CHAPTER II

 BASICS IN IRRIGATION ENGINEERING

2.1. Planning Irrigation

systems
2.2. soil-plant-water relation –
over view
2.3. Crop water requirement
2.4. Base, delta and duty
 2.3. CROP WATER REQUIREMENTS
• It is defined as “the depth of water needed to meet
the water loss through evapotranspiration (ETcrop)
of a disease free crop growing in large fields under
non-restricting soil conditions including soil water
and fertility and achieving full production potential
under the given growing environment”.
• It is the quantity of water required by the crop in a
given period of time to meet its normal growth
under a given set of environmental & field
conditions.
• The determination of water requirements is the
main part of the design and planning of an irrigation
system.
 CROP WATER REQUIREMENTS cont..
• The water requirement is the water required to meet
the water losses through
– Evapotranspiration (ET)
– Unavoidable application losses
– Other needs such as leaving & land preparation
 CROP WATER REQUIREMENTS cont..
• The water requirement of crops may be contributed
from different sources such as irrigation, Effective
rainfall, Soil moisture storage and ground water
contributions.

• Hence, WR = IR + ER + S + GW

• Where,
IR = Irrigation requirement
ER = Effective rainfall
S = carry over soil moisture in the crop root zone
GW = ground water contribution
 Irrigation requirement of Crops
• Irrigation water requirement of crops is defined as
the part of water requirement of crops that should
be fulfilled by irrigation
• In other words, it is the water requirement of crops
excluding effective rain fall, carry over soil moisture
and ground water contributions.

WR=IR +ER + S +GW

IR= WR-(ER+S+GW)
 Effective Rainfall (ER)
• Effective rainfall can be defined as the rainfall that
is stored in the root zone and can be utilized by
crops.
• All the rainfall that falls is not useful or effective.
• As the total amount of rainfall varies, so does the
amount of useful or effective rainfall.
• Some of the seasonal rainfall that falls will be lost
as unnecessary deep percolation; surface runoff
and some water may remain in the soil after the
crop is harvested.
• From the water requirement of crops point of view,
this water, which is lost, is ineffective.
 Effective Rainfall (ER) cont…
• People in different disciplines define effective
rainfall in different ways.
• To a canal irrigation engineer, it is the rainfall
that reaches the storage reservoir,
• to a hydropower engineer, it is the rain fall
that is useful for running the turbines and
• for Ground water engineers or Geo –
hydrologists, it is that portion of the rainfall
that contributes to the ground water reservoir
 Effective Rainfall (ER) cont…
• CropWat 4 Windows has four methods for
calculating the effective rainfall from entered
monthly total rainfall data.

• Fixed Percentage Effective Rainfall

• The effective rainfall is taken as a fixed

percentage of the monthly rainfall;

• Effective Rainfall = % of Total Rainfall

 Dependable Rain
• An empirical formula developed by
FAO/AGLW based on analysis for different
arid and sub-humid climates.

• Effective Rainfall = 0.6 * Total Rainfall - 10 ...

(Total Rainfall < 70 mm)

• Effective Rainfall = 0.8 * Total Rainfall - 24 ...

(Total Rainfall > 70 mm)
 Empirical Formula for Effective Rainfall
• This formula is similar to FAO/AGLW formula
(see Dependable Rain method above) with
some parameters left to the user to define.

• Effective Rainfall = a * Total Rainfall - b ...

(Total Rainfall < z mm)

• Effective Rainfall = c * Total Rainfall - d ...

(Total Rainfall > z mm)
• where a, b, c, and z are the variables to be
defined by the user.
 Method of USDA Soil Conservation Service
(default)
• The effective rainfall is calculated according to the
formula developed by the USDA Soil Conservation
Service:

• Effective Rainfall = Total Rainfall / 125 * (125 - 0.2 *

Total Rainfall) …(Total Rainfall < 250 mm)

• Effective Rainfall = 125 + 0.1 * Total Rainfall ..

(Total Rainfall > 250 mm)
 Ground water contribution (Gw):
• Some times there is a contribution from the
groundwater reservoir for water requirement of crops.

• The actual contribution from the groundwater table is

dependent on the depth of ground water table below
the root zone & capillary characteristics of soil.

