ABSTRACT
Furrow dikes are small earthen dams formed periodically between the ridges of a ridge-furrow tillage system or, alternatively, small basins created in the loosened soil behind a ripper shank or chisel. The furrow diking practice is known by many names, including tied ridges, furrow damming, basin tillage, basin listing, and microbasin tillage.[1] The dikes or basins store potential runoff on the soil surface, allowing the water to infiltrate (Fig. 1) thus, decreasing storm or irrigation runoff and increasing storage and plant available water in the soil. Furrow diking is a soil and water conservation practice that is adaptable to both dryland and irrigated crop production. It is most often used on gently sloping terrain in arid and semiarid areas where crops are grown under water deficit conditions. This practice has become widely adopted due to new herbicide technologies to control weeds, herbicide tolerant crops, and improved mechanical equipment for constructing the dikes.
