Technical manual for “Crop Water Requirements and Irrigation

Scheduling”

1 Introduction
In arid climates where fresh water resources are scarce, proper water management to maximize water use
efficiency is vital to meet increasing demands and to protect diminishing resources. With irrigated
agriculture being the largest consumer of water, it requires special attention. As Larson 1981 states it:
“As long as water was thought to be abundant and energy was cheap, the approach to irrigation was to
apply plenty of water. Little attention was paid to how much water was applied or how efficiently it was
applied. This situation prompted researchers to develop techniques that irrigators could use to avoid over
irrigation, thus reducing water use, energy consumption, and irrigation costs. The techniques that were
designed to avoid excess water use are called irrigation scheduling. Irrigation scheduling is defined as
applying the right amount of water at the right time. The goal of irrigation scheduling is to meet the full
water requirement of the crop such that water stress is avoided and maximum yields are obtained." An
article in The National (UAE) in July 2014 reported about findings of a joint research by the Environment
Agency Abu Dhabi (Ead) and New Zealand. Preliminary results showed that most farmers in the UAE
over-irrigate, to an extent that some farmers apply 2.5 times the amount suggested by the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization for irrigation of date palms, thinking that the trees will be in good condition if
they receive more water. It should be noted, that in the contrary, over-irrigation can have negative impacts
on the plants and on the environment through leaching of nutrients away from the root zone and into the
aquifer and reducing the oxygen level in the soil below optimal values for plant growth, and may lead to
root rot and fungal infections. On the other hand, some farmers under-irrigate, which may lead to plant
stress, yield reduction and unavailability of applied fertilizers to plant roots.
Irrigation scheduling aims at applying just the right amount of irrigation water for plant growth.
Irrigation scheduling consists of two components; the first is to determine the crop water requirements,
while the second is to estimate the right time to supply the water to plants.

2 Estimating Reference Crop evapotranspiration

Evapotranspiration (ET) is the sum of evaporation and plant transpiration. Evaporation accounts for the
movement of water to the air from sources such as a wet soil surface, water intercepted on the plant
canopy, and water bodies. Transpiration accounts for the loss of water as vapor through plant stomata.
The driving force of the evaporation process is the difference between the water vapor pressure at the
evaporating surface and vapor pressure of the surrounding atmosphere. The source of energy to change
the water molecules from liquid to vapor is solar radiation and temperature. Factors affecting the
evaporation process are wind speed, solar radiation, air temperature, relative humidity, water availability
and the degree of shading by the crop canopy.
The driving force for transpiration is the difference between water vapor pressure inside the leaf and the
atmosphere. Factors effecting transpiration are solar radiation, wind speed, air humidity, air temperature,
crop characteristics and soil water content.
The concept of a reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo) was introduced to study the evaporative
demand of the atmosphere independently of crop type, crop development stage and management
practices. As water is abundant at the evapotranspiring surface, soil factors do not affect
evapotranspiration. Relating evapotranspiration to a specific surface provides a reference to which
evapotranspiration from other surfaces can be related. It removes the need to define a separate
evapotranspiration level for each crop and stage of growth. The evapotranspiration from a reference
surface not short of water is called the reference crop evapotranspiration and is denoted by ETo. The
reference surface is a hypothetical grass or alfalfa reference crop of a uniform height of 0.12m, covering
an extensive surface, actively growing, well-watered, and completely shading the ground with a fixed
surface resistance of 70 s/m and an albedo of 0.23. The only factors affecting ETo are climatic
parameters. As a result, ETo is a climatic parameter and can be computed from weather data. ETo
expresses the evaporative demand of the atmosphere at a specific location and time of the year and does
not consider crop and soil factors. The calculation of reference evapotranspiration is a very common
method used to calculate the crop water requirement, which is a need for irrigation scheduling design.
There are several methods used to calculate or measure ETo. The most common methods are Penman
Monteith method and Pan Evaporation method. Penman Monteith method requires climate data which
can be obtained from a weather station. In the literature, the following nomenclature is sometimes
encountered for reference to evapotranspiration data: ETo – evapotranspiration calculated using grass as
the reference crop; ETr – evapotranspiration calculated using alfalfa as the reference crop; ETp –
evapotranspiration measured from a pan. Nevertheless, in the remainder of this manual, ETo will be used
to refer for reference evapotranspiration.

2.1 Pan evaporation method

A practical method for determining reference evapotranspiration ETo is the pan evaporation method. This
approach combines the effects of temperature, humidity, wind speed and sunshine.
The evaporation from the pan is very near to evapotranspiration of grass that is taken as an index of ETo.
The pan direct readings (Epan) are related to the ETo with the aid of the pan coefficient (Kp), which
depends on the type of pan, its location (surrounding with or without ground cover vegetation) and the
climate (humidity and wind speed).
ETo = Epan × Kp
There are different types of pans used to determine evaporation rate. Used types include circular or square
pans. The circular pan is the most commonly used and is described below.

2.1.1 Class A pan (Circular Pan)

The standard circular pan is 120.7 cm in diameter and 25 cm deep. It is usually made of galvanized iron
(0.8 mm). The pan is mounted on a wooden open frame platform which is 15 cm above ground level. The
pan must be level.
 Figure 1: Class A Pan (Photo Courtesy: Prof. Hector Malano)
The pan is filled with water to 5 cm below the rim, and the water level should be not allowed to drop to
more than 7.5 cm below the rim. The water should be regularly renewed, at least weekly, to eliminate
extreme turbidity. The pan, if galvanized, is painted annually with aluminum paint. Screens over the pan
are not a standard requirement and should preferably not be used. Pans should be protected by fences to
keep animals from drinking. The site should preferably be under grass, 20 by 20 m, open on all sides to
permit free circulation of the air. It is preferable that stations be located in the center or on the leeward
side of large cropped fields.
Pan readings are taken daily in the early morning at the same time that precipitation is measured.
Measurements are made in a stilling well that is situated in the pan near one edge. The stilling well is a
metal cylinder of about 10 cm diameter and 20 cm depth with a small hole at the bottom.