• For clayey soils the rate of movement is low and

distance of upward movement is high while
• for light textured soils the rate is high and the
distance of movement is low.
• For practical purposes the GW contribution when the
ground water table is below 3m is assumed to be nil.
 Carry over soil moisture(S):
• This is the moisture retained in the crop root
zone b/n cropping seasons or before the crop
is planted.
• The source of this moisture is either from the
rainfall that man occurs before sowing or it
may be the moisture that remained in the soil
from past irrigation.
• This moisture also contributes to the
consumptive use of water and should be
deducted from the water requirement of crops
in determining irrigation requirements.
 Net Irrigation Requirement (NIR)
• After the exact evapotranspiration of crops have been
determined the NIR should be determined.
• This is the net amount of water applied to the crop by
irrigation exclusive of ER, S and GW.
• NIR = WR – ER –S –GW
• The word ‘net’ is to imply that during irrigation there
are always unavoidable losses as runoff and deep
percolation.
• NIR is determined during different stages of the crop by
dividing the whole growing season into suitable intervals.
• The growing season is more preferably divided into
decades.
• The ETcrop during each decade is determined by
subtracting these contributions from the ETcrop.
 Gross irrigation requirement (GIR)
• Usually more amount of water than the NIR
is applied during irrigation to compensate for
the unavoidable losses.
• The total water applied to satisfy ET and
losses is known as Gross irrigation
requirement (GIR)

• GIR =NIR
Ea

• Where Ea =application efficiency

 Evapotranspiration:
• This includes the water lose through
evaporation and transpiration.

a) Evaporation: - is the process by which a

liquid changes into water vapor, which is
water evaporating from adjacent soil,
water surfaces of leaves of plants.

• In irrigation this is applied for the loss of

water from the land surface.
 Transpiration:
• Transpiration: - is the process by which
plants loose water from their bodies.

• This loss of water includes the quantity of

water transpired by the plant and that
retained in the plant tissue.

• That is, the water entering plant roots and

used to build plant tissue or being passed
through leaves of the plant into the
atmosphere.
 Potential Evapotranspiration (PET): -
• This is also called reference crop
evapotranspiration

• it is the rate of evapotranspiration from an

extensive surface 8 to 15 cm tall, green grass cover
of uniform height, actively growing, completely
shading the ground and not short of water”.

• Under normal field conditions, the potential

evapotranspiration does not occur and thus
suitable crop coefficients are used to change ETo
to actual evapotranspiration of the crops.
 Consumptive use (CU) of water and
methods of estimation
• Consumptive use (CU) is synonymous to
evapotranspiration (ETcrop).

• Consumptive use:- is the depth (quantity)

of water required by the crop to meet its
evapotranspiration losses and the water
used for metabolic processes.
• But the water used for metabolic
processes is very small & accounts only
less than 1 % of evapotranspiration.
 Consumptive use (CU) cont…
• Hence the consumptive use is taken to be the
same as the loss of water through
evapotranspiration.
• Note: CU= ET + water used by the plants in their
metabolic process for building plant tissues
(insignificant)
• It involves:
– Problems of water supply
– Problems of water management
– Economics of irrigation projects
• CU use can apply to water requirements of a crop, a
farm, a field and a project.
• However, when the CU of the crop is known, the
water use of larger units can be calculated.
 Calculation of crop water requirement
• Prediction methods for crop water requirements are
used owing to the difficulty of obtaining accurate
field measurements.

• The methods often need to be applied under climatic

and agronomic conditions vary different from those
under which they were originally developed.

• To calculate ETcrop a three-stage procedure is

recommended
 1. The effect of climate given by the reference crop
evapotranspiration (ETo).
• The methods to calculate ETo presented here in are
– the Blaney-Criddle method,
– Thornthwaite method, the
– Hargeaves class A evaporation method and
– the penman method.

• These methods are modified to calculate ETo using

the mean daily climatic data for 30 or 10 days periods.

• The choice of the method must be based on:

– the type of climatic data available and
– on the accuracy required in determining water needs.
 2. The effect of crop characteristics.
• This is given by the crop coefficient (Kc)
which presents the relationship between ETo
and ETcrop.
• ETcrop= Kc . ETo

• Values of Kc vary with the

- type of crop
- its stage of growth
- growing season and
- the prevailing weather conditions
3. Effect of local conditions and agricultural practices
• This includes:
- the variation in climate over time

- size of field

- distance and altitude

- soil water availability

- Irrigation and cultivation methods and

practices.
 Factors Affecting Consumptive Use of Water: -
• The consumptive use of water
– is not constant throughout the stages of the crop
and also
– varies for different types of crops.
• Generally the factors affecting consumptive
use of water can be classified as

– climatic factors.

– crop factors &

 A. Climatic factors
• Temperature: As the temperature increases, the saturation
vapor pressure also increases and results in increase of
evaporation and thus consumptive use of water.
• Wind Speed: The more the speed of wind, the more will be
the rate of evaporation, because the saturated film of air
containing the water will be removed easily.
• Humidity: - The more the air humidity, the less will be the
rate of consumptive use of water. This is because water
vapor moves from the point of high moisture content to the
point of low moisture content. So if the humidity is high water
vapor cannot be removed easily.
• Sunshine hours: - The longer the duration of the sunshine
hour the larger will be the total amount of energy received
from the sun. This increases the rate of evaporation and thus
the rate of consumptive use of crops.
 B. Crop factors
• The agronomic feature of the crops is
variable, some crops completely shade the
ground while others shade only some part of
the ground.
• To account these variations in the nature of
the crop suitable values of crop coefficient
are used to convert the PET to actual
evapotranspiration.
• So for the same climatic conditions different
crops have different rates of consumptive
uses
 Determination of Consumptive Use of water
• Under normal field conditions PET (ETo) will
not occur and thus consumptive use
(ETcrop) can be determined by determining
the ETo and multiplying with suitable crop
coefficients (Kc).

