Irrigation Process-Then and Now

 

Worker clearing vegetation



The use of the Nile for irrigation dates back to at least 4000 B.C. in Egypt. The traditional system of basin irrigation-in which Nile floods were trapped in shallow basins and a cool-season crop of wheat or barley was grown in soaked and silt-replenished soil-has been replaced since the mid-1800s by a system of perennial irrigation and the production of two or three crops a year, including cotton, sugarcane, and peanuts. The delta barrages, just below Cairo, channel water into a system of feeder canals for the delta, and other barrages at Isna, Asyut, and Nag Hammadi keep the level of the Nile high enough all year for perennial irrigation in the valley of Upper Egypt; the Idfina Barrage on the Rashid prevents infiltration by the sea at low water. Nile water is also used for irrigation in the Faiyum Basin.



Aerial View of the Nile







                         

 

 

Vegetation along the Nile