assure a <br />continuous food supply on a reasonably reliable basis. <br /> <br />Irrigation was, and is, a science of survival. SUccessfully <br /> <br />practiced, it enabled man to survive drouths, support larger <br /> <br />populations, and expand territorially and culturally. <br /> <br />There are approximately 44,000,000 acres (17,807,000 <br /> <br />hectares) of irrigated land in the United States. About 90 <br /> <br />, <.i..L <br />