• Alternatively it can be determined by direct

measurements of soil moisture.
1. Direct Measurement of Consumptive Use:

• A) Lysimeter experiment

• B) Field experimental plots

• C) Soil moisture studies

• D) Water balance method

 a. Lysimeter Experiment
• Lysimeters are large containers having
pervious bottom.
• This experiment involves growing crops in
lysimeters there by measuring the water
added to it and the water loss (water draining)
through the pervious bottom.
• Consumptive use is determined by
subtracting the water draining through the
bottom from the total amount of water needed
to maintain proper growth.
• ETc = IR + Eff.P +or – msoil moisture-
Drainage
 b. Field Experimental Plots
• This is most suitable for determination of
seasonal water requirements.
• Water is added to selected field plots, yield
obtained from different fields are plotted
against the total amount of water used.
• The yield increases as the water used
increases for some limit and then decreases
with further increase in water.
• Production function
• The break in the curve indicates the amount
of consumptive use of water.
 C. Soil Moisture Studies:
• In this method soil moisture measurements
are done before and after each irrigation
application.
• Knowing the time gap b/n the two
consecutive irrigations, the quantity of water
extracted per day can be computed by
dividing the total moisture depletion b/n the
two successive irrigations by the interval of
irrigation.
• Then a curve is drawn by plotting the rate of
use of water against the time from this curve,
seasonal water use of crops is determined
 d. Water balance method
• This method is used for determination of
consumptive use of large areas.
• It is expressed by the following equation.
• Precipitation = Evapotranspiration + surface
runoff + deep percolation + change in soil
water contents
• Except evapotranspiration, all the factors in
the above equation are measured.
• Evapotranspiration is determined from the
above equation
 2. Determination of Evapotranspiration using
equations
• Blaney- Criddle method
• This method is suggested where only temperature data
are available.
• ETo = C[ P (0.46T+8)] mm/day
• Where
• ETo= reference crop evapotranspiration in mm/day for
the month considered.
• T= mean daily temperature in oc over the month
• P= mean daily percentage of total annual day time
hours obtained from table 1 for a given month and
latitude.
• C = adjustment factor which depends on minimum relative
humidity, sunshine hours and daytime wind estimates
 Blaney- Criddle method
• Figure 1 can be used to estimate ETo using
calculated values of p(0.46T+8) for

• i) three levels of minimum humidity (RH min)

• ii) three levels of the ratio of actual to maximum

possible sunshine hours (n/N) and

• iii) three ranges of daytime wind conditions at 2m

height (Uday).
 Blaney- Criddle method
• Note: Minimum humidity refers to minimum daytime
humidity
• wind refers to daytime wind.
• Generally Uday/Unight =2 and mean 24 hr wind data
should be multiplied by 1.33 to obtain mean daytime
wind.
• After determining ETo, ETcrop can be predicted using
the appropriate crop coefficient (Kc).
• ETcrop= Kc * ETo
 Example
• Given: Cairo, Egypt,: latitude 300 N, altitude 95 m,
month July. Calculation
• Tmax = ∑Tmax daily values/31 350c.
• Tmin = ∑Tmin daily values/31 220c.
• Tdaily mean = ∑Tmean/31 or [(∑Tmax/31)
+(∑Tmin/31)]/2 28.50c
• P (from table for 300 N) 0.31
• P(0.46T+8) = 0.31(0.46*28.5 +8) 6.6mm/day
• RH min (from climates of Africa) medium
• n/N (from climates of Africa) high to medium
• U2 day time (from climates of Africa) moderate
• ETo Fig. 1 8.0 mm/day
 simplified form of Blaney- Criddle
• A more simplified form of Blaney- Criddle
equation in which the potential
evapotranspiration ( consumptive use )
depends only in the mean monthly
temperature and monthly day light hours is
given as :
u = Kf
• Where u= monthly consumptive use ,m
• K = empirical crop coefficient
• F = monthly consumptive use factor
 simplified form of Blaney- Criddle
• The monthly consumptive use factor

• Where p is monthly day light hours

expressed as a percentage of the total day
light hours of the year .
• It depends on the latitude of the location.
• Tm is mean monthly temperature in oC.
Obtain values of P from standard tables.
 simplified form of Blaney- Criddle
• The crop coefficient K depends on the
location and type of crop .
• Values varies according to the different stage
of crop growth period.
• This method gives good results if the value of
K is selected judiciously after field test.

