Irrigation Engineering I

Dr. Wesley K. Kirui

 Introduction
• Irrigation is the science of artificial application of water to land (plants) in
accordance with crop requirement throughout the cropping period.
• Irrigation - Process of artificial application of water to the soil for the growth of
agricultural crops.
• It is particularly a science of planning and designing a water supply system for
agricultural land to protect the crops from bad effect of drought or low rainfall.
• The scientific application of water artificially to the soil to make up the deficiency
of moisture under natural conditions for the profitable growth of crops, which
could not be assured otherwise through precipitation etc. Irrigation can also be
defined as the controlled application of water to arable land to supply crop
requirements of water not satisfied by rainfall.
• It is the branch of applied science, which deals about the ways and means adopted
by the irrigation engineer to bring irrigation water from its source of supply to an
agricultural land.
 Introduction
• There are three basic requirement for crop production: seed, soil and water. Water
appears to be the most essential and serves the following functions:
• Supplies moisture to the soil essential for the germination of seeds, and chemical
and bacterial processes during plant growth.
• Cools the soil and the surroundings thus making the environment more favourable
for plant growth.
• Washes out or dilutes salts in the soil.
• Softens clods and thus helps in tillage operations.
• Enables application of fertilisers.
• Reduces the adverse effects of frost on crops.
• Ensures crop success against short-duration droughts.
 Introduction
Water is one of the essential elements of human existence. It is not always possible
to get water supply from natural sources. Here comes the application of irrigation
supply. Irrigation is the man-made means of supplying water. The main objectives
of irrigation supply are given below:
• Ensure enough moisture essential for plant growth.
• Provide crop insurance against short duration drought.
• Cool the soil and atmosphere to provide a suitable surrounding.
• Wash out or dilute harmful salt, chemicals of the soil.
• Reduce hazards of soil piping.
• Soften the tillage pan.
 Importance of Irrigation Systems
Main importance of irrigation supplies is discussed below:
• Agriculture is often greatly hampered due to irregular, insufficient or uncertain
rain. Proper irrigation systems can secure uninterrupted agriculture.
• The productivity of irrigated land is more than the un-irrigated land. Crop yields
everywhere in the developing world are consistently higher in irrigated areas than
in rain-fed areas.
• Seeds cannot grow in dry soil as moisture is necessary for the germination of
seeds. With the help of irrigation supply, the required moisture content of soil for
the growth of seed can be ensured.
• Multiple cropping in a year is possible through irrigation. This will enhance
production & productivity.
• Through the irrigation, it is possible to supply the required amount of hydrogen &
oxygen, which is important for the proper development of plant root.
 Importance of Irrigation System
• A plant can absorb mineral nutrients from the irrigated soil. Thus irrigation is
essential for the general growth of the plant.
• Bringing more land under cultivation is possible through irrigation.
• Insufficient rain may also cause drought & famine. Irrigation can play a protective
role during the period of drought & famine.
• Irrigation contributes to the economic growth and poverty reduction. As income
and employment are closely related to output and irrigation increases production,
substantial increase in income is achieved in the countryside.
 Necessity of Irrigation
For proper growth to obtained good quantity and quality crop products adequate
amount of water is required. However during the growing season crops experience
inadequacy, therefore necessitating water supply to cropland.
• Insufficient rainfall: under such conditions the irrigation system is essential to
satisfy crops.
• Uneven distribution of rainfall: Rainfall may not be evenly distributed during the
crop growing season or throughout the cultivated area, irrigation is very
necessary.
• Improvement of perennial crop yield: Some crops such as sugarcane, tea etc
require water throughout the year, however rainfall fulfills the demand during the
rainy season only. Therefore, for remaining part of the year irrigation is necessary.
• Development of agriculture in the desert areas: In the desert, area where the
rainfall is very scanty, irrigation is required for the development of agriculture.
• Insurance of drought: Irrigation may not be required during the normal rainfall
condition and can be necessary during drought.
 Necessity of Irrigation
• The difference in water holding capacity of the soil plays important role in the
Necessity of Irrigation supply. For example, sandy soil requires frequent irrigation
than clay soil.
• An advanced scientific development like High Yielding Varieties Seeds (HYV)
demands irrigation. Actually, irrigation is the most important input for HYV.
 Benefits of Irrigation
A number of direct benefits of irrigation
are: Indirect benefits
• Increase in crop yield • Hydroelectric development
• Protection of famine • Flood control
• Improvement of cash crops • Domestic and industrial water supply
• Elimination of mixed cropping • Navigation
• Prosperity of farmers • Development of fishery
• Source of revenue • Ground water recharges
• Overall development of the nation
 Demerits of Irrigation
Irrigation use may have the following disadvantages if not proper designed and
managed.
• Raise in water table (leading to water logging)
• Formation of marshy area
• Dampness of weather result in breeding of mosquitoes causing outbreak of
malaria and dengu
• Loss of soil fertility
• Soil erosion
• Production of harmful gases
• Loss of valuable lands
• Water pollution
• Over irrigation may lead to water logging and low crop yield
 Types of Irrigation

Figure 1: Irrigation Types

• Lift Irrigation: Irrigation system in which irrigation water is available at a level
lower than that of the land to be irrigated and hence water is lifted by pumps or
other mechanism (Hydraulic ram and siphon action) and then conveyed to
agriculture fields by gravity flow. Irrigation through wells is an example of lift
irrigation. Water from canals or any other source can also be lifted when the level
of water is lower than that of the area to be irrigated.
• Inundation Irrigation: Irrigation system in which large quantity of water flowing
in a river is allowed to flood or inundate the fields to be cultivated. The land
becomes thoroughly saturated. Excess water is drained off and the land is
prepared for cultivation. Moisture stored in the soil is sufficient to bring the crop
to maturity. Inundation irrigation is commonly practiced in delta region of rivers.
Canals may be also employed to inundate the fields when water is available in
plenty.
• Perennial Irrigation: Irrigation system of which irrigation water is supplied as per
the crop requirements at regular intervals throughout the crop period. The
source of irrigation water may be a perennial river, stored water in reservoirs or
ground water drawn from open wells or bore wells. This is the most commonly
adopted irrigation system.
• Direct Irrigation: Flow irrigation in which water from rivers and streams are
conveyed directly to agricultural fields through a network of canals, without
making any attempt to store water. This is practiced in areas where the rivers and
streams are perennial. Small diversion dams or barrages may be constructed across
the rivers to raise the water level and then divert the water into canals.
• Storage Irrigation: Dams are constructed across rivers which are non- perennial.
The discharge in such rivers may be very high during rainy season and may
become less during dry period. By constructing dams across such rivers water can
be stored as reservour during excess flow and can be utilized or diverted to
agriculture fields through canals as and when required.
 Techniques of Irrigation Water Distribution

Figure 2: Water application methods

 Surface Irrigation
• Water is applied to the field in either the controlled or uncontrolled manner.
• Controlled: Water is applied from the head ditch and guided by corrugations,
furrows, borders, or ridges.
• Uncontrolled: Wild flooding.
• Surface irrigation is entirely practised where water is abundant. The low initial
cost of development is later offset by high labour cost of applying water. There
are deep percolation, runoff and drainage problems
 Methods of Irrigation
Surface irrigation method: In this method the irrigation water is applied by
spreading water as a sheet or as a small stream on the land to be irrigated. Various
surface irrigation methods that are practiced are listed as follows:
• Wild flooding: Water is applied by spreading it over the land to be irrigated
without any preparation. There is no restriction for the movement of water. It
follows the natural slope of the land. The water may be applied to the land directly
from a natural stream during season of high flow as in inundation irrigation. This
method is suitable for flat and smooth land but involves wastage of water and
hence it can be practiced where water is abundant and inexpensive.
• Controlled flooding: Water is applied by spreading it over the land to be irrigated
with proper control over the flow of water and as well as the quantity of water to
be applied. In such methods prior land preparation is essential. Various controlled
flooding methods are as follows.
• Free flooding (irrigation by plots). Here the field is divided into a number of small sized
plots which are practically level. Water is admitted at the higher end of the plots and the
water supply is cut off as soon as the water reaches the lower end of the plots.
 Methods of Irrigation
• Border strip method: Land to be irrigated is divided into a series of long narrow strips
separated from each other by levees (Earthen bunds) or borders. The width of the strips
varies between 10 to 20 m and the length of the strip varies between 60 to 300 m depending
upon the nature of the soil and rate of water supply. The strip of the land has no cross slope
and has uniform gentle slope in the longitudinal direction. This method is suitable for forage
crops requiring least labour. Mechanized farming can be adopted in this method.
• Checks or Levees: In this method a comparatively large stream of water discharged into a
relatively level plot surrounded by check or levees or low rise bunds. The checks are usually
30 cm high. The checks may be temporary for a single crop season or semi-permanent for
repeated used as in case of paddy fields. The size of the plots depends upon the discharge of
water and porosity of the soil. The usual size of the plot varies between 0.04 hectares to 0.05
hectares.
• Basin flooding: This method of irrigation is adopted for irrigating orchards (enclosures of
fruit trees). For each tree, a separate basin which is circular usually is made. However, in
some cases basins are made large to include two or more trees in each basin.
 Methods of Irrigation
• Furrow method: Irrigation water is applied to the land to be irrigated by a series of long
narrow field channels called furrows. A furrow is a narrow ditch 75 to 125 mm deep
excavated between rows of plants to carry irrigation water. The spacing of furrows depends
upon the spacing of the plants. The length of a furrow is usually 200 m. In this method only
one fifth to one half of the surface is wetted. The evaporation losses are very much reduced.

