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<br />Surge irrigation and conventional furrow irrig~tipn will be done on the better soil type on the northern part <br />of ThejJfoperty next to Highway 50 arldwill compare 'iirigationamounts, runoff, nitrate and salt loading, <br />water quality. yields ahdretutffs-from the two furrow irrigation methods. Summer forage such as sorghum- <br />sudangrass or hybrid pearl millet will be grown on these soils to be planted during the 1996 and 1997 <br />growing seasons. The surge irrigation site will be located in the area north of pump # 27 (Fig. 1). Gypsum <br />blocks will be installed to a three-foot depth, the effective root zone. to monitor water use efficiency. <br /> <br />Irrigation scheduling will be determined by use of the Irrigation Scheduling Program developed by the <br />USbA-A'RS and Colorado Stat7Uniyc;:rsity. ,Weather information will be obtained from two weather <br />monitoring stlti('}Jls.lol;;;(\~!i~imt!!:eY:jnelandaHd:Avondale areas. five and eight miles, respectively. from the <br />demonsUiition's'ite. 'QI1-~ite.sojlmoisture rt;apings will be taken weekly from gypsum blocks placed at <br />va~&l1g>clepth:s/,iil eaeli'of, El1eitleH'i'Oilstt:a:tion sites, <br /> <br />Public awareness will be made through news releases in area and regional newspapers and magazines as well <br />as through radio spots on area radio stations, A field day and tours will be conducted each year to acquaint <br />producers and the general public with the irrigation conservation technology and alternative crop management <br />being demonstrated, A salinity workshop will be conducted as part of the salinity mapping segment of the <br />demonstration, A final report and a condensed brochure will be assembled presenting results of the various <br />phases of the demonstration project The brochures will be made available to irrigators throughout <br />Colorado and surrounding states at local NRCS and Cooperative Extension offices. These findings and <br />results will be submitted to related national societies' for presentation at their meetings and in their journals. <br /> <br />III. Related and Current Work in the Area <br /> <br />Irrigation application technology such as LEP A and surge are being used on a limited basis in Colorado, <br />especially in the Arkansas River basin. Lack of knowledge concerning the use, economic and environmental <br />benefits of this technology are barriers that a demonstration of this type can help to eliminate. <br /> <br />LEPA systems are being used in the Burlington area mainly as a result of the efforts of the Ogallala Water <br />Management Team, This Team has demonstrated the energy savings and improved irrigation efficiency of <br />LEPA. Well pumping tests are used to "customize" each LEPA nozzling package. and nozzle type is <br />determined by the specific needs of the crop, The Ogallala Water Management Team, including Wes <br />Robbins and Vern Bauer, principal investigators on this project, who have made many presentations over <br />a wide area of the western United States including Colorado, Wyoming. Utah, Idaho, North Dakota, Iowa, <br />Kansas. Nebraska. Oklahoma. Arizona. New Mexico and Texas on the effectiveness of the LEPA system <br />and its advantages, Energy costs have been cut by 50% when compared to high-pressure systems, and <br />irrigation efficiency as high as 95% has been achieved in some irrigation studies, These results were <br />obtained mainly using row crops and small grain crops. <br /> <br />Surge irrigation is being demonstrated in the USDA Patterson Hollow Hydrologic Unit Area Water Quality <br />Project in Otero County and eastern Pueblo County, Corn yields have averaged 186 bushels per acre with <br />both surge and conventional furrow irrigation, However; surge irrigation has produced these yields with <br />24 % less irrigation water and 20 % less runoff when compared to conventional furrow irrigation at two <br />locations over a three-year period. Of significance to maintaining water quality in the Arkansas River, salt- <br />loading in runoff waters has been reduced 19% and nitrate-loading has been reduced 15% by the use of <br />surge irrigation in these studies. These studies and demonstrations are presently being conducted by James <br />Valliant Other benefits such as monitoring irrigation amounts. use of trash screens and dirt ditch seepage <br /> <br />9 <br />