• Where n= number of months in crop period

 Blaney- Criddle

• Limitation: This method is an approximate

method , since it doesn’t consider a
number of important factors such as
humidity , wind velocity and altitude
 Blaney- Criddle
• Example: Determine the consumptive use for
wheat from the following data by Blaney-Criddle
method. Take K= 0.7
Month Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb.
Mean Temp. oC, Tm 20 16 14 15
% monthly daylight hrs. P 7.19 7.15 7.3 7.03
• Solution:
• For the month of Nov. f=P* 4.6Tm +81.3
100
=7.19*(4.6*20+81.3 ) = 12.46
100
u=kf =0.7*12.46=8.72 cm
 Blaney- Criddle
• Like wise the values of u for months Dec.,
Jan., and Feb. are computed as 7.75, 7.44
and 7.40 cm respectively.

Thus, seasonal consumptive use,

U=Σu=8.72 +7.75 +7.74 +7.40=31.31 cm

 Thornthwaite method
• According to the Thornthwaite equation ,
based on the data from the eastern U.S.A ,
the monthly consumptive use or the potential
evapotranspiration is given by

• Where ,
Tm = mean monthly temperature in oC.
I = annual heat index , obtained from monthly
heat index I of the year
+
Thornthwaite method

• The values of the exponents a and b are

obtained from the relation
 Thornthwaite method
• Example: Estimate the potential
evapotranspiration for a crop for the month of
June using the Thornthwaite equation from the
following data
Month Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct.
Temp. Tm (0C) 4.5 12.5 20.4 20.2 21.5 10.5 5.5
Max. Sunshine hrs. 370 380 365 358 355 350 345

• Solution:
• Step 1. Obtain the monthly heat index, i
• Step 2. Calculate the annual heat index , I
• Step 3 . Determine the constants a & b and
finally estimate PET for each month.
 Thornthwaite method
• The monthly heat index is determined
as

Month Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct.

Heat index i 0.85 4 8.4 8.28 9.1 3.07 1.16
Factor b 1.03 1.06 1.01 0.99 0.99 0.97 0.96
Now I =ΣI =0.85 +4.00 +8.4 + 8.28 + 9.10 + 3.07 + 1.16 = 34.86
And from eq.(iii ) a = 1.051
From eq. (iv ) b = 1.01
Then potential evapotranspiration for the month june is
given by
PET = 1.6 b ( 10Tm/I )a = 1.6* 1.01* ( 10*20.4/34.86)1.051
=10 .35cm
 Hargreaves class A pan Evaporation
• ET or CU is related to pan evaporation (EP)
by a constant Kc, called consumptive use
coefficient.
• ET = Kc * Ep
• Determination of Ep
• (a.) Experimentally
• (b.) Christiansen formula
• Ep = 0.459R * Ct*Cw*Ch*Cs*Ce
Ct = Coefficient for temperature
Ct = 0.393 +0.02796Tc +0.0001189 Tc2
Tc= mean temperature, oc
 Hargreves ….
Cw = Coefficient for wind velocity
Cw= 0.708 + 0.0034 v - 0.0000038 v2
v=mean wind velocity at 0.5m above the ground,
km/day.
Ch= Coefficient for relative humidity.
Ch= 1.250 - 0.0087H - 0.75*10-4H2 –0.85*10-8H4
H= mean percentage relative humidity at noon
Cs= Coefficient for percent of possible sunshine
Cs= 0.542+0.008 S-0.78*10-4 S2 +0.62*10-6S3
S= mean sunshine percentage
Ce= Coefficient of elevation
Ce= 0.97+ 0.00984E
E= elevation in 100 of meters
 Modified Penman Method
• For areas where measured data on temperature,
humidity, wind and sunshine duration or radiation are
available, the penman method is suggested.
The penman equation consists of two terms:
- the energy (radiation) term and
- The aerodynamic (wind and humidity) term.
• The relative importance of each term varies with climatic
conditions.
• Under calm weather conditions the aerodynamic term is
usually less important than the energy term.
• It is more important under windy conditions and
particularly in the more arid regions.
 Modified Penman Method
• A slightly modified penman equation from the
original (1948) is suggested here to determine
ETo involving a revised wind function term.
• The method uses mean daily climatic data,
since day and night time weather conditions
considerably affect level of ET; an adjustment
for this is included.
• The modified penman equation is ,
• ETo = c ( W.Rn + (1 – W) * f(u). (ea – ed))
Radiation Aerodynamic term
Term
 Modified Penman Method
• Where:
• ETo = reference crop evapotranspiration ,mm/day
• W = temperature – related weighting factor
• Rn = net radiation in equivalent evaporation in ,
mm/day
• F(u) = Wind – related function
• (ea-ed) = difference between the saturation vapor
pressure at mean air temp. and the mean actual
vapor pressure of the air in mbar.
• C = adjustment factor to compensate for the effect
of day and night weather conditions.
 Modified Penman Method
• Due to the interdependence of the variables
composing the equation, the correct use of units in
which variables need to be expressed is important
(see example below).
• Description of variables and their Method of
calculation
a. Vapor pressure (ea-ed)
• Air humidity affects ETo.
• Humidity is expressed here as saturation vapor
pressure deficit (ea-ed),
• (ea-ed) is the difference between mean saturation
water vapor pressure (ea) and the mean actual
vapor pressure (ed).
 Modified Penman Method
• Air humidity data are reported as:
- Relative humidity (RH max ad RH min in percentage)
- Psychometric readings (ToC of dry and wet bulb) from
wet and dry bulb thermometers, or as a dew point
temperature j (T dew point oC)
• Time of measurement is important, but is often not
given.
• Fortunately actual vapor pressure (ed) is a fairly
constant element and even one measurement per day
may suffice.
• Vapor pressure must be expressed in mbar. If ed is
given in mm Hg multiply by 1.33 to find mbar.
• Tables 5 and 6 give values of ea and ed from available
climatic data.
 Example:
• Altitude is 0 m.
Given:
• T max 35 oc, T min 22 oC, RH max 80%, RH min
30%
• Calculation
• T mean = 28.5 o C
• RH mean = 55%
• ea at 28.5 o C (Table 5) = 38.9 m bar
• ed = ea * RH mean/100 = 21.4 m bar
• (ea-ed) = 17.5 m bar
• In many regions RH during the night is near 100%,
Hence T min = Twet bulb = Tdew point, and ed can
then be determined from ea at T min.
 b) Wind function (f(u))
• The effect of wind on ETo has been studied
for different climates resulting in a revised
wind function and is given as:

