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How does flood irrigation work for grain and forage crops?
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Irrigation
Specialized irrigation equipment watering crops in a field.
In the context of agriculture, flood irrigation is a surface irrigation method primarily utilized on land that has been graded to ensure uniform slopes.1
For grain and forage crops, the process works by applying water at the edge of a field and allowing it to flow across the entire surface toward the opposite side. To manage this effectively, waste-water ditches are typically positioned at the lower edge of the fields; these serve to remove excess water for use elsewhere and help prevent the soil from becoming waterlogged.1
Because this method relies on gravity to move water across the land, proper land grading is a necessary prerequisite to ensure the water distributes evenly across the crop area.1