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2354 CONVENTIONAL VS. SURGE IRRIGATION Corn and Bean Yields CONVENTIONAL Nitrogen Loss per Acre CONVENTIONAL Furrow Erosion per Acre CONVENTIONAL lost 2.2 inches of water per acre In tail water. Surge lost.9 inches. Surge irrigation used less water to grow comparable yields to those yields grown under conventional irrigation. Surge caused less tail- water loss, efficiently irrigated the soil, caused less nitrogen losses, and moved less pesticides away from plants due to reduce furrow erosion. Another demonstration compared surge irrigation to conventional irrigation on pinto beans. A weather data pod and atmometer monitored the crop's evapotranspiration rate to predict crop moisture needs. Irrigations were timed to meet the crop's needs. The surge irrigation produced 2868 pounds of beans per acre with 28.3 inches of water while conventional irrigation produced 2650 pounds of beans per acre with 33.4 inches of water. Conventional irrigation lost 8.9 pounds of nitrogen per acre in tailwater while surge irrigation lost 7 pounds. Conventional irrigation caused 8461 pounds of furrow ero- sion per acre while surge irrigation incurred 7270 pounds. By making structural improvements to a gravity flow irrigation system, producers can reduce furrow erosion, nitrogen loss, and tail- water loss. It is obvious that some losses con- tinue with structural improvements. Further efforts are necessary to reduce these losses to an acceptable level. In another study, extension personnel compared the use of PAM used in conjunction with surge irrigation to conventional irrigation. The study, performed on onions and wheat, documented that the addition of PAM clearly reduced runoff and erosion.