Where U is 24 – hr wind run in km /day at 2 m height

(Table 7).
 b) Wind function (f(u))
Where wind data are not collected at 2 m height, the
appropriate corrections for wind measurements
taken at different heights are given below:

Height (m) 0.5 1 1.5 2 3 4 5 6

Correction factor 1.35 1.15 1.06 1 0.93 0.88 0.85 0.83
 Example
• Given:
• Wind speed at 3 m height is 250 km/day
• Calculation
• U , applying correction = 232 km/day ( 0.93*
250= 232)
• f(u) = 0.90 ( from table 7 )
 C) Weighting factor (1-w)
• (1-w) is a weighting factor for the effect of
wind and humidity on ETo

Where Δ = the rate of change of the saturation

vapor pressure with temperature, and
γ = the psychometric constant

• Values of (1-w) as related to temperature and

altitude are given in Table 8.
 Example:
•
• Given:

• Altitude 95 m, Tmax =35oC, Tmin = 22oC

• Calculation: Tmean = 28.5o C

• (1-w) (Table 8) = 0.23

 d) Weighting factor (W)
• W is the weighting factor for the effect of
radiation of ETo.

• values of W as related to temperature and

altitude are given in Table 9.

• For temperature use (Tmax + Tmin)/2.

 Example
• Given :
• Altitude 95 m, Tmax 35oC , Tmin 22oC

• Calculation

• Tmean = 28.5oC

• W (Table 9) = 0.77
 e) Net radiation (Rn).
• Net radiation (Rn) is the difference between
all incoming and out going radiation.
• It can be measured, but such data are rarely
available.
• Rn can be calculated from solar radiation or
sunshine hours (or degree of cloud cover),
temperature and humidity data.
• The amount of radiation received at the top of
the atmosphere (Ra) is dependent on
• - latitude and
• - time of the year only (Table 10).
 e) Net radiation (Rn).
• Part of Ra is absorbed and scattered when
passing through the atmosphere the
remainder, including some that is scattered
but reaches the earth’s surface is called the
solar radiation (Rs).

• Rs is dependent on Ra and the transmission

through the atmosphere that is dependent on
cloud cover.
 e) Net radiation (Rn).
• Part of Rs is reflected back directly by the soil
and crop and is lost to the atmosphere.
• Reflection (α) depends on the nature of the
surface cover and is approximately 5 to 7%
for water and around 15 to 25% for most
crops.
• (i.e. it depends on crop cover and wetness of
the exposed soil surface).

• That, which remains is net short-wave solar

radiation (Rns).
 e) Net radiation (Rn).
• Additional loss at the earth’s surface occurs
since the earth radiates part of its absorbed
energy back through the atmosphere as long
wave radiation.