2.1.2 Pan Coefficient (Kp)

Kp is the coefficient to adjust the pan evaporation to reference evapotranspiration; this coefficient is
depending on the type of pan, pan environment (fallow or cropped), wind speed and humidity.
Pan evaporation method is a real-time evaporation estimation method and relatively easy. The
disadvantage of this method is that the data are influenced by pan placement and type, as water in the pan
stores and releases water differently than the crop.
Two cases are considered for pan placement; the first case where the pan is sited on short green grass
cover and surrounded by fallow soil and the second case where the pan is sited on fallow soil and
surrounded by green crop. These cases are affecting the water vapor, because in the first case the air
contains more vapor.
The following table provides values of Kp for different pan siting and climatic conditions.
Table 1: Pan coefficients (Kp) for Class A pan for different pan siting and environment and
different levels of mean relative humidity and wind speed (Source: FAO, 2002)

2.2 FAO Penman-Monteith Method

Penman-Monteith equation is an equation based on energy balance that has generally been accepted as a
scientifically sound formulation for estimation of reference ETo.
The meteorological factors affecting ETo can be used to develop models capable of estimating ETo.
Relationships between ETo and climatic and atmospheric parameters have been determined
experimentally and numerous models have related ETo to various climatic variables. These models
combine energy balance and mass transfer methodologies with crop-descriptive parameters to determine
ETo. Penman-Monteith equation is expressed as a combined function of radiation, maximum and
minimum temperature, vapor pressure, and wind speed (Hatfield, 1990). It is regarded as the most
accurate predictor of ET in a wide range of climates.
With the reference surface described above, the Penman-Monteith method is effective at estimating the
evapotranspiration of a reference crop if climate data can be measured. ETo is useful to compare
evapotranspiration demands of different environments and to estimate the ET of other crops. The
reference ET equation of FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper No. 56 is:

where,
ETo reference evapotranspiration [mm day-1],
Rn net radiation at the crop surface [MJ m-2 day-1],
G soil heat flux density [MJ m-2 day-1],
T mean daily air temperature at 2 m height [°C],
u2 wind speed at 2 m height [m s-1],
es saturation vapor pressure [kPa],
ea actual vapor pressure [kPa],
es – ea saturation vapor pressure deficit [kPa],
Δ slope of the vapor pressure curve [kPa °C-1],
γ psychrometric constant [kPa °C-1].
Penman Monteith equation is considered the international standard for daily reference evapotranspiration
determination, as declared by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) in
Irrigation and Drainage paper 56.
The equation uses standard climatological records of solar radiation (sunshine), air temperature, humidity
and wind speed for estimation of ETo. Calculations of ETo can be made on a daily, weekly, ten-day or
monthly basis depending on the purpose of the calculations, the accuracy required and the time step of the
climatic data available. Some of the data are measured directly in weather stations. Other parameters are
related to commonly measured data and can be derived with the help of direct or empirical equations.
Penman Monteith equation is based on weather measurements made at 2 m above an extensive surface of
green grass shading the ground that is not short of water. If data from a station deviating from these
conditions are available, corrections should be applied.
Apart from the climatological records, the equation requires the altitude of the site above sea level (m)
and latitude (degrees north or south) of the site. These data are needed to adjust some weather parameters
for the local average value of atmospheric pressure (a function of the site elevation above mean sea level)
and to compute extraterrestrial radiation (Ra) and, in some cases, daylight hours (N).
FAO (1998) provides details of the theoretical background of the estimation of the different variables
needed to apply Penman Monteith equation. The mean daily air temperature used in the equation is
simply the average of the mean daily maximum and mean daily minimum temperatures. The calculation
of the other terms required for the application of ETo using Penman Monteith equation follows.

2.2.1 Mean saturation vapor pressure (es)

Saturation vapor pressure is a function of air temperature and is given by the equation:
o 17.27 T
e =0.6108 exp ⁡[ ]
T +237.3
Table 2 provides the corresponding value of e° for different temperature values. e° values corresponding
to Tmax and Tmin are obtained from the table and averaged in order to obtain es.
Table 2: Saturation vapor pressure (e°) for different temperatures (T) (Source: FAO 2002)

2.2.2 Actual vapor pressure (ea)

The actual vapor pressure (ea) may be calculated from available relative humidity (RH) and temperature
data as per the following equation:

where eo(Tmin) and eo(Tmax) are the saturation vapor pressure at minimum and maximum daily
temperatures, respectively, and RHmin and RHmax are the minimum and maximum values of daily
relative humidity, respectively (%).

2.2.3 Vapor pressure deficit (es – ea)

The vapor pressure deficit may now be calculated using the expressions for es and ea.

2.2.4 Slope of the saturation vapor pressure curve (Δ)

The slope of the saturation pressure curve is a function of temperature and is given by the relation:
In the Penman Monteith equation, Δ is calculated at mean air temperature. Table 3 calculates the values
of Δ for different values of temperature.
Table 3: Slope of saturation vapour pressure curve (Δ) for different air temperatures (T) (Source:
FAO 2002)

2.2.5 Net radiation at the crop surface (Rn)

The net radiation (Rn) is the difference between incoming and outgoing radiation of both short and long
wavelengths. It is the balance between the energy absorbed, reflected and emitted by the earth's surface or
the difference between the incoming net shortwave (Rns) and the net outgoing longwave (Rnl) radiation.
Rn is normally positive during the daytime and negative during the nighttime. The total daily value for Rn
is almost always positive over a period of 24 hours, except in extreme conditions at high latitudes. Figure
2 shows a schematic presentation of the different components of radiation.
 Figure 2: Various components of radiation (source: FAO, 1998)

2.2.6 Soil heat flux (G)

In making estimates of evapotranspiration, all terms of the energy balance (Equation 1) should be
considered. The soil heat flux, G, is the energy that is utilized in heating the soil. G is positive when the
soil is warming and negative when the soil is cooling. Although the soil heat flux is small compared to Rn
and may often be ignored, the amount of energy gained or lost by the soil in this process should
theoretically be subtracted or added to Rn when estimating evapotranspiration.