Figure 3: Furrow Irrigation

• Sub Surface Irrigation: This method consists of supplying water directly to the
root zone through ditches at a slow rate which are 0.5 m to 1 m deep and 25 to 50
cm wide. The ditches are spaced 50 to 100 m apart. Water seeps into the ground
and is available to the crop in the form of a capillary fringe. Proper drainage of
excess water is permitted either naturally or providing suitable drainage works,
thereby preventing water logging in fields. The favourable conditions to practice
subsurface conditions are:
• Availability of imperious subsoil at a reasonable depth (2 to 3m).
• Water table is present at shallow depth.
• Availability of moderate slope.
• Availability of good quality irrigation water.
 Methods of Irrigation
With the above favourable conditions and necessary precautions it is possible to
achieve higher yields at low cost.
Divided into:
• Natural Sub-irrigation – Leakage water from channels goes underground and
during passage through the sub-soil may irrigated crops sown on lower lands
through capillarity. When underground irrigation is achieved, simply by natural
processes, without any extra additional efforts it is termed natural sub-irrigation.
• Artificial sub-irrigation – when a system of opened drains is artificially laid below
the soil, so as to supply the water to crops by capillarity. It is expensive and
therefore is adopted at a low scale.
 Factors that influence the choice of Irrigation method
• Topography of the area (field)
• Cost involved in installation and maintenance
• Availability of water (quantity and quality)
• Water source (surface or ground)
 Sprinkler Irrigation
• Sprinkler supply water to the field by a Sprinkler head pr perforated pipe over the
land, No canal system is required, though initially it is costly as it required pumps
and pipe but highly economical and technically viable/feasible, the method is
more useful where :
Land cannot be prepared for surface method
Slope is excessive
Topography is irregular
Soil excessively permeable or impermeable
Depth of soil is shallow over gravel or sand.
Advantages
• Land grading leveling and canal are eliminated
• Erosion can be controlled
• Uniform application of water is possible
• Irrigation is better controlled, light irrigation is possible for seedling and plants
which are very young
 Sprinkler Irrigation
• Land preparation is not required
• Labor cost is reduced since no ditches or borders are required
• More land is available for cropping
• Surface runoff is eliminated
• Small streams of irrigation water can be used efficiently
• Time and amount of fertilizer application can be controlled
• Crop damage from temperature extremes can be reduced
• It can act as a standby drainage pumping plant.
Limitation (Disadvantages)
• Wind may distort sprinkler pattern
• A constant water supply is needed for commercial use of equipment
• Water must be clean and free from sand or other particle
• Power requirements for pumping is high
 Sprinkler Irrigation
• Heavy soil with low intake (infiltration rate) cannot be efficiently irrigated

Figure 4: Sprinkler Irrigation

Components of Sprinkler

Figure 5: Components of Sprinkler system

Types of Sprinklers
Fully portable system: The laterals, mains, sub-mains and the pumping plant are
all portable. The system is designed to be moved from one field to another or other
pumping sites that are in the same field.
Semi-portable system: Water source and pumping plant are fixed in locations.
• Other components can be moved.
• The system cannot be moved from field to field or from farm to farm except when
more than one fixed pumping plant is used.
Fully permanent system: Permanent laterals, mains, sub-mains as well as fixed
pumping plant.
• Sometimes laterals and mainlines may be buried.
• The sprinkler may be permanently located or moved along the lateral.
• It can be used on permanent irrigation fields and for relatively high value crops
e.g. Orchards and vineyards.
• Labour savings throughout the life of the system may later offset high installation
cost.
Figure 6: Sprinkler nozzles
 Sprinkler Layout