• This is normally greater than the down

coming long wave atmospheric radiation.
 e) Net radiation (Rn).
• The difference between out going and in coming
long wave radiation is called net long wave
radiation (Rn ℓ ).

• Since outgoing is greater than incoming, Rn

represents net energy loss.

• Total net radiation (Rn ) = Rns – Rnɭ .

• Radiation can be expressed in different units.
• It can be given as the energy required to evaporate
• water from an open surface and is given here as
equivalent evaporation in mm/day.
 e) Net radiation (Rn).
To calculate Rn the steps are
• i) It measured Rn is not available, select Ra value in
mm/day from Table 10 for given month and latitude.
• ii) To obtain Rs , correct Ra value for n/N by
• iii) For most crops α = 0.25 Table 12 can be used to
calculate Ras from the ratio n/N and α = 0.25.
• iv) Not long wave radiation (Rnɘ) can be determined
from T, ed and n/N. Values for the function f (T),
f(ed) and f(n/N) are given in Tables 13, 14, and 15
respectively.
• v) To obtain total net radiation (Rn), the algebraic
sum of Rns and Rnl is calculated.
• Rnl always constitutes a net loss so Rn = Rns - Rnl.
 Example :
• Given : Sunshine n = 11. 5 hr/day.
• Calculation
• Ra Table Ro
• Rs = ( 0.25 + 0.50 n/N) Ra
• n = 11.5 hr
• Table 11 N = 13.9 hr
• n/N = 0.83
Hence,
Rs = 8.4 mm/day
 Example :
• Rns = (1- ɑ) Rs

Table 12
• Rnl = {f(T), f(ed), f{n/N)}

Table 13 f(T) = 16.4

Table 14 f(ed) = 0.13
Table 15 f((n/N) = 0.85 = 1.8 mm/day

• Rn = Rns = - Rnl = 6.6 mm/day

 f) Adjustment factor (C)
• The Penman equation given assumes the most
common conditions where
- radiation is medium to high
- RH max is medium to high
- Moderate daytime wind about double the night time
wined.
• However, these conditions are not always met.

• For other conditions the penman equation should

be corrected (Table 16 for values of C depending
on RHmax , Rs , U day and U day / U night )
 Example
RH max 90% , Rs 12 mm/day U day 3 m/sec U
day / U night 3 ᴝ C = 1.28 (Table 16)
• RH max 60% , Rs 6 mm/day U day 3 m/sec U
day / U night 2 ᴝ C = 0.91 (Table 16)
• The reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo)
Can be calculated using

• ETo = C { W.Rn + (1 - W). f(u), (ea - ed)}

 Example
• Given ; Cairo , July
• W = 0.77 ,
• Rn 6.6
• 1 - W = 0.23
• f(u) = 0.90
• ( ea - ed) = 17.5
• C = 1.01
 Example
• Calculation:

• ETo = C { W.Rn + (1 - W). f(u), (ea - ed)}

• ETo = 1.01 ( 0.77x6.6 +0.23x0.90 x17.5) = 8.8

mm/day
 Irrigation Efficiencies
• i) Water storage efficiency

• Water storage efficiency (Es), is the amount

of water actually stored in the subject area
expressed as a percentage of the volume of
water that can be stored.

• The general form of the Es equation is given

as follows.
Where Z = amount infiltrated (m3 . m-1 )
L = channel length (m)
Lov = length of that part of the channel that received
an amount of water equal to or in excess of the
perceived requirements (m)
Zr = required amount of application (perceived
requirements ) (m3 . m-1 )
 ii- Water Distribution Efficiency (Ed)
• This shows how uniformly water is applied to
the field along the irrigation run.
• In sandy soils there is generally over irrigation
at upper reaches of the run when as in clayey
soils, there is over- irrigation at the lower
reaches of the run.

Where Ed = water distribution efficiency

d = average depth of water penetration.
y = average deviation from d.
 iii- Field Canal Efficiency (Ef)
• This is a measure of the efficiency with which
the water is conveyed through the field
channels until it feeds the

Where,
Ef = Field canal efficiency
Wp = water delivered to the plot at the head of furrows
and strips
Wf = water delivered to the field channel
 iv- Water Use Efficiency
• This shows the yield of the crop per unit
volume of water used.
• It may be expressed in Kg/ha.cm or q/ha.cm
• A. Crop Water Use Efficiency: is the ratio
of the crop yield (Y) to the amount of water
consumptively used by the crop.

