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f\:) .."" t-.... ' <i:> a shallow shale soil. ,On the other two fields, in spite of the uniform application provided by the cablegation systems, the farmers infiltrated 5 to 10. inches more water than the crops could utilize. On all three fields, 30 to , 5~of the applied water ran off as tailw.ter. All three farmers are pleased with their cablegation systems. They realize that cablegation sJ stems give them ability to irrigate more unifo'rmly. They tend to apply water for less time'per irrigation which decreases the probability of deep percolation and 'reduces, the river's salt load. However. because 'irrigation now takes less 'labor, they are tempted to irrigate more frequently which can increase deep percolation. NoW that they have the physical ability, to apply their water optimillly at little extra cost, they can more effectively use information' concerninr; needs ,of their crops for water; how the timingan4 amount of the next increment of water will affect the location of nitrates and. other salts relative to their crop's root system; and potentials,for,increasinr; crop production by adding theirN via their irrigation water. Wheel compacting and chiselinr; furrows, surr;e irrir;ation, and orr;anic matter incorporation were studied as means of chanr;ing furrow infiltration rates. ,By , differentially s,pplyinr; these treatments down furrows, the effects of, the 'non'-uniform intake opportunitytimecliln be counteracted allowing ,more uniform water distribution and less deep percolation; On a 600~ft. long field with , Portneufsilt 10Bmsoil at Kimberly, the measured seasonal infiltrated depths were 6l~, 2li'1., 22';', and l7~ hir;her in the top third. of the ,fieldll as compared to the bottom tbird with no treatment (check), chiselinr; the bottom third, wheel compacting the top two-thirds, and surr;inr; the top two-thit'ds, ,respectively. Orr;anic matter incorporation of three tons per act'e of straw and five tonll per acre of manure ',increaseti "seasonal infiltration rates 30 to '5~. Time and moderate water contents of soil, followinr; disruptio~, were found to' be major factors increasing cohesion and maintaining, subsequent infiltration rates. ,Understanding effects of these and other basie factors, affecting soil infiltration rates will help develop manar;ement practices which will decrease deep percolation, improve water'use'efficiency, and increase crop production. I!:; "Kc:initorinil:' and Evaluation' ....'. -' -., -'".- -'-- .' --,.- . Grand Valley. Colorado The Grand Vailey monitorinr; and evaluation (K&E) pror;ram made significant , pror;ress in fiscal year 1984. The major equipment components to automatically, monitor irrigation flows have been purchased and ,field tested. ,Twelve irrir;ation K&E sites were selected during FY 1984. At'four sites equipment Was installed and hasbeeri operational for a portion of the 1984 irrir;ation season. A complete set of inflow-outflow data was collected for eleven irrir;ations on the four fields. -22-