Figure 7: Sprinkler Layout

Figure 8: Parts of a Sprinkler Nozzle
• Drip or trickle irrigation: This is the latest irrigation method, which is becoming popular
in waters scarcity areas and water with salt problems. In this method, small diameter
plastic or PVC pipes with drip nozzles commonly called emitters or drippers are adopted
to deliver water to the land surface near the base of the plant. Water can be applied at
a rate varying between 2 to 10 liters per hour to keep the soil moisture within the
desired range for plant growth. The main components of a drip irrigation system are a
pumping unit, main pipelines, sub main pipe lines, lateral pipelines, emitters, pressure
gauges etc.
• Advantages of this method are:
• Excellent control over water application and efficiency as high as up to 95% can be achieved.
• Evaporation losses from land surface are minimum.
• Losses due to deep percolation can be avoided.
• Saline waters can be applied effectively.
• Water soluble fertilizers can be applied through drip irrigation.
• Disadvantages
• It involves large investment.
• Frequent blocking of nozzles takes place.
• Tilling operation may be obstructed
• Figure 9: Drip irrigation
 Physical Soil composition
• The suitability of soil for agricultural practices may be affected by physical and
chemical soil characteristics. Soil properties and qualities are important in design,
operation, and management of irrigation systems. The physical characteristics
include:
• Effective soil depth: The importance of having an adequate depth of soil for
storing sufficient amount of irrigation water and providing space for root
penetration cannot be over emphasised. The depth of the soil, which can be
exploited by crops, is very important in selecting soils for agricultural purpose.
Experience has shown that many irrigated crops produce excellent yields with a
well-drained effective root depth of 90 cm.
 Physical Soil composition
• Soil water Holding capacity – Refers to total water held by a soil. Not all water
held in the soil is available to crops or plants for root extraction. The water readily
available for plant use is called available water. This refers to the depth of water
that can be held in the soil and available for plants. A good soil from agricultural
point of view should have a very good water holding capacity. Clay soils have
large water holding capacity, because drainage water is high in these soils. Ideally,
loam soils are the best in this regard. Since in sandy soils an application loss are
high and in clay soils drainage and aeration is difficult.
• Available Water Capacity – Water available to plants that a soil can store. It is a
term used to express the amount of water held by soil available for use by most
crops.
• Available water. It is the moisture content of the soil between field capacity and
wilting point. Available water refers to the water in the soil that is available to the
plants. Most plants, however, feel stressed to extract water from the soil when
50% of the available water has been depleted.
• Depend on crop rooting system (Depth of roots), and several soil characteristics
• Volume unit as inches of water per inch or per foot of soil depth
• Gravimetric percent by weight
• Percent on a volume basis
• Non-capillary porosity: - High values of non- capillary porosity is desirable,
because lower values of porosity and high values of bulk density hinders root
development and expansion.
 Physical Soil composition
• Soil-water potential – Soil-water potential is a more correct way to define water
available to plants. It is the amount of work required per unit quantity of water to
transport water in soil. In the soil, water moves continuously in the direction of
decreasing potential energy or from higher water content to lower water content.
The concept of soil-water potential replaces arbitrary gravitational, capillary, and
hygroscopic terms. Total water potential consists of several components. It is the
sum of matric, solute, gravitational, and pressure potential. The soil-water
potential concept will become more integrated into field procedures as new
procedures evolve. For practical reasons, the terms and concepts of field capacity
and permanent wilting point are maintained. Units of bars and atmospheres are
generally used to express suction, tension, stress, or potential of soil water.
 Physical Properties of Soil
• The permeability of soils with respect to air, water, and roots are as important to
the growth of crop as an adequate supply of nutrients and water. The permeability
of a soil depends on the porosity and the distribution of pore spaces which, in turn,
are decided by the texture and structure of the soil.
• Texture: Soil texture is determined by the size of soil particles. Is the weight
percentage of the mineral matters that occurs in each of the specified size fraction
of the soil. It is the relative proportions of sand silt and clay, (Particles sized
groups smaller than gravel i.e. < 2 mm in diameter). It is the number and sizes of
its mechanical particles after all compounds holding them together have been
destroyed. Loamy soils are the best texture for agriculture. Deviation either into
sandy or clayey texture will reduce the value of the land for agriculture. The
texture of a soil affects the flow of water, aeration of soil, and the rate of chemical
transformation all of which are important for plant life. The texture also
determines the water holding capacity of the soil. In fine textured soils and soils
affected by salinity, sodicity, or other chemicals, a considerable volume of soil
water may not be available for plant use.
Figure 10: Soil textural Triangle
Soil Structure: Refers to the manner in which primary soil particles are arranged
into aggregates. Soil structure determines the total porosity, the shape of
individual pores and their size distribution, hence it affects:
• Retention & transmission of fluids in the soil
• Germination
• Root growth
• Tillage
• Erosion etc.
The term porosity is used to measure the pore space and is defined as the ratio of
the volume of voids (i.e., air and water-filled space) to the total volume of soil
(including water and air).
• Soil Consistence: Is the resistance of the soil to deformation or rupture. It is
determined by the cohesive and adhesive properties of the entire soil mass.
Structure deals with size, shape and distinctness of natural soil aggregates, and
consistence deals with strength and nature of the force between particles. It is
important for tillage or traffic consideration.
 Soil Physical Properties Influencing Irrigation
• Colloidal Material - The smaller particles (< 0.001 mm) of clay and similar sized
organic particles) have colloidal properties and can be seen with an electronic
microscope.
• The colloidal particles have a very large area per unit weight so there are enough
surface charges to which water and ions can be attracted. These charges make
them adhere together. Humus improves the water holding capacity of the soil.
• Soil is a three phase system comprising of: Solid phase – Mineral and organic
matter, and various chemical compounds; Liquid phase – soil moisture; Gaseous
phase – soil air, additionally soil contains numerous living organisms, the most
important soil properties affecting soil are infiltration characteristics and water
holding capacity. Other soil properties such as soil texture, soil structure, capillary
conductivity, soil profile conditions and depth of water table also influence
irrigation to some extent.
 Chemical soil Properties
• For satisfactory crop yield, soils must have sufficient plant nutrients, such as
nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, iron, oxygen, potassium, phosphorus, sulphur,
magnesium, and so on. Nitrogen is the most important of all the nutrients.
Nitrogenous matter is supplied to the soil from barnyard manure or from the
growing of legume crops as green manures, or from commercial fertilisers. Plants
absorb nitrogen in the form of soluble nitrates.
• Soils having excess (greater than 0.15 to 0.20 per cent) soluble salts are called
saline soils and those having excess of exchangeable sodium (more than 15 per
cent or pH greater than 8.5) are called alkaline (or sodic) soils. Excessive amounts
of useful plant nutrients such as sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate may become
toxic to plants. Saline soils delay or prevent crop germination and also reduce the
amount and rate of plant growth because of the high osmotic pressures which
develop between the soil-water solution and the plants. These pressures adversely
affect the ability of the plant to absorb water.
• Alkaline (or sodic) soils tend to have inferior soil structure due to swelling of the
soil particles. This changes the permeability of the soil.
 Chemical soil Properties
• Soils become saline or alkaline largely on account of the chemical composition of
rocks weathering of which resulted in the formation of soils. Sufficient application
of water to the soil surface through rains or irrigation helps in carrying away the
salts from the root-zone region of the soil to the rivers and oceans.
• Saline and alkaline soils can be reclaimed by: (i) adequate lowering of water
table, (ii) leaching out excess salts, and (iii) proper management of soil so that the
amount of salt carried away by the irrigation water is more than the amount
brought in by irrigation water.
 pH Value
• Soil Reaction (pH): is a measure of its acidity or alkalinity. It is a measure of the
concentration of hydrogen ion in a soil. Mathematically,

 1 
pH  log10   
H 

• Excessively low or high pH values are not good for proper growth and adequate
yield production as they bring about acidity or alkalinity in the soil. In general, in
any ecosystem, (a farm, forest, regional water shed etc.) soils have five key roles
 Management Allowable Deficit
• Total available water, TAW
The soil moisture between field capacity and permanent wilting point is called
available water. This is the water available for plant use. Fine-grained soils
generally have a wider range of available moisture than course textured soil.

• The degree to which the volume of water in the soil is allowed to deplete before
the next irrigation is applied. That is portion of the available moisture, which is
easily extracted by the plant roots. It is commonly 60 – 80 % of the available
water.
MAD = f. TAW,
• f depends on type of crop and Crop growing stage
 SOIL–WATER RELATIONSHIPS
• Soil consist of solids, air and water. Therefore for any given volume of soil, it
consists of solid volume VS, Air volume Va and water volume Vw. The void ratio e,
the porosity n, the volumetric moisture content w, and the saturation S are
defined as:
•

Figure 11: Soil Phases

Figure 12: Soil water plant relationship
• It should be noted that the value of porosity n is always less than 1.0. But, the
value of void ratio e may be less, equal to, or greater than 1.0. Further, if the
weight of water in a wet soil sample is Ww and the dry weight of the dry weight
moisture fraction, W is expressed as:

• The bulk density (or the bulk specific weight or the bulk unit weight) γb of a soil
mass is the total weight of the soil (including water) per unit bulk volume, i.e.,

In which,
• The specific weight (or the unit weight) of the solid particles is the ratio of dry
weight of the soil particles Ws to the volume of the soil particles Vs, i.e., Ws/Vs.
Thus,
• and

• thus

• Here, γw is the unit weight of water and Gb and Gs are, respectively, the bulk
specific gravity of soil and the relative density of soil grains. Further,

• Therefore,

•
• And

• Considering a soil of root-zone depth d and surface area A (i.e., bulk volume = Ad)

• Therefore, the dry weight moisture fraction,

• Therefore, the volume of water in the root-zone soil,

• This volume of water can also be expressed in terms of depth of water which
would be obtained when this volume of water is spread over the soil surface area
A.
Depth of water, or or

• Example 1:
If the water content of a certain saturated soil sample is 22 per cent and the specific
gravity is 2.65, determine the saturated unit weight γsat, dry unit weight γd, porosity
n and void ratio e.
Given; Water content = 22%; Specific gravity = 2.65

Solution

and ;
And
• And therefore

• Total volume
V  Vs  0.583Vs  1.583Vs
• V 0.583Vs
n  100  36.83%
V 1.583Vs
• Since Vv = Vw; because the soil sample is saturated

• And e
Vv 0.583Vs
 100  58.3%
Vs Vs
• The total weight;

• since γw = 9810 N/m3

Assignment 1: A moist clay sample weighs 0.54 N. Its volume is 36 cm3. After
drying in an oven for 24 hours, it weighs 0.49 N. Assuming specific gravity of clay
as 2.64, compute the porosity n, degree of saturation S, original moist unit weight,
and dry unit weight.