2.2.7 Psychrometric constant (γ)

The psychrometric constant (γ) is a function of atmospheric pressure, which is in turn a function of
elevation. The psychrometric constant may be calculated through the equation:

where:
cp = Specific heat at constant pressure = 1.013 x 10-3 MJ/kg per °C
P = Atmospheric pressure (kPa)
 = Ratio molecular weight of water vapour/dry air = 0.622
 = Latent heat vaporization = 2.45 MJ/kg (at 20°C)

The following table gives values of γ for altitudes encountered in UAE.

Table 4: Values of γ for altitudes encountered in the UAE

2.2.8 Wind speed (u2)

The wind speed measured at 2 m height above the surface is needed for calculation of the Penman
Monteith equation. To adjust wind speed data obtained from instruments placed at an elevation z other
than the standard height of 2 m the following equation is used:
u2 = uz x 4.87/ln(67.8 z – 5.42)
where u2 and uz are the wind speeds at elevations of 2 and z meters, respectively.

2.2.9 Example of application of the Penman Monteith Equation

The application of Penman Monteith equation shall be carried out in this section for Al Khazna, which is
an example of an inland agricultural area in UAE. Al Khazna is located along the Abu Dhabi – Al Ain
Road. Coordinates of Al Khazna are 55 06 48 E and 24 07 29 N. The elevation is 170m amsl.
The National Center of Meteorology and Seismology of the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, UAE,
publishes daily climate records for some 79 stations distributed over the UAE on its website
(http://www.ncms.ae). Further it publishes climate data based on averages from 2003 to 2015 for air
temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, wind speed and solar radiation for the locations shown on the
following map.
 Figure 3: Weather station locations of the National Center of Meteorology and Seismology
From the National Center of Meteorology and Seismology web site, the following climatic data are
obtained for Al Khazna:
Table 5: Climate report for Al Khazna, UAE (2003 – 2015)
Temperature (degrees Celsius) Relative Humidity (%) mm Wind (km/hr) wh/m2
Solar
Month Max Mean Max Mean Mean Min Min Mean Max Mean Mean Min Rainfall Mean Max Mean Max
Radiation
Jan 30.3 23.9 17.4 12 4.8 92 65 38 12.1 8 48 17 4403
Feb 36.3 27 19.8 13.9 5.4 86 57 30 7.7 9 35 18 5347
Mar 39.1 31.2 23.1 16.2 7.6 83 49 22 16.5 9 40 19 6213
Apr 42.9 36.5 27.9 20.5 12.6 75 41 17 14.6 9 37 20 6830
May 48.3 41.7 32.4 24.3 16.3 73 36 12 0.2 9 34 20 7437
Jun 49.3 43.8 34.1 25.8 19.6 81 42 13 0.1 8 38 20 7345
Jul 48.7 44.5 35.8 28.7 21.5 76 43 17 0.5 9 33 20 6823
Aug 47.9 44.3 36.1 29.4 23.1 69 41 18 5.1 9 34 19 6732
Sep 46.6 41.5 33 26.1 21.4 85 48 17 0.1 8 33 18 6492
Oct 42.5 37.1 29 22.5 18.1 88 52 20 0 7 31 17 5786
Nov 36.6 30.9 23.9 18.3 12.7 89 60 31 1.4 7 29 16 4755
Dec 31.5 25.7 18.9 13.6 7 94 68 40 11.6 7 30 15 4231

For the purpose of calculation of ETo it is assumed that wind speed was measured at 2 m above ground
and the reported solar radiation is the net solar radiation at the plant surface Rn. If it is found that these
assumptions are not valid, corrections have to be applied as outlined above and in FAO 1998.
For substitution in the Penman Monteith equation, wind speed has to be converted to m/sec (through
multiplying km/hr values by 1000/3600) and solar radiation has to be converted to MJ/m2 (through
multiplying wh/m2 values by 0.0036). The following table shows results of the calculations. It can be
seen that ETo values are quite high, reaching more than 12mm/day during May and June. The
spreadsheet entitled Calculation of ETo is available with this manual.
Table 6: Application of Penman Monteith equation for calculating ETo for Al Khazna, UAE
Variable Unit Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Comment
Input by User
o
Tmax C 23.9 27 31.2 36.5 41.7 43.8 44.5 44.3 41.5 37.1 30.9 25.7 From weather station
o
Tmin C 12 13.9 16.2 20.5 24.3 25.8 28.7 29.4 26.1 22.5 18.3 13.6 From weather station
RH max % 92 86 83 75 73 81 76 69 85 88 89 94 From weather station
RH min % 38 30 22 17 12 13 17 18 17 20 31 40 From weather station
u2 km/hr 8 9 9 9 9 8 9 9 8 7 7 7 From weather station
Rn wh/m2 4403 5347 6213 6830 7437 7345 6823 6732 6492 5786 4755 4231 From weather station
Calculations
o
Tmean C 17.95 20.45 23.7 28.5 33 34.8 36.6 36.85 33.8 29.8 24.6 19.65 (Tmax + Tmin) /2
eo(Tmax) KPa 2.966 3.565 4.544 6.106 8.071 9.007 9.339 9.243 7.986 6.309 4.467 3.302
eo(Tmin) KPa 1.403 1.588 1.842 2.412 3.038 3.322 3.937 4.099 3.381 2.726 2.103 1.558
es KPa 2.184 2.577 3.193 4.259 5.554 6.164 6.638 6.671 5.684 4.517 3.285 2.430
ea KPa 1.209 1.218 1.264 1.423 1.593 1.931 2.290 2.246 2.116 1.830 1.628 1.393
(es-ea) KPa 0.976 1.359 1.929 2.835 3.961 4.233 4.348 4.425 3.568 2.687 1.657 1.037
D KPa/oC 0.129 0.148 0.176 0.226 0.282 0.308 0.335 0.339 0.293 0.241 0.185 0.142
g KPa/oC 0.066 0.066 0.066 0.066 0.066 0.066 0.066 0.066 0.066 0.066 0.066 0.066
u2 m/sec 2.222 2.500 2.500 2.500 2.500 2.222 2.500 2.500 2.222 1.944 1.944 1.944 u2 (km/hr) * 1/3.6
G MJ/m2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 assumed negligible
Rn MJ/m2 15.851 19.249 22.367 24.588 26.773 26.442 24.563 24.235 23.371 20.830 17.118 15.232 Rn (wh/m2) * 0.0036
Eto mm/day 5.217 6.851 8.627 10.525 12.380 12.123 11.906 11.867 10.587 8.765 6.567 5.134

There is also software available for calculation of ETo, such as CropWat developed and made available
by FAO, which accesses a database of climate data for about 5000 locations worldwide through the FAO
software ClimWat. For further information the reader is referred to
http://www.fao.org/nr/water/infores_databases_cropwat.html .