B. Field Water Use Efficiency: is the ratio of the

crop yield (y) to the total water requirement of
crops including Cu losses and other needs.
 v- Project Efficiency (Ep)
• This shows how efficiently the water source
used in crop production.
• It shows the percentage of the total water that
is stored in the soil and available for
consumptive requirements of the crop.
• It indicates the overall efficiency of the
systems from the head work to the final use
by plants for Cu.
• It is given as
• Ep = Ec * Eb * Ea * nw
 Example:
• A stream size of 150 lit /sec was released from the diversion
headwork to irrigate a land of area 1.8 hectares.
• The stream size when measured at the delivery to the field
channels is 120lit/sec.
• The stream continued for h hours.
• The effective root zone depth is 1.80m.
• The application losses in the field are estimated to be
440m3.
• The depth of water penetration was 1.80m and 1.20m at the
head and tail of the run respectively.
• The available water holding capacity of the soil is 21cm/m
and irrigation was done at 60% depletion of Am.
• Find Ec, ,Ef, Ea, Es and Ed.
• The stream size delivered to the plot was 100 lit/sec.
 Solution

= 120 lit/sec * 100 = 80%

150 lit/sec

= 100 lit/sec * 100 = 83.3 %

120 lit/sec
Water delivered to the plot = 100 * 60*60*8
1000
= 2880 m3
• Water stored in the root zone =
= 2880m3 – Application losses
= 2880m 3 - 440m3 = 2440m3

= 2440 m3 * 100 = 84.7 %

2880 m3
Total A.M = 21cm/m x 1.80m = 37.80 cm
RAM = 60 * 37.80 cm = 22.68 cm
100
In volume RAM = 22. 68 *1.8 * 104 = 4082.4m3
100

= 2440 m3 * 100 = 59.8 % = 60%

4082.4 m3
Average water penetration, d = (1.8 + 1.2)/2 = 1.5m
Numerical deviation at upper end =1.80 –1.50=0.30m
• At lower end = 1.50 – 1.20 =0.30m
• Average numerical deviation = 2*0.3 = 0.30m
2

= 100 * ( 1- 0.30 ) = 80 %
1.50
 IRRIGATION SCHEDULING
• Scheduling of irrigation application is very important
for successive plant growth and maturity.
• Water is not applied randomly at any time and in any
quantity.
• Irrigation scheduling is the schedule in which water is
applied to the field.
• If in an important aspect of an efficient operation of an
irrigation system.
• The scheduling of irrigation can be field irrigation
scheduling and field irrigation supply schedules.
• Field irrigation Scheduling is done at field level.
• The two scheduling parameters of field irrigation
scheduling are the depth of irrigation and interval of
irrigation.
 1. Depth of irrigation (d)
• This is the depth of irrigation water that is to be
applied at one irrigation.
• It is the depth of water that can be retained in the
crop root zone b/n the field capacity and the given
depletion of the available moisture content.
• All the water retained in the soil b/n FC and PWP is
not readily available to crops.
• The readily available moisture is only some
percentage of the total available moisture.
• Thus, depth of irrigation is the readily available
portion of the soil moisture. In other words, it is the
depth of irrigation water required to replenish the
soil moisture to field capacity.
• Depth of irrigation (d) is given by
• d(net) = As * D (FC – PWP) * P , m
• Where As = Apparent specific gravity of soil
• D = Effective root zone depth in m
• FC = water content of soil at F.C
• PWP = Water content of soil at PWP
• P = depletion factor
• Because of application lasses such as deep percolation
and runoff losses, the total depth of water to be applied
will be greater than the net depth of water.
• Gross depth of application

Where Ea = Field application efficiency and other parameters

as defined above
 2. Interval of Irrigation (i)
• The interval of irrigation is the time gap in
days b/n two successive irrigation
applications.
• It depends on the type of the crop, soil type
and climate conditions.
• Thus interval of irrigation depends on the
consumptive use rate of the crop and the
amount of readily available moisture in the
crop root zone.
• The consumptive use rate of the crop varies
from crop to crop and also
• during different stages of the crop.
• The RAM moisture also varies from soil to soil
depending on soil water constants.
• The interval (frequency) of irrigation is given by :

Where,
ETcrop(peak) is the peak rate of crop evapotranspiration
in m/day.
For the same crop and soil science the ETcrop (peak)
goes on increasing from the initial stage to the
development and mid season stage the interval of
irrigation will go on decreasing and increasing during
rate season stage.
 Field Irrigation Supply Schedules (Irrigation
Scheduling in a Command Area)
• This is the schedule of water supply to
individual fields or command area.
• This is a schedule of the total volume of
water to be applied to the soil during
irrigation.
• It depends on crop and soil characteristics.
• It is expressed as: -
Where q= Stream size (application rate ) lit/sec
• t = Application time in sec
• Ea = Application efficiency
• As = Apparent specific gravity
• D = Effective root zone depth ,m
• P = Depletion factor
• A = Area of the command (field) in ha
• From the above equation, if either of the
application time or the stream size fixed, one
of them can be determined.
• In the above equation q.t indicates the total
volume of water applied to the field during
irrigation at the head of the field.
• But the total volume of water diverted at the
headwork will obviously be greater than this
value, because there is loss of water during
conveyance and distribution canals.
Total volume of water diverted at the headwork
• The total volume of water to be diverted is
given by :

Where Q = flow rate at the head work, let/sec.