Assignment 2: A moist soil sample has a volume of 480 cm3 in the natural state
and a weight of 7.90N. The dry weight of the soil is 7.35 N and the relative density
of the soil particles is 2.64. Determine the porosity, soil moisture content,
volumetric moisture content, and degree of saturation.
 ROOT-ZONE SOIL WATER
•Soil absorbs and holds water in much the same way as a sponge.
•A given texture and volume of soil will hold a given amount of moisture.
•The intake rate of the soil will influence the rate at which water can be applied.
•The ability of soil to hold moisture, and amount of moisture it can hold, will greatly
affect the irrigation operational schedule
Water serves the following useful functions in the process of plant growth:
• Germination of seeds,
• All chemical reactions,
• All biological processes,
• Absorption of plant nutrients through their aqueous solution,
• Temperature control,
• Tillage operations, and
•Washing out or dilution of salts.
Crop growth (or yield) is directly affected by the soil moisture content in the root zone.
The root zone is the volume of soil or fractured rock occupied by roots of the plants from
which plants can extract water. Both excessive water and deficient water in the root-zone
soil retard crop growth and reduce the crop yield.
Soil water can be divided into three categories:
• Gravity water - Water which drains away under the influence of gravity or water that
moves into, through, or out of the soil by gravity or Drains rapidly from the soil and is
not readily available to be used by plants. Soon after irrigation (or rainfall) this water
remains in the soil and saturates the soil, thus preventing circulation of air in void
spaces.
• Capillary water - Water held within soil pores due to the surface tension forces (against
gravity) which act at the liquid-vapour (or water-air) interface or Moisture that is held in
the pore spaces of the soil and can be used by plants.
• Hygroscopic water - Water attached to soil particles through loose chemical bonds or
The moisture held tightly in the soil to be used by plants. This water can be removed by
heat only. But, the plant roots can use a very small fraction of this moisture under
drought conditions.
When an oven-dry (heated to 105°C for zero per cent moisture content) soil sample is
exposed to atmosphere, it takes up some moisture called hygroscopic moisture. If more
water is made available, it can be retained as capillary moisture due to surface tension
(i.e., intermolecular forces). Any water, in excess of maximum capillary moisture, flows
down freely and is the gravitational (or gravity) water.
• Soil water constants
• Field capacity of a soil - The moisture content of a deep, permeable, and well-
drained soil several days after a thorough wetting or the maximum amount of
water left in the soil after losses of water to the forces of gravity have ceased and
before surface evaporation begins. Field capacity is measured in terms of the
moisture fraction, Wfc = (Ww/Ws) of the soil when, after thorough wetting of the
soil, free drainage (at rapid rate) has essentially stopped and further drainage, if
any, occurs at a very slow rate.
• This condition corresponds to a surface tension of one-tenth bar (in case of sandy
soils) to one-third bar (in case of clayey soils). Obviously, the field capacity
depends on porosity and soil moisture tension. The volumetric moisture content at
the field capacity wfc becomes equal to Gb Wfc.
• Plants are capable of extracting water from their root-zone soil to meet their
transpiration demands. But, absence of further addition to the soil moisture may
result in very low availability of soil water and under such a condition the water is
held so tightly in the soil pores that the rate of water absorption by plants may not
meet their transpiration demands and the plants may either wilt or even die, if not
supplied with water immediately and well before the plants wilt.
• Permanent wilting point - The soil moisture fraction, Wwp at which the plant
leaves wilt (or droop) permanently and applying additional water after this stage
will not relieve the wilted condition or represents the boundary between capillary
water and hygroscopic water. The soil moisture tension at this condition is around
15 bars. The moisture content at the permanent wilting condition will be higher in
a hot climate than in a cold climate. Similarly, the percentage of soil moisture at
the permanent wilting point of a plant will be larger in clayey soil than in sandy
soil. The permanent wilting point is, obviously, at the lower end of the available
moisture range and can be approximately estimated by dividing the field capacity
by a factor varying from 2.0 (for soils with low silt content) to 2.4 (for soils with
high silt content).
• The permanent wilting point also depends upon the nature of crop. The volumetric
moisture content at the permanent wilting point, wwp becomes Gb Wwp. Figure 13
shows different stages of soil moisture content in a soil and the corresponding
conditions.
• Saturation capacity
• When all the micro and macro pore spaces are filled with water, the soil is said to
have reached its saturation capacity. At field capacity, the water is held loosely and
tensions are almost negligible. Thus, plants will not have any difficulty in
extracting moisture from soil.
 SOIL-WATER RELATIONS

• Figure 13: Stages of Soil Moisture

Figure 14: Effect of Textural heaviness in water moisture availability
• FigureTh
• Figure 16: Available water depletion
 Available Water

Soil Texture Range Average

in./in. in./in.

Very coarse-textured sands and

fine sands 0.04-0.08 0.06

Coarse-textured loamy sands

and loamy fine sands 0.06-0.10 0.08

Moderately coarse-textured

sandy loams and fine sandy loams 0.10-0.15 0.13

Medium textured very fine sandy loams,

loam and silt loams 0.13-0.19 0.16

Moderately fine-textured sandy clay loams,

clay loams, and silty clay loams 0.15-0.21 0.18

Fine-textured sandy clays, silty clays,

and clay 0.13-0.21 0.17

Reference: USDA, NRCS, Engineering Field Manual
Available for each soil group by soil horizon from
NRCS Soil Surveys
• Available moisture - Difference in the moisture content of soil between its field
capacity and the permanent wilting point within the root zone of the plants. It
represents the maximum moisture which can be stored in the soil for plant use. It
should be noted that the soil moisture content near the wilting point is not easily
extractable by the plants. Hence, the term readily available moisture is used to
represent that fraction of the available moisture which can be easily extracted by
the plants. Readily available moisture is approximately 75% of the available
moisture. The total available moisture dt (in terms of depth) for a plant (or soil) is
given by

• Where d is the depth of the root zone.

• Soil moisture vary between the field capacity and the permanent wilting point.
However, depending upon the prevailing conditions, soil moisture can be allowed
to be depleted below the field capacity (but not below the permanent wilting
point), before the next irrigation is applied.
• Management allowed deficit (MAD) - Permissible amount of depletion, which
primarily depends on the type of crop and its stage of growth. Thus,
 MAD  f m  d t

where, fm is less than 1 and depends on crop and its stage of growth. At a time
when the soil moisture content is w, the soil-moisture deficit Ds is given as

• Example 1 – For the data in Table 3, calculate the total available water and the
moisture deficit:
Table 3: Soil moisture data
• Solution tabulated in Table 4.
• Table 4: Solution for example 1

• Example 2- the field capacity and permanent wilting point for a given 0.8 root-
zone soil are 35 and 10 percent, respectively. At a given time, the soil moisture in
the given soil is 20 per cent when a farmer irrigates the soil with 250 mm depth
of water. Assuming bulk specific gravity of the soil as 1.6, determine the amount
of water wasted from the consideration of irrigation.
• At the time of application

• Soil moisture deficit

Ds  W fc  W  d  Gb
 0.35  0.20   0.8 1.6
 0.192 m

Therefore, amount of water wasted

 0.250  0.192  0.58 m

• What percentage is wasted?

Figure : Soil Characteristics
 Infiltration
• Infiltration is the entry of water into the soil or the movement of water from the
surface into the soil. It is a very important variable in irrigation design since it
shows the rate at which water can move into the soil mass to replenish the root
zone. Infiltration affects surface irrigation and not only controls the amount of
water entering the soil but also the overland flow.
• Infiltration rate of a soil is the maximum rate at which water will enter the soil
mass through the surface. It has the dimension of velocity. The actual rate at
which water is entering the soil is infiltration capacity.
• Infiltration rates decreases during irrigation. The rate of decrease is rapid initially
and infiltration rate tends to approach constant value. The nearly constant rate that
develops after some time has elapsed from the start of irrigation is basic
infiltration rate (Figure 10).
• Infiltration rates into soils depend on soil texture and structure, density, organic
matter content, hydraulic conductivity (permeability) and porosity.
• Accumulated infiltration (cumulative infiltration) is the total quantity of water
that enters the soil in a given time. Infiltration rate and cumulative infiltration are
the parameters used in evaluating the infiltration characteristics of the soil. For
design purposes the relationship between infiltration and elapsed time is
expressed by equation 10.
• y  at 
• y  at   b t  0 …………………………………(10)

• Where y is accumulated infiltration in time t, cm; t elapsed time or infiltration

opportunity time, a, α and b are characteristic constants. The values of a, α and b
usually range between 0 and 1.
• Field experimental data on accumulated infiltration versus time, when plotted on
an ordinary c-ordinated paper, give a parabolic curve (Figure 16). On log-log
paper a linear relationship is achieved (Figure 17).
 Infiltration

Figure 16: Variation of infiltration rate I and accumulative infiltration with time, and Soil
Moisture Profile during Ponded Irrigation
• Figure 16: Cumulated infiltration versus time
• Infiltration rate at any time t is obtained by differentiating equation (10)

y  at   b
• dy
………………………………………………(11)
 at  1
dt
 Infiltration
• The saturated zone extending up to about 1.5 cm below the surface and having a
saturated water content.
• The transition zone which is about 5 cm thick and is located below the saturated
zone. In this zone, a rapid decrease in water content occurs.
• The transmission zone in which the water content varies slowly with depth as
well as time.
• The wetting zone in which sharp decrease in water content is observed.
• The wetting front is a region of very steep moisture gradient. This represents the
limit of moisture penetration into the soil