3 Estimating crop water requirements

Calculation of crop water requirements and crop irrigation requirements can be carried out from basic
information about the crops selected such as average planting and harvesting dates, rooting depth,
allowable depletion level and yield response factors, and length of individual growth stages. During early
stages of growth the water needs are generally low, but they increase rapidly during the maximum
growing period to the fruiting stage. During the later stages of maturity, water use usually decreases as the
crops ripen (Schwab et al., 1995).

3.1 Crop coefficient approach

Once the reference ET has been determined, a crop coefficient must be applied to adjust ETo value for the
type of crop being irrigated. The crop evapotranspiration is determined by the crop coefficient approach.
The crop coefficient takes into account the crop type and crop development stage to adjust the ETo for
that specific crop. The crop coefficient is defined as the ratio of crop evapotranspiration to reference
evapotranspiration when the crop has access to adequate soil water and is not stressed by water quality
constraints, pests, or inadequate soil fertility. Crop coefficients have been determined empirically and are
tabulated for many different types of crops to facilitate determination of crop water requirements, or crop
evapotranspiration. Use of a single crop coefficient combines soil evaporation and crop transpiration into
one value, Kc. If a reliable value of the crop coefficient is available, a climate-specific estimate of ETc is
estimated as
ETc = Kc x ETo,
where ETc = crop evapotranspiration [mm d-1], and Kc = crop coefficient [dimensionless].

3.2 Crop coefficient curves

As a crop’s water requirements change considerably with growing stage, the growing season has been
divided into four stages as illustrated in Figure 4 and described as follows:
Initial stage: At initial stage the crop cover is less 10 % and the soil surface is mostly bare.
Crop development stage: During this stage Crop cover varies from 10 % to effective full cover which is
70 or 80 percent.
Mid-season stage: The mid-season stage runs from effective full cover to the start of maturity. At the
mid-season Kc assumes its maximum value.
Late stage: This stage starts at maturation and ends with full maturity or harvest.

Figure 4: Typical crop coefficient curve (source: FAO 1998)

The length of each of these stages depends on the climate, latitude, elevation and planting date. For
annual crops, during the crop’s germination and establishment, most of the ET occurs as evaporation from
the soil surface. As the foliage develops the transpiration increases. For perennial crops a similar pattern
may occur as the plant starts to grow new shoots and develop fruit. The percentage of canopy cover will
determine the rate of evapotranspiration (ET). Maximum ET occurs when the canopy cover is about 60-
70 % for tree crops and 70-80 % for field and row crops. The maximum canopy cover often coincides
with the time of year that sun radiation and air temperature are at their greatest. The maximum ET
therefore occurs during mid season.
There are some important factors affecting crop coefficient at each stage. The most important crop
properties, affecting Kc are crop height, aerodynamic properties and leaf and stomata properties. Kc can
be larger than 1 for crops with full growth, especially with tall crops as maize, sorghum and sugarcane.
Some crops that close their stomata during the day like pineapples have very small crop coefficients. Soil
evaporation has a considerable effect at the initial stage as the crop is small and barely shades the ground.
When the soil is wet by irrigation or rain, the evaporation from the soil surface will be considerable and
Kc values increase. With time, as the crop grows, crop transpiration becomes larger and soil evaporation
decreases. At mid-season stage Kc reaches its maximum value, since the crop reaches maximum ground
cover and starts to mature. At the late season stage, the value of Kc reflects crop and water management
practices. Kcend value is high if the crop is frequently irrigated until it is harvested fresh. If the crop is
allowed to grow old and to dry out in the field before harvest, Kcend value will be small.
The crop coefficient curve allows determination of Kc values for any period during the growing season.
To construct a crop coefficient curve first divide the growing period into four general growth stages
(initial, crop development, mid-stage and late season). Then determine the length of the growth stages and
the crop coefficient for each stage. The value of Kc for the initial stage must be adjusted by multiplying it
with the fraction of soil surface wetted (fw in Table 7) depending on watering methods.
Table 7: Common values of fraction (fw) of soil surface wetted by watering

Watering method fw

Precipitation 1.0

Sprinkler irrigation 1.0

Basin irrigation 1.0

Border irrigation 1.0

Furrow irrigation (narrow bed) 0.6-1.0

Furrow irrigation (wide bed) 0.4-0.6

Trickle irrigation 0.3-0.4

The crop coefficient for initial stage and mid-season is constant and equal to the Kc value of the growth
stage under consideration, but at development stage and end season Kc varies linearly between the Kc at
the end of previous stage and Kc at the beginning of the next stage which is Kc end in the case of the late
season stage. At development stage and end stage the crop coefficient can be estimated for each day by
using the following equation (FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper No. 56):

where:
i day number within the growing season [1 .. length of the growing season],
Kc i crop coefficient on day i,
Lstage length of the stage under consideration [days],
(Lprev) sum of the lengths of all previous stages [days].

3.3 Length of growth stages and kc of major crops grown in UAE

FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper No. 24 provides general lengths for the four distinct growth stages
and the total growing period for various types of climates and locations. The following table provides
data for typical crops grown in the UAE.

