Rice Farming

Although not a new practice, side-inlet irrigation is gaining more attention as water management efficiency moves higher on many growers’ priority lists.

Also referred to as multiple-inlet irrigation, depending on where in the field the pipe is located, water is run down the field in collapsible plastic tubing and fed into each paddy or field simultaneously.

Promoting the practice for several years is University of Arkansas Extension engineer Phil Tacker.

“We became interested in the concept several years ago, pretty soon after the irrigation tubing came out,” Tacker says.

At first, growers balked at the idea because they were concerned about running the tubing through the rice fields. This, despite UA research showing the practice was promising.

“It was just so different,” he says. “People were afraid there would be a lot more problems than benefits from it.

“But the last four years—with the water situation, pumping costs and labor—just got to be a time when people were more open to looking at it.”

Multiple benefits
With increased interest, the university was able to find cooperating growers who would allow researchers to set up demonstrations on their farm.

Much of the work the past two to three years in Arkansas was funded by the Rice Promotion Board checkoff funds. That has helped them expand the practice up and down the Delta.

Side-inlet irrigation typically allows producers to better manage their water. Frequently, growers can initially flood up a field faster. In many cases, Tacker has found that side-inlet irrigation reduced water use and pumping costs.

An added benefit is fertilizers and other chemicals, such as herbicides, are activated more effectively.

“We have done some comparisons where we did one field conventional and another with tubing in it,” Tacker says. “We find that we’re averaging about 25 percent savings in water using the tubing.”

In one Arkansas field, where a grower kept up with the hours he spent between two comparison fields, Tacker says the producer used 29 percent less labor in the multiple-inlet field compared to the conventional.
Although the UA engineer stresses that these are producer fields and not replicated research plots that the data are coming from, he remains confident in the findings.

From experiment to use on all fields
Williard Jack is one side-inlet converts. The Tchula, Miss., producer started using the practice irrigation seven years ago as an experiment to get better coverage and water control over a field.

“We had a fairly sandy field that we laid out like we would a regular field,” he says. “The dirt work wasn’t just perfect, and we were having trouble getting water down the field. My sons and I were working on it one day, and we decided that all we had to do was to lay a bunch of Polypipe down, punch some holes in where we have we call a thirsty patty.”

Jack also added gates to run more water to that area and distribute it down the field.

“We just ran a Polypipe down right beside the side of the turnrow and fed the field out of the Polypipe,” he says. “The little excess runs over the gates.”

Jack says he and his sons got started gradually, using it in about half of their rice the next year. The following year, they used it on about three-quarters of their rice acreage and added a yield monitor on their combine.
“We wanted to learn if it was really giving us water savings or better water control,” he says. “We think after several years that we did get a yield increase.”

Jack uses a combination of collapsible tubing with holes punched in it and a few big gates.

The Mississippi grower says once the equipment is adjusted, very little water is wasted. His sons like the practice, because they can regulate that water a little closer every night.

“I don’t have to worry about the problems you would associate with raising the water 2 to 3 inches to get it over the conventional gates,” Jack says. “We still put a set of gates down the side of the Polypipe—just like you would a conventional field in case you get a big rain or your Polypipe isn’t set just right.”

Jack doesn’t worry about having it perfect as long as it is close.

How much does side-inlet cost?
And many growers are as interested in what a new practice will cost as they are in what they save from it. According to a survey Tacker conducted, growers should figure on about $5 to $7 per acre for materials. That includes the tubing and the blue adjustable gates some growers use.

Growers also spend about four to eight hours initially setting p the tubing. But once it’s done, they typically enjoy labor savings throughout the rest of the season.

“The only additional labor required with this system is laying it out the first time,” Jack says. “It requires a little more labor and a little more money initially to set it up.

“But from that point on, it lowers the labor requirements on a daily basis, because were not having to look at every gate and try to figure out whether we need to pump more in one end of the field.”

Positive results
With this system, Jack says he can fill every paddy up every night.

“If you’re down a quarter of an inch, and you bring it up a quarter of a inch every night, you’re never off more than a quarter of an inch,” he says.

Because of the time savings involved, he says even the most harried grower can better manage his water.
“As the summer progresses, it gets hot and dry and your watering other things and everybody is busy,” Jack says. “One person can go by and check several fields relatively quickly. It’s just a fast process.”
Although he started using side-inlet irrigation as a water management tool, Jack found an additional benefit of minimizing the effects of cold water around the inlet.

“It keeps the water in the field a more uniform temperature,” the grower says. “There’s not a cold spot, there’s not a hot spot and we have been really pleased with the milling yields. This just allows you to do everything quicker and more precisely.”

Of course, it’s hard for Jack to attribute increased yields just to his irrigation, but he says it definitely hasn’t hurt anything.

“There is no down side to it,” he says. “If you use a $200 role of Polypipe on 50 acre field, you’re talking about $4 an acre.

“It doesn’t take long to manage that little bit of money into the time with a pickup truck and a man having to stop and manage the water.”

For questions or comments about this article, contact Rice Farming Editor Vicky Boyd at (209) 571-0414 or vlboyd@att.net.