Table 3, lists the ranges of porosity, field capacity, permanent wilting point, and
basic infiltration rate (or permeability) for different soil textures.
Table 3: Soil Properties
 Factors Affecting Infiltration Rate
Infiltration is a complex process which depends on:
• Soil properties (soil texture, porosity),
• Initial soil moisture content (antecedent moisture content),
• Condition of the soil surface
• Degree of swelling colloids
• Previous wetting history,
• Permeability and its changes due to surface water movement,
• Cultivation practices,
• Type of crop being sown, and
• Climatic effects.
• Viscosity of water
 Infiltration measurement
Methods for estimating infiltration characteristics of soil for design of irrigation are:
• Cylinder infiltrometers
• Measurement of subsidence of free water in a large basin
• Estimation of accumulated infiltration from the water front advance data
Cylinder infiltrometers are the most commonly used for infiltration measurement.
Infiltration is determined by ponding water in a metal cylinder installed on the field
surface and observing the rate at which water level is lowered in the cylinder. The use of
two cylinders was adopted to controlled lateral movement of water. The inner cylinder
which is used to measure the infiltration is 30 cm in diameter and the outer is 60 cm.
Normally the cylinders are installed 10 cm deep in the soil.
Infiltration rates observed by cylinder infiltrometers are influenced by:
• Cylinder diameter
• Thickness of the cylinder
• Bevelling of the cylinder bottom
• Method of driving the cylinder into the soil
• The installation depth
•The variability of data caused by ring placement could be overcome greatly by leaving
the cylinders in place over a long period during a series of measurements.
 Infiltration measurement
• The double infiltrometer
 Measurement of soil moisture
• Soil moisture measurement is important in irrigation scheduling and estimating the
amount of water to apply in each irrigation. Measurement of changes in soil
moisture is important in estimating evapotranspiration.
• Principal methods expressing soil moisture are:
• Amount of water in a given amount of soil
• Stress or tension under which the water is held in the soil
Expressing amount of soil moisture
•Soil moisture on weight basis is given as:
Weight of moist sample  Weight oven dry sample
Soil moisture content , percent by weight   100
Weight oven dry sample

•This may not indicate the amount of water available to plants, unless the soil
moisture characteristics curve or field capacity and permanent wilting point are
known.
• To overcome, the moisture content is expressed in terms of volume. The
conversion from weight to volume units is made by multiplying the percentage
weight by weight times the bulk density of the soil under study:
Moisture content ,  Moisture content ,  Bulk density
per cent by volume per cent by weight
• The product above is numerically equal to cm of water per metre depth of soil
depth.

Gravimetric Method of Soil Moisture Measurement

• Basic soil moisture measurement is made on soil samples of known weight or
volume. Soil samples are collected a soil auger or sampling tube. Samples are
taken from the desired depth at several location for each soil type.
• The sample soil is oven dried at 105 °C for about 24 hours, until all the moisture is
driven out. Then after removing it is cool slowly to room temperature and then
weight. The difference in weight is the amount of moisture soil.
• Example-Undisturbed soil was collected from the field two days after irrigation
when the soil moisture was nearly field capacity. The inside dimension of the core
sampler were 7.5 cm diameter and 15 cm deep. Weight of the core sampling
cylinder with moist soil was 2.76 kg and the weight with oven dry soil was 2.61
kg. The weight of the core sampling cylinder was 1.56 kg. Determine the available
moisture holding capacity of the soil and the water depth in centimetres per
metre depth of soil.

• Solution
• Weight of moist soil = 2.76 – 1.56 = 1.20 kg
• Weight of oven dry soil = 2.61 – 1.56 = 1.05 kg

1.20  1.05
Moisture content  100  14.29%
1.05
• Volume of core sampler
d 2 h 
  7.52  15  662.68 cm3
4 4

• Apparent specific gravity

Weight of dry soil in grams


Volume of soil
1.05  1000
  1.58
662.28

• Available moisture holding capacity

•  Apparent specific gravity  Moiture content
1.58 14.29  22.58 cm per metre depth of soil
• Tensionmeter
• Pressure membrane and pressure plate technique
• Measurement of solute (Osmotic) potential
• Electrical resistance
• Calibrations of blocks
• Neutron moisture meter
 Irrigation Crop water Requirement
• The plant roots suck or extract water from the soil to live and grow. The main part
of this water does not remain in the plant, but escapes to the atmosphere as vapour
through the plant's leaves and stem. This process is called transpiration.
Transpiration happens mainly during the day time.
• Water from an open water surface escapes as vapour to the atmosphere during the
day. The same happens to water on the soil surface and to water on the leaves and
stem of a plant. This process is called evaporation (Fig. 17).
• The water need of a crop thus consists of transpiration plus evaporation.
Therefore, the crop water need is also called "evapotranspiration".
• The water need of a crop is usually expressed in mm/day, mm/month or
mm/season.
 Irrigation Crop water Requirement
• Suppose the water need of a certain crop in a very hot, dry climate is 10 mm/day.
This means that each day the crop needs a water layer of 10 mm over the whole
area on which the crop is grown (Fig. 5). It does not mean that this 10 mm has to
indeed be supplied by rain or irrigation every day.
• It is, of course, still possible to supply, for example, 50 mm of irrigation water
every 5 days. The irrigation water will then be stored in the root zone and
gradually be used by the plants: every day 10 mm.
 Factors Influencing Crop Water Need
• The crop water need mainly depends on: Climate - For example, in a sunny and
hot climate crops need more water per day than in a cloudy and cool climate; Crop
type - Crops like rice or sugarcane need more water than crops like beans and
wheat; Growth stage - grown crops need more water than crops that have just been
planted.

•
• Figure 17: Evaporation, transpiration, evapotranspiration
 Irrigation Crop Requirement
THE INFLUENCE OF THE CLIMATE ON
CROP WATER NEEDS
• A certain crop grown in a sunny and hot climate
needs per day more water than the same crop
grown in a cloudy and cooler climate. There are,
however - apart from sunshine and temperature -
other climatic factors which influence the crop
water needs. These factors are humidity and wind
speed (Figure 18). When it is dry, the crop water
needs are higher than when it is humid. In windy
climates the crops will use more water than in calm
climates.
• Effects of the four factors on crop water needs are
summarized in Table 4. Figure 18: Major climate factors influencing
crop water needs
 Irrigation Crop Requirement
• The highest crop water needs are thus found in areas which are hot, dry, windy
and sunny. The lowest values are found when it is cool, humid and cloudy with
little or no wind.
• Thus, one crop grown in different climatic zones will have different water needs.
For example, a certain bean variety grown in a cool climate will need less water
per day than the same bean variety grown in a hotter climate.
Table 4: Climate factors influencing water crop needs
Climate Factors Crop water need
High Low
Sunshine Sunny (No clouds) Cloudy (no sun)
Temperature Hot Cool
Humidity Low (Dry) High (humid)
Wind speed Windy Little wind
 Irrigation Crop Requirement
• The influence of the climate on crop water needs is given by the reference crop
evapotranspiration (ETo). The ETo is usually expressed in millimetres per unit of
time, e.g. mm/day, mm/month, or mm/season. Grass has been taken as the
reference crop.
• ETo is the rate of evapotranspiration from a large area, covered by green grass, 8 to
15 cm tall, which grows actively, completely shades the ground and which is not
short of water.
• The concept of the reference evapotranspiration was introduced to study the
evaporative demand of the atmosphere independently of crop type, crop
development and management practices.
• As water is abundantly available at the reference evapotranspiring surface, soil
factors do not affect ET. Therefore, climatic factors only influence the ET.
 Irrigation Crop Requirement
• Weather elements influence crop ET, and hence crop water demand. The ET
depends upon several weather elements such as temperature, humidity, solar
radiation, sunshine hour, wind speed, etc. Crop water demand is also influenced
by rainfall. The weather elements affect ET in the following ways:
• Temperature
• Warming causes drier air and hence more ET. Increase in temperature affects ET
primarily by increasing the capacity of air to hold water vapor and potential
gradient.
• Humidity
• Humidity is a measure of water vapor in the air. The vapor pressure deficit of the
air measures its dryness. When the air is dry (i.e., relative humidity is low), more
ET is likely to occur. Saturation pressure increases exponentially with increasing
temperature. An increase in relative humidity would have the opposite effects.
 Irrigation Crop Requirement
• Solar Radiation
• Increased solar radiation (as a result of decreased cloudiness) would increase ET.
An increase in cloudiness (caused by increased evaporation and ET) would have
the opposite effects.
• Wind Speed
• Because of ET, the air surrounding the crop canopy becomes close to saturation.
The process of vapor removal depends, to a large extent, on wind and air
turbulence, which transfers large quantities of air over the evaporating surface.
Higher wind speed can increase ET, depending upon the other weather factors,
humidity and the plant/crop characteristics, particularly stomatal resistance.
Increase in wind speed could also results in higher dust content in the
atmosphere, which in turn leads to lower incoming solar radiation.
 Irrigation Crop Requirement
• Sunshine Hour
• There is a relationship between sunshine hour and incoming solar radiation. If the
other weather factors remain unchanged, the increased sunshine hour likely to
increase net solar radiation and hence, contribute to more ET.
 Irrigation Crop Requirement
Table 5: Average daily water needs of reference grass crop during irrigation period
Climatic Zone Mean Daily Temperature
Low Medium High
Less than 15°C (15-25°C) (more than 25°C)
Desert/Arid 4-6 7-8 9-10
Semi arid 4-5 6-7 8-9
Sub-humid 3-4 5-6 7-8
Humid 1-2 3-4 5-6