Ep = project efficiency and others as defined above.
 Example
• For the data below, determine depth & interval of
irrigation during different stages.
• Depth of the root zone = 1 m , FC = 20 %, PwP = 8 %
• Dry density of soil = 1.6 gm/cm3 and density of water =
1 gm/cm3 .
• The rates of consumptive uses during different stages
are as follows.
• A depletion of 50% during initial period, 60 % during
development and mid – season stage and 70 % during
late season stage is allowable.
• Determine the depth and interval of irrigation during
different stages of the crop.
• The CU during different stages is as follows.
 Bulk
FC 0.2 PWP 0.08 density 1.6 density of water 1 As 1.6

Month June July August September

decade 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
Stage Init, Init. In/dev dev dev dev mid mid mid Late Late late
ETcrop(
mm/day
) 3.5 3.5 5 5.2 5.8 6.5 6.6 6.6 6.6 6.2 6 5.8
Root
depth
(m) 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8
D.
factor
(P) 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.7
TAW
(mm) 57.6 57.6 76.8 96 115.2 134.4 153.6 153.6 153.6 153.6 153.6 153.6
RAW
(mm) 28.8 28.8 38.4 57.6 69.12 80.64 92.16 92.16 92.16 107.52 107.52 107.52
net
depth of
irrigatio
n(mm) 28.8 28.8 38.4 57.6 69.12 80.64 92.16 92.16 92.16 107.52 107.52 107.52
Interval
of
irrigatio
n (days) 8.22 8.22 7.68 11.07 11.91 12.40 13.96 13.96 13.96 17.34 17.92 18.53
Irrigation interval (days) 7 11 13 17
Example 2 .A crop has in effective root zone of 120 cm (1.20
m) prior to irrigation, soil samples were taken from different
depths to determine the moisture status of the soil.

depth of root zone weight soil weight of oven dry

(m) sample (gm) soil (gm)
0 to 0.3 m 98.8 94.6
0.3 to 0.6m 96.6 92.1
0.6 to 0.9m 95 90.6
0.9 to 1.20 m 94 89.4
 Example
• The water holding capacity of the soil at field
capacity is 19.60 cm/meter.
• The apparent specific gravity of the soil is
1.60.
• Determine, the moisture content in the root
zone at different depths total depth of water
available in the root zone at different depths,
total depth of water available in the root zone
and the soil moisture deficit.
 Solution
For depth From 0 - 0.3 m
mass of water = 98.80 gm - 94.6 gm = 4.2 gm
Moisture content =
W = mass of water = 4.2gm = 4.44 %
dry wt. 94.60 gm

In depth of water = d = As* D* P

= 1.6 * 0.3 * 0.0444
= 0.0213 m
= 2.13 cm
 Solution
• For depth 0.3-0.6m
• Mass of water=96.60-92.10=4.50gm.
• W=4.50/92.10 *100= 4.88%
• In depth, d = As. D.P = 1.60 * 0.30* 0.0488 =
0.0234 = 2.34 cm
• For depth 0.6-0.9m
• Mass of water=95.00-90.60=4.40gm.
• W=4.40/90.60 *100= 4.86%
• In depth, d = As. D.P = 1.60 * 0.30* 0.0486 =
0.0233 = 2.33 cm
 Solution
• For depth 0.9- 1.2m
• Mass of water=94.00-89.40=4.60gm.
• W=4.60/ 89.40 *100= 5.14%
• In depth, d = As. D.P = 1.60 * 0.30* 0.0514 =
0.0247 = 2.47 cm
 Solution
• The total depth of water in the root zone is the total
of all the water retained at different depths.
• Total depth = 2.13 cm + 2.34 cm + 2.33 cm + 2.47
cm = 9.27 cm
• Water retained at field capacity = 19.60 cm/m
• Water in the root zone = 19.60 * 1.20 m = 23.52 cm
• The soil moisture deficit prior to irrigation is
therefore,
• FC – depth of water during sampling
• = 23.52 cm – 9.27 cm = 14.25 cm
 Solution
• This deficit is the amount of water which
should be added to the soil to bring the soil
moisture content to field capacity.
• Thus, it represents the depth of irrigation.
• Assuming that the peak rate of consumptive
use during the stage of the plant is 8mm/day
• Interval, I = depth = 142.50mm
peak Cu 8 mm/day
= 17.8 days
= 17 days
 Solution
• The next watering will be done after 17 days.
• The interval should not be made 18 days,
because the plant may suffer shortage of
water for one day.

• Assignment I