Table 8: length of different growth stages for common crops in UAE

Crop Lini Ldev Lmid Llate Total

Onion 20 45 20 10 95

Lettuce 25 35 30 10 100

Sweet peppers (bell) 30 40 110 30 210

Tomatoes 30 40 40 25 135

Cucumbers 25 35 50 20 130

Watermelon 10 20 20 30 80

Green beans 15 25 25 10 75

Peas 35 25 30 20 110

Wheat 20 50 60 30 160

Barley 20 50 60 30 160

Maize 25 40 45 30 140

Alfalfa 1st cutting cycle 10 20 20 10 60

Berseem 10 20 20 10 60

Sudan grass hay 25 25 15 10 75

Grazing pasture 10 20 -- -- --

Rhodes grass* 55 100 50 160 365

Grapes 20 50 75 60 205

Citrus 60 90 120 95 365

* Soil and Water Research Center, Oman, 2007
Table 9 lists typical values for Kc ini, Kcmid, and Kcend for various agricultural crops grown in UAE. The
coefficients in the table integrate the effects of both transpiration and evaporation over time. The effects
of the integration over time represent an average wetting frequency for a 'standard' crop under typical
growing conditions in an irrigated setting. The values for Kc during the initial and crop development
stages are subject to the effects of large variations in wetting frequencies and therefore refinements to the
value used for Kcini should always be made. For frequent wettings such as with high frequency sprinkler
irrigation or rainfall, the values for Kcini may increase substantially.
Table 9: Values of Kc for some crops grown in the UAE. Missing values should be supplemented
based on local conditions

Crop Kcini Kcmid Kcend Crop height

(m)

Garlic 1.00 0.70 0.3

Lettuce 1.00 0.95 0.3

Sweet peppers (bell) 1.05 0.9 0.7

Tomatoes 1.15 0.7-0.9 0.6

Cucumbers 0.6 1.00 0.75 0.3

Watermelon 0.4 1.00 0.75 0.4

Green beans 0.5 1.05 0.9 0.4

Peas 0.5 1.15 1.1 0.5

Wheat 0.7 1.15 0.25-0.4 1

Barley 1.15 0.25 1

Maize 1.20 0.60-0.35 2

Alfalfa 0.40 0.95 0.90 0.7

Berseem 0.40 1.15 0.85 0.6

Sudan grass hay 0.50 0.90 0.85 1.2

Grazing pasture 0.40 0.85-1.05 0.85 0.15-0.30

Turf grass 0.80 0.85 0.85 0.10

Rhodes grass* 0.84 1.40 1.00 1.2

 Date palm 0.90 0.95 0.95 8

Grapes 0.30 0.85 0.45 2

Citrus (70% canopy) 0.70 0.65 0.70 4

* Source: Soil and Water Research Center, Oman, 2007

4 Estimating irrigation requirements

Water for plant growth can be supplied to the crops by rainfall (also called precipitation), by irrigation or
by a combination of rainfall and irrigation. If the rainfall is sufficient to cover the water needs of the
crops, irrigation is not required. If there is no rainfall, all the water that the crops need has to be supplied
by irrigation. If there is some rainfall, but not enough to cover the water needs of the crops, irrigation
water has to supplement the rain water in such a way that the rain water and the irrigation water together
cover the water needs of the crop. This is often called supplemental irrigation as the irrigation water
supplements the rain water.

4.1 Crop water requirement vs. irrigation requirement

The amount of water required to compensate the evapotranspiration loss from the cropped field is defined
as crop water requirement. Although the values for crop evapotranspiration and crop water requirement
are identical, crop water requirement refers to the amount of water that needs to be supplied, while crop
evapotranspiration refers to the amount of water that is lost through evapotranspiration. The irrigation
water requirement basically represents the difference between the crop water requirement and effective
precipitation. The irrigation water requirement also includes additional water for leaching of salts and to
compensate for non-uniformity of water application.
It is important to make a distinction between crop water requirement (CWR) and irrigation requirement
(IR). Whereas crop water requirement refers to the water used by crops for cell construction and
transpiration (referred to as ETc above), the irrigation requirement is the water that must be supplied
through the irrigation system to ensure that the crop receives its full crop water requirement. If irrigation
is the sole source of water supply for the plant, then the irrigation requirement will be at least equal to the
crop water requirement, and is generally greater to allow for inefficiencies in the irrigation system. If the
crop receives some of its water from other sources (rainfall, water stored in the soil, underground seepage,
etc.), then the irrigation requirement may be less than the crop water requirement.

4.2 Effective rainfall concept

Not all rain water which falls on the soil surface can ultimately be used by the plants. Part of the rain
water percolates below the root zone of the plants and part of the rain water flows away over the soil
surface as run-off. This deep percolation water and run-off water cannot be used by the plants. In other
words, part of the rainfall is not effective. The remaining part is stored in the root zone and can be used by
the plants. This remaining part is the so-called effective rainfall. The factors which influence which part is
effective and which part is not effective include the climate, the soil texture, the soil structure and the
depth of the root zone.
If the rainfall is high, a relatively large part of the water is lost through deep percolation and run-off. If
the soil is still wet when the next rain occurs, the soil will simply not be able to store more water, and the
rain water will thus percolate below the root zone and eventually reach the groundwater. Heavy rainfall
may cause the groundwater table to rise temporarily. In sloping areas, heavy rainfall will result in a large
percentage of the rainwater being lost by surface run-off.
Another factor which needs to be taken into account when estimating the effective rainfall is the variation
of the rainfall over the years. Especially in low rainfall climates, the little rain that falls is often
unreliable; one year may be relatively dry and another year may be relatively wet.
In many countries, formulae have been developed locally to determine the effective precipitation. Such
formulae take into account factors like rainfall reliability, topography, prevailing soil type etc. If such
formulae or other local data are available, they should be used. Otherwise, data provided in the following
table could be consulted to obtain a rough estimate of the effective rainfall.
Table 10: Monthly effective rainfall as a function of total monthly rainfall
P Pe P Pe
(mm/ (mm/ (mm/ (mm/
month) month) month) month)
0 0 130 79
10 0 140 87
20 2 150 95
30 8 160 103
40 14 170 111
50 20 180 119
60 26 190 127
70 32 200 135
80 39 210 143
90 47 220 151
100 55 230 159
110 63 240 167
120 71 250 175
Further, for an individual rainfall event, it is usually assumed that the first 5 mm are not effective and are
thus subtracted from the total rainfall of the event for the purpose of irrigation scheduling.