• For example, the standard grass crop grown in a semi-arid climate with a mean
temperature of 20°C needs approximately 6.5 mm of water per day. The same
grass crop grown in a sub-humid climate with a mean temperature of 30°C needs
some 7.5 mm of water per day.
 Irrigation Crop Requirement
• Relating ET to a specific surface provides a reference to which ET from other
surfaces can be related. It obviates the need to define a separate ET level for each
crop and stage of growth. ET0 values measured or calculated at different locations
or in different seasons are comparable as they refer to the ET from the same
reference surface. ETo is affected only by climatic parameters.
• It expresses the evaporating power of the atmosphere at a specific location and
time of the year and does not consider the crop characteristics and soil factors.
• The FAO Penman Monteith method is recommended as the sole method for
determining ETo.
• The method has been selected because it closely approximates grass ETo at the
location evaluated, is physically based, and explicitly incorporates both
physiological and aerodynamic parameters.
 Irrigation Crop Requirement
• The crop evapotranspiration under standard conditions, denoted as ETc, is the
evapotranspiration from disease-free, well-fertilized crops, grown in large fields,
under optimum soil water conditions, and achieving full production under the
given climatic conditions.
 Crop Factors
The influence of the crop type on the crop water needs:
• Important in two ways:
• Crop type has an influence on the daily water needs of a fully grown crop; i.e. the
peak daily water needs: a fully developed maize crop will need more water per
day than a fully developed crop of onions.
• Crop type has an influence on the duration of the total growing season of the
crop. There are short duration crops, e.g. peas, with a duration of the total
growing season of 90 - 100 days and longer duration crops, e.g. melons, with a
duration of the total growing season of 120 - 160 days. Then there are, of course,
the perennial crops that are in the field for many years, such as fruit trees.
• While, for example, the daily water need of melons may be less than the daily
water need of peas, the seasonal water need of melons will be higher than that
of beans because the duration of the total growing season of melons is much
longer.
• The influences of the crop type on both the daily and seasonal crop water needs
are discussed in the sections below.
 Irrigation Crop Requirement
• Crop Factor
• Different crops use different amount of water during its growing period. Crop
factors influencing crop water requirement include the following:
• Type of crop
• Cultivar/species
• Growing stage
• Leaf area
• Leaf type, stomatal behavior
• Root length, root density
 Irrigation Crop Requirement
• Due to difference in growth pattern, different crops or even different cultivar of
the same crop show different evapotranspiration demand.
• Length of crop duration has a direct effect on total water requirement. A wheat
variety with maturity period of 150 days will use more water than 120 days
variety.
• Crop planting time or the season has an impact on crop water demand due to
differential energy pattern for evapotranspiration. Some crops are grown both in
rainy and dry season. Dry season crop will surely need more water than that of
wet season.
• Younger plants require less water than the mature one.
• Besides, leaf area (evaporative surface) and stomatal closure behavior influence
on ET. Under similar environmental condition, a plant having little leaf area and
root system would require much less water than a plant having higher leaf area
and dense root system.
 Irrigation Crop Requirement
• In addition, crop population may influence ET demand – decrease in population
will result in less ET. Other factors determining total crop water requirement are
growing season and length of growing period.

• Figure :Typical pattern of ET demand during the growth period of cereal crop
 Calculating Crop water Requirement
• Crop water requirement can be calculated from the climate and crop data. Crop
water requirement for a given crop, i, for the whole growing season:

• where CWRi is the crop water requirement for the growing period, in mm, ETi is
the crop evapotranspiration for the growing period, in mm, t is the time interval in
days, m is the days to physiological maturity from sowing or transplanting (total
effective crop growth period), in numbers, ET0t is the reference crop
evapotranspiration of the location concern for the day t, in mm, and Kct is the crop
coefficient for the time t day.
• All quantities are expressed in the same unit (in terms of volume of water per unit
area, or equivalent depth units) during the period considered.
 Irrigation Crop Requirement
• In the previous section it has been indicated how the daily water need of
standard grass can be estimated. In this section it will be explained how the daily
water needs of other crops can be estimated using as a basis the daily water need
of the standard grass.
• It will be easy to understand that a fully grown maize crop - with its large leaf
area - will use more water per day than, for example, a fully grown crop of
radishes or onions; that is when the two crops are grown in the same area.
• When determining the influence of the crop type on the daily crop water needs,
reference is always made to a fully grown crop; the plants have reached their
maximum height; they optimally cover the ground; they possibly have started
flowering or started grain setting. When the crops are fully grown their water
need is the highest. It is the so-called "peak period" of their water needs.
 Irrigation Crop Requirement
Influence of Crop Type on the Seasonal Crop Water Needs
• The crop type not only has an influence on the daily water need of a fully grown
crop, i.e. the daily peak water need, but the crop type also has an influence on the
duration of the total growing season of the crop, and thus on the seasonal water need.
• Data on the duration of the total growing season of the various crops grown in an area
can best be obtained locally. From extension offices or Ministry of Agriculture, seed
suppliers.
• Duration of the total growing season has great influence on the seasonal crop water
need. For example, many rice varieties, some with short growing cycle (90 days) and
others with a long growing cycle (150 days). This has a strong influence on the seasonal
rice water needs: a rice crop which is in the field for 150 days will need in total much
more water than a rice crop which is only in the field for 90 days.
• For the two rice crops the daily peak water need may still be the same, but the 150 day
crop will need this daily amount for a longer period. The time of the year during which
crops are grown is also very important. A certain crop variety grown during the cooler
months will need substantially less water than the same crop variety grown during
the hotter months.
 Irrigation Crop Requirement
• INFLUENCE OF THE GROWTH STAGE OF THE CROP ON CROP WATER NEEDS
• A fully grown maize crop will need more water than a maize crop which has just
been planted.
• As has been discussed before, the crop water need or crop evapotranspiration
consists of transpiration by the plant and evaporation from the soil and plant
surface. When the plants are very small the evaporation will be more important
than the transpiration. When the plants are fully grown the transpiration is more
important than the evaporation.
• At planting and during the initial stage, the evaporation is more important than
the transpiration and the evapotranspiration or crop water need during the initial
stage is estimated at 50 percent of the crop water need during the mid - season
stage, when the crop is fully developed.
• During the so-called crop development stage the crop water need gradually
Increases from 50 percent of the maximum crop water need to the maximum
crop water need. The maximum crop water need is reached at the end of the
crop development stage which is the beginning of the mid-season stage.
 Irrigation Crop Requirement
• With respect to the late season stage, which is the period during which the crop
ripens and is harvested, a distinction can be made between two groups of crops:
• Fresh harvested crops: such as lettuce, cabbage, etc. With these crops the crop
water need remains the same during the late season stage as it was during the
mid-season stage. The crops are harvested fresh and thus need water up to the
last moment.
• Dry harvested crops: such as cotton, maize (for grain production), sunflower, etc.
During the late season stage these crops are allowed to dry out and sometimes
even die. Thus their water needs during the late season stage are minimal. If the
crop is indeed allowed to die, the water needs are only some 25 percent of the
crop water need during the mid-season or peak period. Of course, no irrigation is
given to these crops during the late season stage.
 DETERMINATION OF CROP WATER NEEDS
• Calculation of crop water needs is done using equation (1).