Hotlinks
Food and Agricultural Policy: Taking Stock in the New Century
http://www.usda.gov/news/pubs/farmpolicy01/fpindex.htm

FAPRI Analysis of H.R. 2646
http://www.fapri.missouri.edu/Publications/GrainAgAct0901/AnalysisHR2646.pdf

Farm Security Act of 2001 (formerly known as the Agricultural Act of 2001)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c107:2:./temp/~c107l9RCNh::

Or visit http://www.house.gov, then click on “search bills by number” in lower righthand side, and enter h.r. 2646

Side-inlet success Irrigation management technique pays big dividends with water, labor savings
By Jim Urbanek II
Although not a new practice, side-inlet irrigation is gaining more attention as water management efficiency moves higher on many growers’ priority lists. Also referred to as multiple-inlet irrigation, depending on where in the field the pipe is located, water is run down the field in collapsible plastic tubing and fed into each paddy or field simultaneously. Promoting the practice for several years is University of Arkansas Extension engineer Phil Tacker. “We became interested in the concept several years ago, pretty soon after the irrigation tubing came out,” Tacker says. At first, growers balked at the idea because they were concerned about running the tubing through the rice fields. This, despite UA research showing the practice was promising. “It was just so different,” he says. “People were afraid there would be a lot more problems than benefits from it. “But the last four years—with the water situation, pumping costs and labor—just got to be a time when people were more open to looking at it.” Multiple benefits With increased interest, the university was able to find cooperating growers who would allow researchers to set up demonstrations on their farm. Much of the work the past two to three years in Arkansas was funded by the Rice Promotion Board checkoff funds. That has helped them expand the practice up and down the Delta. Side-inlet irrigation typically allows producers to better manage their water. Frequently, growers can initially flood up a field faster. In many cases, Tacker has found that side-inlet irrigation reduced water use and pumping costs. An added benefit is fertilizers and other chemicals, such as herbicides, are activated more effectively. “We have done some comparisons where we did one field conventional and another with tubing in it,” Tacker says. “We find that we’re averaging about 25 percent savings in water using the tubing.” In one Arkansas field, where a grower kept up with the hours he spent between two comparison fields, Tacker says the producer used 29 percent less labor in the multiple-inlet field compared to the conventional. Although the UA engineer stresses that these are producer fields and not replicated research plots that the data are coming from, he remains confident in the findings. From experiment to use on all fields Williard Jack is one side-inlet converts. The Tchula, Miss., producer started using the practice irrigation seven years ago as an experiment to get better coverage and water control over a field. “We had a fairly sandy field that we laid out like we would a regular field,” he says. “The dirt work wasn’t just perfect, and we were having trouble getting water down the field. My sons and I were working on it one day, and we decided that all we had to do was to lay a bunch of Polypipe down, punch some holes in where we have we call a thirsty patty.” Jack also added gates to run more water to that area and distribute it down the field. “We just ran a Polypipe down right beside the side of the turnrow and fed the field out of the Polypipe,” he says. “The little excess runs over the gates.” Jack says he and his sons got started gradually, using it in about half of their rice the next year. The following year, they used it on about three-quarters of their rice acreage and added a yield monitor on their combine. “We wanted to learn if it was really giving us water savings or better water control,” he says. “We think after several years that we did get a yield increase.” Jack uses a combination of collapsible tubing with holes punched in it and a few big gates. The Mississippi grower says once the equipment is adjusted, very little water is wasted. His sons like the practice, because they can regulate that water a little closer every night. “I don’t have to worry about the problems you would associate with raising the water 2 to 3 inches to get it over the conventional gates,” Jack says. “We still put a set of gates down the side of the Polypipe—just like you would a conventional field in case you get a big rain or your Polypipe isn’t set just right.” Jack doesn’t worry about having it perfect as long as it is close. How much does side-inlet cost? And many growers are as interested in what a new practice will cost as they are in what they save from it. According to a survey Tacker conducted, growers should figure on about $5 to $7 per acre for materials. That includes the tubing and the blue adjustable gates some growers use. Growers also spend about four to eight hours initially setting p the tubing. But once it’s done, they typically enjoy labor savings throughout the rest of the season. “The only additional labor required with this system is laying it out the first time,” Jack says. “It requires a little more labor and a little more money initially to set it up. “But from that point on, it lowers the labor requirements on a daily basis, because were not having to look at every gate and try to figure out whether we need to pump more in one end of the field.” Positive results With this system, Jack says he can fill every paddy up every night. “If you’re down a quarter of an inch, and you bring it up a quarter of a inch every night, you’re never off more than a quarter of an inch,” he says. Because of the time savings involved, he says even the most harried grower can better manage his water. “As the summer progresses, it gets hot and dry and your watering other things and everybody is busy,” Jack says. “One person can go by and check several fields relatively quickly. It’s just a fast process.” Although he started using side-inlet irrigation as a water management tool, Jack found an additional benefit of minimizing the effects of cold water around the inlet. “It keeps the water in the field a more uniform temperature,” the grower says. “There’s not a cold spot, there’s not a hot spot and we have been really pleased with the milling yields. This just allows you to do everything quicker and more precisely.” Of course, it’s hard for Jack to attribute increased yields just to his irrigation, but he says it definitely hasn’t hurt anything. “There is no down side to it,” he says. “If you use a $200 role of Polypipe on 50 acre field, you’re talking about $4 an acre. “It doesn’t take long to manage that little bit of money into the time with a pickup truck and a man having to stop and manage the water.” For questions or comments about this article, contact Rice Farming Editor Vicky Boyd at (209) 571-0414 or vlboyd@att.net. Hotlinks Food and Agricultural Policy: Taking Stock in the New Century http://www.usda.gov/news/pubs/farmpolicy01/fpindex.htm FAPRI Analysis of H.R. 2646 http://www.fapri.missouri.edu/Publications/GrainAgAct0901/AnalysisHR2646.pdf Farm Security Act of 2001 (formerly known as the Agricultural Act of 2001) http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c107:2:./temp/~c107l9RCNh:: Or visit http://www.house.gov, then click on “search bills by number” in lower righthand side, and enter h.r. 2646
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