4.3 Net irrigation requirements

The Net Irrigation Requirement (NIR) does not include losses that are occurring in the process of
applying the water. NIR plus losses constitute the Gross Irrigation Requirement (GIR). It is important to
realize that the estimation of crop water requirements (ETc) is the first stage in the estimation of irrigation
requirements. Hence the calculation of crop water requirements and irrigation requirements must not be
viewed as two unrelated procedures.
A general formula to calculate net irrigation requirements may be given as:
NIR = ETc - (Pe + Gw + SM) + LR
Where:
NIR Net irrigation requirement (mm)
ETc Crop evapotranspiration (mm)
Pe Effective dependable rainfall (mm)
Gw Groundwater contribution from water table (mm)
SM Water stored in the soil at the beginning of each period (mm)
LR Leaching requirement (mm)
The contribution of the groundwater table (Gw) to the ETc varies with the depth of the water table below
the root zone, the soil type and the water content in the root zone. Extensive experiments will be required
to determine the groundwater contribution under field conditions. However, under most smallholder
conditions high water tables are rare and as a result groundwater contribution to crop water requirements
is normally ignored.
The salinity in the root zone is related to the water quality, irrigation methods and practices, soil
conditions, rainfall and soil drainage. A high salt content in the root zone is normally controlled by
leaching. An excess amount of water is applied during the irrigation, where necessary, for the purposes of
leaching. This excess amount of water for leaching purposes is called the Leaching Requirement (LR). To
estimate the LR, both the irrigation water salinity (ECw) and the crop tolerance to salinity, which is
normally expressed as electrical conductivity of the soil saturation extract (ECe), have to be known. The
ECw can be obtained from laboratory analysis, while the ECe should be estimated from the crop tolerance
data which relate yield loss to soil salinity. Normally a reduction in yield of 10% or less is accepted.
When estimating the LR, it is important to consider the leaching efficiency (Le). Le varies with the soil
type and internal drainage properties of the soil and the field. The value of Le varies from 30-100% and
must, therefore, always be measured for the area under investigation. For surface and sprinkler irrigation
on sandy loam to clay loam soils with good drainage and where rainfall is low, the leaching requirement
can be obtained through the following equation:
ECw
LR(fraction) =
( 5 ECe−ECw )∗¿
where the LR(fraction) refers to the fraction of the water to be applied that passes through the entire root
zone depth and percolates below, and ECe is the electrical conductivity of the soil saturation extract for a
given crop appropriate to the tolerable degree of yield reduction (dS/m).

4.4 Irrigation efficiency and calculating gross irrigation requirements

The gross irrigation requirements account for losses of water incurred during conveyance and application
to the field. Gross irrigation requirements (GIR) may be obtained from net irrigation requirements by
dividing by irrigation efficiency. Irrigation efficiency values of 45% for surface, 75% for sprinkler and
90% for drip irrigation may be applied for that purpose.

Example 1.
Given: A stream of 450 liters per minute was pumped from ground and 325 liters per
minute were delivered to the field. Determine the water conveyance efficiency?

Water Conveyance Efficiency = Water Delivered to the field/Water Diverted from the
ground*100
= 325/450*100 = 72.2%
5 Soil-water relationship
Application depth means the amount of water used when irrigating. It is often expressed in millimeters. It
is important to consider the root depth at each stage of growth, as it specifies the limit of the usable water
reservoir. The root depth increases with crop age. Often it is assumed to increase linearly as a function
of time. The application depth is also related to the type of irrigation system as it is controlling the
distribution and infiltration of water by supplying the water to the field and for a certain period and
frequency, which is affecting irrigation depth.
The water holding capacity of the soil is an important factor in determining soil water available to the
plants. The water holding capacity is depending on the soil texture. Table 11 presents different available
water holding capacities in mm of water per dm of soil depth based on soil texture.
Depth units are sometimes used to refer to the amount of water required for irrigation. Depth units (mm)
are used because soil water holding capacity is typically measured in mm of water per decimeter (dm) of
soil depth, and irrigations are scheduled after a fraction of the soil water in the plant root zone has been
depleted.
Table 11: Typical values of water holding capacity based on soil texture

Soil type Available water (mm/dm of depth)

Coarse sand 5-7

Fine sand 7-8

Loamy sand 9-10

Sandy loams 10-11

Fine sandy loams 12-16

Silt loams 16-20

Silty clay loams 15-16

Silty clay 12-14

Clay 10-12

5.1 Field capacity- permanent wilting point

Field capacity (FC) is the quantity of water stored in a soil volume after drainage of gravitational water.
Only a portion of the water content can be potentially removed from a volume of soil by a crop and this
quantity is called "available water" (AW). The amount of available water within the crop root zone at any
given time is often called "soil moisture reservoir". Only a fraction of the reservoir is readily available to
the crop without water stress. Soil type is important to estimate water holding capacity (mm of water
available to plant). For example, sandy soils have a low water holding capacity, whereas soils with higher
clay content have a higher water-holding capacity.
Soil samples can be analyzed to measure the level of soil water or its status, but soil sampling by itself
does not provide forecast of the irrigation time and water amount of next irrigation.
Gradually the water stored in the soil is taken up by the plant roots or evaporated from the topsoil into the
atmosphere. If no additional water is supplied to the soil, it gradually dries out. The dryer the soil
becomes, the more tightly the remaining water is retained and the more difficult it is for the plant roots to
extract it. At a certain stage, the uptake of water is not sufficient to meet the plant's needs. The plant
looses freshness and wilts; the leaves change color from green to yellow. Finally the plant dies. The soil
water content at the stage where the plant dies is called permanent wilting point (PWP). The soil still
contains some water, but it is too difficult for the roots to suck it from the soil

5.2 Available Water Capacity (AWC) and Management Allowed Depletion (MAD)
The soil can be compared to a water reservoir for the plants. When the soil is saturated, the reservoir is
full. However, some water drains rapidly below the root zone before the plant can use it, which is called
gravitational water. Immediately after the drainage of gravitational water, the soil is said to be at field
capacity. The plant roots draw water from what remains in the reservoir. When the soil reaches its
permanent wilting point, the remaining water is no longer available to the plant. The total amount of
water actually available to the plant is the amount of water stored in the soil at field capacity minus the
water that will remain in the soil at PWP. However, in practice, the soil is never allowed to reach the
PWP. A certain level of water depletion called the Management Allowed Depletion (MAD) is specified.
For irrigation scheduling using the management allowed depletion (MAD) concept, irrigation is initiated
when soil water has decreased to the θ MAD level. The θMAD value may be chosen such that the soil never
becomes dry enough to limit plant growth and yield, or it may be a smaller value that allows some plant
stress to develop.