• ETcrop  ETo  K c ……………………..(1)

• Where the ET crop = crop evapotranspiration or crop water need (mm/day)
Kc = crop factor
ETo = reference evapotranspiration (mm/day)
The crop factor, Kc, mainly depends on:
the type of crop
the growth stage of the crop
the climate
• Kc and the type of crop
Fully developed maize, with its large leaf area will be able to transpire, and thus
use, more water than the reference grass crop: Kc, maize is higher than 1.
Cucumber, also fully developed, will use less water than the reference grass crop:
Kc, cucumber is less than 1.
 Determination of the Total Growing Period
• The total growing period (in days) is the period from sowing or transplanting to
the last day of the harvest. It is mainly dependent on:
• The type of crop and the variety
• The climate
• The planting date
• Since the growing period of the crop depends on the local condition then it
advisable to use the local data.
 Determination of the Growth Stages
After the total growing period is known, the duration (in days) of the various
growth stages has to be determined. The total growing period is divided into 4
growth stages.
• The initial stage: this is the period from sowing or transplanting until the crop
covers about 10% of the ground.
• The crop development stage: this period starts at the end of the initial stage and
lasts until the full ground cover has been reached (ground cover 70-80%); it does
not necessarily mean that the crop is at its maximum height.
• The mid - season stage: this period starts at the end of the crop development
stage and lasts until maturity; it includes flowering and grain-setting.
• The late season stage: this period starts at the end of the mid-season stage and
lasts until the last day of the harvest; it includes ripening.
• Kc and the growth stage of the crop
A certain crop will use more water once it is fully developed, compared to a crop
which has just recently been planted.
• Kc and the climate
The climate influences the duration of the total growing period and the various
growth stages. In a cool climate a certain crop will grow slower than in a warm
climate.
Thus, to determine the crop factor Kc, it is necessary, for each crop, to know
the total length of the growing season and the lengths of the various growth
stages.
The determination of the Kc values for the various growth stages of the crops
involves several steps:
Step 1 - Determination of the total growing period of each crop
Step 2 - Determination of the various growth stages of each crop
Step 3 - Determination of the Kc values for each crop for each of the growth
stages
 Determination of Crop Factors
• Per crop, four crop factors have to be determined: one crop factor for each of the
four growth stages. Table 8 indicates per crop the Kc values for each of the four
growth stages.
 Crop Water Need Calculation Example
• Determine the crop water need for tomatoes for the given information in Table 3.
Table 3: Tomatoes growing period and water needs

Calculation
Step 1:
Estimate the duration of various growing periods
Crop Total growing Initial Crop dev. Mid-season Late season
period (days) stage stage stage stage

Tomatoes 150 35 40 50 25
 Consumptive Use
Consumptive use refers to the water needs of a crop in a specified time and is the
sum of the volume of transpirated and evaporated water. Consumptive use is defined
as the amount of water needed to meet the water loss through evapotranspiration. It
generally applies to a crop but can be extended to a field, farm, project or even a
valley. Consumptive use is generally measured as volume per unit area or simply as
the depth of water on the irrigated area. Knowledge of consumptive use helps
determine irrigation requirement at the farm which should, obviously, be the
difference between the consumptive use and the effective precipitation.
 Consumptive Use
Principal methods of direct measurement of evapotranspiration are:
• Lysimeter experiment
• Field experiment plots
• Soil moisture depletion studies
• Water balance method
• These are laborious, costly and time consuming
Lysimeter experiment
• The term “lysimeter” is derived from the Greek words “lysis” and “metron”, which
mean dissolving and measuring, respectively. The term is thus applicable to any device
utilized for studying the rate, amount, and composition of percolation water through a
porous medium
• It involves growing crops in large containers (Lysimeters) and measuring their weight
loss and gains.
• Lysimeter – is a device in which volume of soil planted with vegetation is located in a
container to isolate it hydrologically from the surrounding soil.
• There are of two types weighing and non-weighing
 Consumptive Use
Weighing lysimeter
• The weighing lysimeters have various weighing principles and devices. They
may be based on weighing with varieties of scales and balances or on electronic
weighing with strain gauge load cells, or a combination of both mechanical and
electronic devices, or on hydraulic weighing systems. A precision weighing
lysimeter may be sensitive to 0.03–0.05 mm of water. Short term (10 min or
hourly) evapotranspiration can be measured with this type of lysimeter.
• Weighing lysimeters based on hydraulic weighing system are of two types:
• hydraulic lysimeter - weight changes are measured from changes in hydraulic load
cells pressure
• Floating Lysimeter- weight changes are measured from changes in buoyancy or
floatation.
 Consumptive Use
Non-weighing or drainage Lysimeter
• The non-weighing lysimeters are also called “volumetric” or “drainage” or
“compensation” lysimeters. The water supply may be from natural rain or
irrigation or artificially maintained water table or from a combination of these.
Limitation
• Reproduction of physical conditions may not be possible
• Temperature
• Water table
• Soil texture
• Soil density
•Lysimeters are expensive to construct and not transportable
Field Experimental Plots
•Measurement of water supplies to the field and changes in soil moisture contents of
field plots are sometimes more dependable for computing seasonal water
requirement of crops than measurement with lysimeters.
•The seasonal water requirements are computed by adding measured quantities of
irrigation water, effective rainfall received during the season and the contribution of
moisture from the soil, this may be expressed by the following:
 Consumptive Use
Indirect Estimation of ET
• Crop water use is influenced by the dynamics of the soil–plant–atmosphere
system. In this continuum, water availability is implicit as the most significant
limiting factor for growth and final yield. Because of the diversity of
physiological, anatomical, and aerodynamic characteristics, different crops have
different abilities to use water. It is difficult to evaluate the water needs of each
crop individually. In this context, a reference crop evapotranspiration (ET0)
concept has been idealized by which the ET of other crops is computed through a
conversion factor called crop coefficient. This is known as the two-step approach
to determine crop evapotranspiration (ETc), given as follows:

• where ETc is the evapotranspiration of a particular crop for a particular period

(mm), Kc is the crop coefficient of the respective crop for the crop period (growth
stage) concerned, and ET0 is the reference evapotranspiration (mm).
 Consumptive Use
• Adjusting for soil moisture, the ETc becomes:

• where Ks is a coefficient that depends upon available soil moisture.

• The value of the crop coefficient (Kc) may be obtained from the literature, or may
be determined independently from field experimental data of
evapotranspiration. The reference evapotranspiration may be computed from
local climatic data, using various methods and tools.
• The reference evapotranspiration (ET0), as defined by FAO-1992 (Smith et al.
1992), is the rate of evapotranspiration from a hypothetic crop with an assumed
crop height (12 cm) and a fixed canopy resistance (70 s m-1) and albedo (0.23),
which would closely resemble evapotranspiration from an extensive surface of
green grass cover of uniform height, the green grass actively growing, completely
shading the ground and having adequate water.
 Consumptive Use
• Estimation of ET0
• Models for predicting ET0 range from deterministically-based combined energy
balance-vapor transfer approaches to empirical relationships based on
climatological variables, or to evaporation from a standard evaporation pan.
Updated procedures for calculating ET0 were established by FAO.
• Penman-Monteith method gives more consistent ET0 estimates and has been
shown to perform better than other ET0 methods when compared with
lysimeter data.
• The P–M method takes into account almost all the factors that are
known to influence ET0, such as temperature, humidity, sunshine hour, and wind
speed. But these weather variables are not available at different locations
throughout the world, particularly in developing countries.
 Consumptive Use
• Air temperature is available at most of the weather stations worldwide while the
remaining variables are only collected at relatively few locations, and those
recordings are not always very reliable. This lack of reliable weather data lead to
the suggestion of using simpler ET0 estimation equations, and comparing and
calibrating the same with standard P-M equation.
• FAO Penman-Monteith Equation
• The Penman–Monteith (P–M) equation is expressed in the form:

• where λ is the latent heat of vaporization (MJ kg-1); Δ, the slope of the vapor
pressure vs. temperature curve (kPaC-1); γ, the psychrometric constant
(kPaC-1); Rn, the net radiation (Wm-2);
 Consumptive Use
• G, the soil heat flux (Wm-2); cp, the specific heat of air (1,013 Jkg-1 C-1); ρa, the
atmospheric density (kgm-3); DPV, the vapor pressure deficit (kPa); ra, the
aerodynamic resistance (sm-1); rc, the bulk canopy resistance (sm-1); and 0.0864/λ,
the ratio used to transform Wm2 to mm per day.
 Determination of Soil Suitability for Cropping
n
M bi  M ei
WR  I R  ER    Ai  Di
i 1 100
• Where WR is seasonal water requirement, mm; IR is total irrigation water applied,
mm; ER seasonal effective rainfall, mm; Mbi is moisture percentage at the
beginning of the season in the ith layer of the soil; Mei is moisture percentage at
the end of the season in the ith layer of the soil; Ai is apparent specific gravity of
the ith layer of the soil; Di is depth of the ith layer of the soil within the root zone,
mm; n is number of soil layers in the root zone D.
The method requires accurate measurement of the amount of water applied to a
field. The method does not provide information on
• Intermediate soil moisture conditions
• Short term water use
• Profile water use
• Deep percolation losses
• Peak water crop use rate
• Soil moisture depletion studies
• Usually used to determine the consumptive use of irrigated field crops grown on
fairly uniform soils when the depth to the ground water does not influence the
soil moisture fluctuation within the root zone.
• These studies involve measurement of soil moisture from various depths at a
number of times throughout the growth period.
• The water use (u) is calculated from the change in soil water content in
successive samples from the following relationship:
n
M 1i  M 2i
u  Ai  Di
i 1 100
• Where u water use from the root zone for successive sampling periods or wityhin
one irrigation cycle, mm; n number of soil layers sampled in the root zone depth
D; M1i is soil moisture percentage at the time of the first sampling in the ith layer;
M2i is soil moisture percentage at the time of the second sampling in the ith layer.
• Ai apparent specific gravity of the ith layer of the soil; Di is depth of the ith layer of
the soil, mm.

