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Factors Influencing Irrigation Development, and Classification of Land for Irrigation
Author(s) -
Youngs F. O.
Publication year - 1938
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1938.036159950002000c0080x
Subject(s) - irrigation , soil water , citation , agriculture , library science , agricultural economics , mathematics , computer science , environmental science , soil science , geography , economics , archaeology , agronomy , biology
One of the greatest problems confronting the American people today is the best use of land and water resources. The whole problem, but especially that part pertaining to water use, is acute in the West, where the water supply is a limited and very valuable resource and should be used where it will produce the most good for the greatest number of people. Aside from municipal uses and hydroelectric development, its most important use is for irrigation of arid land. There is much more land, good and bad, than can be supplied with water for irrigation in most arid sections, and in order to produce the greatest benefit water should be applied only to the best land. There are many highly productive and very successful irrigation development's and others which are failures. The questions naturally arise: "Why are some projects successful and others unsuccessful? Can we foretell the success or failure of irrigation on any project or tract of land? Can we assure success of a given project?" The record of irrigation development shows that many factors, physical, geographic, economic, and social have influenced the development and determined the degree of success or failure. Apparently physical factors have had the predominant effect, though the importance of other factors should be recognized.