Figure 5: Schematic of the soil profile indicating fractions of the total soil volume (here represented
by unity) for a silty clay loam.

Figure 5 shows schematically the relation between the different levels of water content. In the figure, the
soil is full of water at saturation (0.42 m 3 m−3), drains easily to field capacity (0.33 m 3 m−3), and reaches
the permanent wilting point (15 bars) at 0.18 m 3 m−3 water content. To avoid stress in a crop such as corn,
irrigations are scheduled when the soil water content reaches or is projected to reach 0.25 m 3 m−3, the
value of θMAD for this soil and crop.
Typical values for FC, PWP and AWC are shown in the following table for different soil types.

Table 12: Typical values of FC, PWP and AWC for different soil types

Soil type FC (mm/dm) PWP (mm/dm) AWC (mm/dm)

Sand 12 4 8

Loamy sand 14 6 8

Sandy loams 23 10 13

Loam 26 12 15

Silt loams 30 15 15

Silt 32 15 17

Silty clay loam 34 19 15

Silty clay 36 21 15

Clay 36 21 15

5.3 Effective root zone

In addition to crop water and irrigation requirements described above and soil, the root zone depth is the
third parameter to be considered when preparing irrigation schedules. For most field crops, 40% of the
water uptake takes place from the first quarter of the total rooting depth, 30% from the second quarter,
20% from the third quarter and 10% from the fourth quarter. The following table provides data on root
zone depth and management allowed depletion levels for different crops.
Table 13: Ranges of maximum effective root zone depth and management allowed depletion
fraction (MAD) for no stress, for common crops in UAE (Source: FAO, Irrigation and
Drainage Paper No. 56)

Crop Root zone depth (m) 1 Management allowed depletion

(MAD) for no stress 2

Garlic 0.3-0.5 0.30

Lettuce 0.3-0.5 0.30

Sweet peppers (bell) 0.5-1.0 0.30

 Tomatoes 0.7-1.5 0.40

Cucumbers 0.7-1.2 0.50

Watermelon 0.8-1.5 0.40

Green beans 0.5-0.7 0.45

Peas 0.6-1.0 0.35

Wheat 1.5-1.8 0.55

Barley 1.0-1.5 0.55

Maize 1.0-1.7 0.55

Alfalfa 1.0-2.0 0.55

Berseem 0.6-0.9 0.50

Sudan grass hay 1.0-1.5 0.55

Grazing pasture 0.5-1.5 0.60

Turf grass 0.5-1.0 0.50

Rhodes grass3 1.6 0.60

Date palm 1.5-2.5 0.50

Grapes 1.0-2.0 0.35

Citrus 1.2-1.5 0.50

1 the smaller values for root zone depth may be used for irrigation scheduling and the larger
values for modeling soil water stress and for rainfed conditions
2 the values for MAD apply for ETc ≈ 5 mm/day. The value for MAD can be adjusted for different
values of ETc according to MAD = MADtable + 0.04 x (5 - ETc)
3 source: Murphy (2010)

5.4 Crop water stress

The crop evapotranspiration adjusted for non-standard conditions (ETc adj) is the evapotranspiration from
crops grown under management and environmental conditions that differ from the standard conditions.
When cultivating crops in fields, the real crop evapotranspiration may deviate from ETc due to non-
optimal conditions such as the presence of pests and diseases, soil salinity, low soil fertility, water
shortage or water logging. This may result in scanty plant growth, low plant density and may reduce the
evapotranspiration rate below ETc.
The crop evapotranspiration under non-standard conditions is calculated by using a water stress
coefficient Ks and/or by adjusting Kc for all kinds of other stresses and environmental constraints on crop
evapotranspiration. The adjusted ETc adj is then equal to ETc x Ks. For soil water limiting conditions, Ks
< 1, while Ks = 1 in case of no soil water stress.

6 Irrigation Scheduling
Irrigation scheduling involves determining both the timing of irrigation and the quantity of water to apply.
It is an essential daily management practice for a farm manager growing irrigated crops. Proper timing of
irrigation can be done by monitoring the soil water content or monitoring the crop in the field. Plant stress
responses provide the most direct measure of identifying the plant demand for water. However, it should
be noted that while plant stress indicators provide a direct measure of when water is required, they do not
provide a direct volumetric measure of the volume of water required to be applied.
The successful irrigation scheduling requires good understanding to the knowledge of soil water holding
capacity, crop water use, and crop sensitivity to moisture stress at different growth stages. This requires
consideration about the effective rainfall, and availability of irrigation water (Waskom, 1994).
Irrigation scheduling methods are based on two approaches, soil measurements and crop monitoring
(Hoffman et al., 1990). Irrigation scheduling involves determining both the timing of irrigation and the
quantity of water to apply. Intelligent scheduling requires knowledge of soil water initially available to
the plant. This knowledge enables estimating the earliest date at which the next irrigation should be
applied for efficient irrigation with the particular system, before water stress affects crop production.
Improved irrigation scheduling can reduce irrigation costs and increase crop quality.