• Seasonal consumptive use (Cu = Σu) is calculated by summing the consumptive

use values of each sampling interval. A correction is made by adding PET values
for accelerated water loss for the intervals just after irrigation and before soil
moisture sampling.

• Water Balance Method (Inflow-outflow method)

• Suitable for large areas over long periods. Represented by
Precipitation  Evapotranspiration  surface runoff  sub  surface drainage
 change in soil water contents
• This method necessitate adequate measurement of all factors, except
evapotranspiration. The value of evapotranspiration is computed from the
measured data.
Estimating Evapotranspiration from Evaporation Data
• A relationship exist between the rate of consumptive use by crops to the rate of
evaporation from a properly located evaporation pan. The US weather Bureau
Class A open pan evaporimeter may be used for the measurement. In areas where
evaporation pan is not available , the same may be estimated from the
climatological data. The relation between evapotranspiration and pan evaporation
is given by the crop factor.
Evapotranspiration  pan evaporation  crop factor

The value of crop factor for any crop depends on:

• Foliage characteristics
• Stage of growth
• Environment
• Geographical location
• Consumptive use values are low during the early stages of growth and increases as
the crop approaches maturity.
• Pan evaporation Method
• Reference crop evapotranspiration (ET0) can be obtained from:

• where Epan is the pan evaporation in mm/day, and Kp is the adjustment factor.
• Determination of Crop Coefficient (Kc)
• Crop coefficient (Kc) is defined as the ratio of the actual evapotranspiration of a
disease free crop grown in a large field adequately supplied with water to the
reference evapotranspiration. In essence, the crop coefficient is a coefficient
expressing the difference in evapotranspiration between the cropped and
reference grass surface. The difference can be combined into one single
coefficient, or it can be split into two factors describing separately the differences
in evaporation and transpiration between both surfaces.
Estimating Evapotranspiration from Climatological Data
• To obtain accurate direct measurement of pan evaporation under field conditions
is challenging to overcome it evapotranspiration is predicted on the basis of
climatological data. The approaches is to relate the magnitude and variation of
evapotranspiration with one or more climatic factors.
• These approaches are:
• Empirical approaches – Attempts to correlate evapotranspiration to one or more climatic
factors.
• Theoretical approaches
•Commonly used formulae
•Blaney-Criddle method
•Thornwaite method
•Penman method
•Christiansen method
• Blaney-Criddle Method FAO Temperature (Blaney–Criddle) Method
• Blanley-Criddle has generally given sufficiently accurate estimate of seasonal
consumptive use due to the inclusion of locally developed crop coefficient factor
(K)
• is a relatively simplistic method for calculating evapotranspiration. When
sufficient meteorological data is available the Penman–Monteith equation is
usually preferred. However, the Blaney–Criddle equation is ideal when only air-
temperature datasets are available for a site.
• This method is suggested where only temperature data are available. The Blaney-
Criddle method formula to calculate mean value over the given month is
expressed as:

ETo = p ·(0.46·Tmean + 8)
• Thornthwaite Method
• Soil properties and qualities are important in design, operation, and management
of irrigation systems. These properties include water holding capacity, soil intake
characteristics, permeability, soil condition, organic matter, slope, water table
depth, soil erodibility, chemical properties, salinity, sodicity, and soil reaction
(pH).
 Consumptive Use
• FAO Radiation Method

• where ET0 is the reference crop evapotranspiration (mm/day), Rs is the solar

radiation in equivalent evaporation (mm/day), W is the weighing factor that
depends on temperature and altitude, and c is the adjustment factor. In areas where
the measured value of Rs is not available, it can be obtained from measured
sunshine duration record with the following equation:

• where n/N is the ratio between actual measured bright sunshine hours and
maximum possible sunshine hours, and Ra is the extra-terrestrial radiation, which
is the amount of radiation received at the top of the atmosphere.
• To convert the units from MJm-2d-1 to mm/day, multiply by 0.408.
 Consumptive Use
• The weight factor W depends on daily average temperature and altitude and
ranges from 0.5 (low temperature and zero altitude) to 0.9 (high temperature and
high altitude).
• The adjustment factor C depends greatly on mean relative humidity and daytime
wind at 2-m height above the soil surface. Its value generally ranges from 0.75
(high RH and low wind speed) to 1.25 (low RH and high wind speed).
• Hargreaves and Samani Method
• Hargreaves and Samani (1985) suggested a method involving only temperature
and radiation data. Their equation is given by:

• where Ra is extra-terrestrial radiation in equivalent mm of water evaporation for

the period, Tmean is the mean temperature in C, and TD is the difference between
maximum and minimum temperatures.
 Crop Water Requirement
• crop water requirement - Amount of water needed to compensate the
evapotranspiration loss from the crop field.
• The value of crop water requirement is identical to evapotranspiration.
• Crop water requirement varies with time and space, as the evapotranspirative
demand varies with local climate and crop condition.
• Crop water requirement represents the evapotranspiration (ET) under ideal crop
growth condition.
• The ET from a crop with insect and pest-affected condition and low population
(crop density) will be different from that of a well-established and well-grown
crop.
• Factors Affecting Crop Water Requirement
• Weather and crop influence in determining water requirement for crop.
 Crop Water Requirement
• Difference Between Crop Water Requirement and Irrigation Water Requirement.
• Crop water requirement (CWR) and irrigation water requirement (IWR) can be
best described with the following mathematical functions:
• CWR = f (weather, crop)
• IWR = f (weather, crop, soil, rainfall, irrigation method, depth to water-table or
saturated layer)
• Distinguishing characteristics of crop water requirement and irrigation water
requirement are given below:
 Crop Water Requirement
• Crop Factor
•
Crop water requirement for major crops
•T
 Irrigation water Requirement
• Net irrigation water requirement is the quantity of water required for successful crop
growth.
• This should be determine after ET has been determined.
• NIR – Amount of irrigation required at a field to meet the ET needs and other needs
arising from losses such percolation, seepage, leaching.
• NIR = CIR + Dp (Losses percolation, seepage, leaching)
• This is the moisture that must be supplied by irrigation to satisfy
evapotranspiration plus that needed for leaching and not supplied by off-season
storage, and the effects of precipitation and groundwater storage.

• NIR = ET + LR - Ws - Re

• Where: NIR is the net irrigation; ET is evapotranspiration, LR is leaching

requirement; Ws is off-season soil moisture carry-over.
• All parameters are in mm of water.
 Irrigation water Requirement
• Gross Irrigation Requirement is equal to:
NIR
GIR 
Ea

• Where Ea is the application efficiency

•

• Irrigation efficiency accounts for losses in storage and distribution

systems, losses in application systems as well as operation and
management losses.

• Irrigation Efficiency depends on the Method of Applying Irrigation Water

 Irrigation water Requirement
Factors Affecting Irrigation Requirement
• The factors which influence crop water demand (ET demand), also influence the
irrigation water demand. Weather, crop, and soil - all these three factors influence
in determining water requirement for irrigation. Crop and weather factors
influencing crop water demand have been described earlier.
Components of Total Water Requirement for Irrigation
• Total irrigation water requirement is the amount of water required during the
cropping period for successful crop cultivation. Total irrigation water requirement
of a crop may be consisting of the following components:
 Irrigation water Requirement
• Water for land preparation (as pre-sowing irrigation for dry-land crops)
• Water for land soaking (specially for rice)
• Crop water demand (includes ET and seepage and percolation)
• Water for leaching requirement (especially in saline soil)
• Water for special use such as crop cooling, freeze protection
 Sources of Irrigation Water
• Surface water
• Ground water
• Harvested rainfall – from the roof tops