In spite of surface irrigation method being the oldest and most used in the world due to its advantages compared to pressurized method, it has presented low levels of performance, because its inadequate managemet as a consequence of the difficulties in monitoring the spatial and temporal variabilities of field parameters. Thus, this research had the purpose of estimating the spatial and temporal variability of the flow cross-sectional area of irrigation furrows, measuring its profile after each irrigation event, along the crop season (total of 12 events) in six furrows evenly spaced in a way to comprise the variations in this parameter along the cross-sectional irrigated area. The maximum variations observed, along the crop season, in the topwidth, width at 50% of the maximum height, base width and maximum height were, respectively, in spatial terms equal to 16.3, 18.7, 105.2 and 35.1%; and equal to 11.4, 13.5, 38.0 and 23.7%, in temporal terms.
furrow irrigation; cross-sectional area; variability
