Surge Irrigation on Various Crops

Seventeen acres of corn in Utah irrigated with surge in 1985 produced 210 bushels of grain per acre, three bushels less than the state's all-time record. Eighteen acres in the same field were irrigated with siphon tubes, producing 148 bushels to the acre.
Surge flow Irrigation: Automatic Surface Irrigation Demonstration for Summer Onion Tour, Hill and Stringham, Utah State University Cooperative Extension Service.

In 1992 surge was used to irrigate crops of corn, alfalfa, beans, vegetables, pasture, and tree fruit crops in orchards in Colorado. All of the growers expressed satisfaction on the results they saw in their fields in terms of better irrigation coverage and crop yields.
Report to the United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation, Alam and Antonio, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Service.

Bliss spring wheat yields were equivalent under conventional and surge irrigation, with less than half of the water use under surge irrigation (12.9 acre/inch) compared to conventional surface irrigation (28.2 acres/inch).
Surge Irrigation of Bliss Spring Wheat, 1991, Miller, Shock, Stieber, and Saunders, Oregon State University.

One benefit the Eastmans have found is that on their sloped field with long runs, surge has given their pecan trees more vigorous, uniform growth and production. "I think our trees know the difference," George Eastman said. "They look a lot better than they used to. And we're getting a lot more even yield and growth."
Irrigation Efficiency Surges West, Don Dale, Western Grower and Shipper.

Texas cotton grower Tommie Wages, who uses surge with flexible tubing, noted a 100 to 150 lb. increase in lint yields when he changed from siphon tubes to surge.
Surging with Flexible Tubing, Texas Farmer-Stockman Irrigation Extra.

Furrow-irrigated rice is the latest innovation in Mississippi, and grower Michael Carr is the first to irrigate row rice with surge.
Producer Eliminates Legwork, Elton Robinson, Delta Farm Press.