6.1 Irrigation scheduling using crop water requirement calculations

Establishing irrigation scheduling requires knowledge about availability of water supply, crop water use
or evapotranspiration (ET), irrigation and effective rainfall, soil water-holding capacity and current
available soil moisture content. This information is the main factor to decide when to apply water and
how much water to apply. This often results in lower energy and water use and optimum crop yield, and
increases irrigation efficiency. The amount of water applied is determined by using a criterion to
determine irrigation need and a strategy to prescribe how much water to apply in any situation. The most
common irrigation criteria are soil moisture content and soil moisture tension. The value depends on the
type of crop. The value of MAD provided in Table 13 above may be consulted. As a rough guideline, for
many crops irrigation should start when soil water content drops below 50 % of the total available soil
moisture.
A water budget approach may be applied to schedule irrigations. In a water budget, the crop root zone is
visualized as a reservoir of available water. There are two factors adding to the reservoir, rainfall and
irrigation. Water is removed from the reservoir through crop water consumption, transpiration, and
evaporation from the soil surface. With this method we must calculate how much water is being taken out
of the soil to determine how much water has to be added to keep the moisture balance within the optimal
or acceptable range. The main requirement for scheduling irrigation with the water budget approach is
that accurate estimates are made of daily crop water use. The daily crop water use can be estimated from
crop data and maximum evapotranspiration rate derived from climatic data.
In order to be able to schedule irrigations, we need information about the cropping pattern, daily water
requirements of the different crops (ETc) at the different stages of their growth, root zone depth at the
different growth stages of each crop (RZD), available moisture content (AWC), management allowed
depletion level (MAD), and on-site rainfall data. The cropping pattern provides information about the
different crops, their rotation and the time of planting and harvesting. The ETc of each crop can be
calculated as described in Section 3 above. The RZD of each crop at the different stages of growth can be
derived preferably from local information or, in their absence, based on guideline values presented in
Section 5. The AWC is equal to the FC minus the PWP, and is usually determined through laboratory
analysis during the soil surveys. As explained earlier, the level of MAD depends on the crop and its stage
of growth as well as on the soil type and irrigation system. Rainfall data from a nearby rain gauge station
is also required.
Table 14: Irrigation schedule for few crops grown in Abu Dhabi (Source: Ali Alshrouf, ADFCA)
 Example 2.
Given: If the irrigation requirement of the citrus tree is 40 liters/day, pump operating hours is
2hrs/ day and dripper discharge is 10 liters/hour, estimate the number of drippers required
per citrus tree

Dripper Discharge per day of one dripper = 10 * 2 = 20 liters

Number of drippers required = water requirement per day /Discharge of one dripper
= 40/20 = 2 drippers of 10 liters/hour discharge

Irrigation frequency and duration have to be calculated for each crop of the existing cropping pattern and
a sound irrigation schedule has to be put together in order to irrigate all crops at the time and for the
duration they require the water. Once the irrigation schedule is known, simplifications can be introduced
in order to make the schedule practical and ‘user-friendly’ for the farmers, for example irrigation intervals
and irrigation duration can be made uniform over a period of 10 days. The rainfall can be taken into
consideration at the time the irrigation schedule is applied. By using a rain gauge and by recording the
amount of rainfall on a daily basis, this amount can be accounted for when calculating irrigation
applications. Therefore, the irrigation cycle is interrupted and a number of days are skipped, depending on
the amount of rainfall, the daily water requirements and the moisture to be replenished in the root zone
depth of the soil.

6.2 Irrigation interval or frequency

Irrigation frequency (IF) is defined as the frequency of applying water to a particular crop at a certain
stage of growth and is expressed in days. It is given by:
AWC∗MAD∗RZD
IF =
ETc
where IF is the irrigation frequency (days); AWC is the total available water content, equal to (FC –
PWP); MAD is the management allowed depletion and RZD is the root zone depth (m).

6.3 Irrigation Efficiency

Irrigation efficiency is the amount of water used to meet the crop water requirement and maintaining a
favorable salt balance to the volume of water diverted from a source (Michael, 2008).
Water conveyance efficiency is the term used to measure the efficiency of the conveyance systems and is
estimated as:
Wd
Ec=
Ws
Where Ec is the water conveyance efficiency in percentage; W d is the water delivered to the farm; W s is
the water supplied from the source.
Water application efficiency is the measure of how efficiently water is applied in the farm and is
estimated as:
W sr
Ea=
Wd

Where Ea is the water application efficiency in percentage; W sr is the water stored in the root zone; W d is
the water delivered to the farm.

Water distribution efficiency determines how uniformly water is distributed in the field and is estimated
as:

Ed= 1−( y
d )
∗100

Where Ed is the water distribution efficiency in percentage; y is the average depth of water stored during
irrigation; d is the average numerical deviation from y.

7 References
Abubaker, J., 2009, Irrigation Scheduling for Efficient Water Use in Dry Climates, M. Sc. Thesis,
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Burt CM and B. Isbell, 2005, Leaching of accumulated soil salinity under drip irrigation, Transactions of
the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, ITRC Paper No. P 05-001

Dourte, D, 2007, Crop Water Requirements and Irrigation Management of Southern Highbush
Blueberries, M. Sc. Thesis, University of Florida

FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper No. 24, 1977, Crop Water Requirements, J. Doorenbos and W. Pruitt

FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper No. 56, 1998, Crop Evapotranspiration, guidelines for computing
crop water requirements, R. Allen, L. Pereira, D. Raes, and M. Smith

FAO, 2002, Crop Water Requirements and Irrigation Scheduling, Module 4, developed by A. Savva and
K. Frenken.

Hatfield, J. 1990, Methods of estimating evapotranspiration. In: Stewart, B. A., & Nielsen, D. R. (editors)
Irrigation of Agricultural Crops: Agronomy 30. American Society of Agronomy. Madison

Hoffman, G., Howell, T. and Solomon, K., 1990. Management of farm irrigation system. American
Society of Agriculture Engineers. St. Joseph, Mi. (USA)

Larson, J.A. December 1981. "An Economic Analysis of Alternative Scheduling Methods," Ph.D.
Dissertation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska
Michael, A. M. 2008. Irrigation Theory and Practice, Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi.

Murphy, S. R., 2010, Tropical perennial grasses – root depths, growth and water use efficiency,
primefacts, www.industry.nsw.gov.au

Schwab, G., Fangmeier, D. and Elliot, W. 1995. Soil and water management systems. Publisher Wiley,
J., and Inc, S. ISBN-10: 0471109738. p 255-272

Soil and Water Research Center, Sultanate of Oman, 2007, Effects of Irrigation on the yield and water use
efficiency of Rhodes Grass in Batinah Region, Irrigation Research Lab, Agricultural and Livestock
Research, Annual Report 2007.

Waskom, R. M. 1994. Best management practices for irrigation management. Colorado State, University
Cooperative Extension. Bulletin #XCM-173