Water Requirements of Crop

CROP WATER REQUIREMENT

The area were irrigation is must for agriculture is called
arid region.

The area in which inferior crops can be grown without

irrigation is called Semi-arid region.

Water requirement of crops means the total quantity

and the way in which a crop requires water, from the time
it is sown to the time it is harvested.
Two main crops in India
Rabi crops (Winter crops) October to march
Wheat, barley, peas
Kharif crops (monsoon crops) March to september
Rice, millet, maize
Zaid crops (Rabi-Kharif) March to june
Dry crops
Wet crops
Functions of Irrigation Water
Soil furnishes the following for the plant life:
1. To supply water partially or totally forcrop need
2. To cool both the soil and theplant
3. Provides water for its transpiration.
4. Dissolves minerals for its nutrition.
5. Provides Oxygen for its metabolism.
6. Serves as anchor for its roots.
7. To enhance fertilizer application- fertigation
8. To Leach Excess Salts
9. To improve Groundwater storage
10. To Facilitate continuous cropping

Chapter-1 2
Preparation of Land for Irrigation
The uncultivated land should be properly prepared, as following, before irrigation
water is applied upon it.
(i)Removal of thick jungle, bushes etc., from the raw land. The roots of the trees
should be extracted and burnt. The land should thereafter be properly cleaned.
(ii)The land should be made level. High patches should be scraped and depression
filled. Unless this is done, water will fill the depression and duty may be too high.
(iii)The land should be provided with regular slope in the direction of falling
gradient.
(iv)The land should be divided into suitable plots by small levees according to the
method of irrigation to be practiced.
(v)Permanent supply ditches and water courses should be excavated at regular
spacing which facilitate proper distribution of the water to the entire field.
(vi) A drain ditch which carries the waste water should also be excavated. .
(vii)Proper drainage measures should be adopted where the danger of water logging
may become eminent after the introduction of canal irrigation
Water Requirement of Crops 3
Crop Period or Base Period
The time period that elapses from the instant of its sowing to the instant of its
harvesting is called the crop-period.
The time between the first watering of a crop at the time of its sowing to its
last watering before harvesting is called the Base period.
Crop period is slightly more than the base period, but for all practical
purposes, they are taken as one and the same thing, and generally expressed in
B days.

Water Requirement of Crops 4

SOME DEFINITIONS
Gross Commanded Area (GCA)
The total area lying between drainage boundaries which can be commanded or irrigated
by a canal system or water course is known as gross commanded area.

Culturable Commanded Area (CCA)

Gross commanded area contains some unfertile barren land, local ponds, villages,
graveyards etc which are actually unculturable areas.
The gross commanded area minus these unculturable area on which crops can be grown
satisfactorily is known as Culturable Commanded Area.
CCA = GCA – Unculturable Area

Culturable Cultivated Area

The area on which crop is grown at a particular time or crop season.

Culturable Uncultivated Area

The area on which no crop is grown at a particular time or crop season
Water Requirement of Crops 5
Intensity of Irrigation (I.I)
Percentage of CCA that is cultivated in a particular season.
Kor depth and kor period
The distribution of water during the base period is not uniform, since crops require
maximum water during first watering after the crops have grown a few centimeters.
During the subsequent watering the quantity of water needed by crops gradually
decreases and is least when crop gains maturity.
The first watering is known as kor watering, and the depth applied is known as kor
depth.
The portion of the base period in which kor watering is needed is known as kor period.
While designing the capacity of a channel, kor water must be taken into account since
discharge in the canal has to be maximum during this time.
Crop ratio
The ratio of area irrigated in Rabi season to that irrigated in Kharif season is known as
crop ratio.
The crop ratio is so selected that the discharge in the canal during both the seasons may
be uniform.
Water Requirement of Crops 6
Outlet factor
It is defined as the duty at the outlet.

Time factor
The time factor of a canal is the ratio of the number of days the canal has actually run
to the number of days of irrigation period.
For example, if the number of days of irrigation period = 12, and the canal has actually
run for 5 days, the time factor will be 5/12.
(Note: A day has a period of 24 hours (i.e. it includes the night also).

Capacity factor
This is the ratio of the mean supply discharge to the full supply discharge of a canal.

Water Requirement of Crops 7

Delta
Each crop requires a certain amount of water after a certain fixed interval of time,
throughout its period of growth.
The depth of water required every time, generally varies from 5 to 10 cm
depending upon the type of the crop.
If this depth of water is required five times during the base period, then the total
water required by the crop for its full growth, will be 5 multiplied by each time
depth. The final figure will represent the total quantity of water required by the
crop for its full-fledged nourishment.
The total quantity of water required by the crop for its full growth may be
expressed in centimeter (inches) or hectare-metre (Acre-ft) or million cubic meters
(million cubic ft).
This total depth of water (in cm) required by a crop to come to maturity is called
its delta (∆).

Water Requirement of Crops 8

Example 1
If rice requires about 10 cm depth of water at an average interval of about 10 days.
and the crop period for rice is 120 days, find out the delta for rice.
Solution.
Water is required at an interval of 10 days for a period of 120 days.
Hence, No. of required waterings = 120/10 = 12
Therefore, Total depth of water required = No. of waterings x Depth of
watering
= 12 x 10 cm = 120 cm.
Hence, ∆ for rice =120 cm. Ans.

Example 2
If wheat requires about 7.5 cm of water after every 28 days, and the base period for
wheat is 140 days, find out the value of delta for wheat.
Solution.
No. of required waterings = 140/28 = 5
The depth of water required each time = 7.5 cm.
:. Total depth of wWaatet errRreequqirdem.einnto1f4C0ropdsays= 5 x 7.5 cm = 37.5 cm 9
Average Approximate Values of ∆ for Certain Important Crops in Pakistan

S. No Crop Delta on field

1. Suger cane 120 cm (48”)
2. Rice 120 cm (48”)
3. Tobacco 75 cm (30”)
4. Garden fruits 60 cm (24”)
5. Cotton 50 cm (22”)
6. Vegetables 45 cm (18”)
7. Wheat 40 cm (16”)
8. Barley 30 cm (12”)
9. Maize 25 cm (10”)
10. Fodder 22.5 cm (9”)
11. Peas 15 cm (6”)

Water Requirement of Crops 10

 Irrigation requirements of Certain Important crops
Average
Average quantity of Average quantity of
water depth Irrigation requirements and
S.No Crop Period of growth seed required yield obtained
required remarks
(kg/hectare) (kg/hectare)
(in cm)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
Four or five watering .
Kharif Crops
(i) 45 Sensitive to drought and floods. 15 3,000
Maize (high yielding) June to Sept-Oct
Responsible to fertilizers.

Bajra (Spiked millets Water should not stand.

(ii) or Pearl millets), July to Nov 30 Irrigation as required. 3.75 2,000
high yielding Resistant to drought and flooding.

Sown in July as
Juar (Great millets),
(iii) fodder and cut green 30 Same as above 12.5 3,000
high yielding
more than once.

(iv) Ground-nut May to Nov-Dec 45 ‘Paleo’ reqd. before sowing. -- 1,600

Three or four irrigations are required.

(v) Cotton May-June to Nov-Jan 25-40 Damage up to the extent of 50% may -- 500
be caused by flooding, rains ets.

(vi) Pulses like Arhar, etc. July-Aug to Nov-Dec 30 Irrigated when leaves get dries. 12.5 700

30 to 35 kg of seed is
Transplanted Rice Standing water of 5 to 8 cm gives best sufficient to raise
(vii) July to Nov 125-150 4500
(Paddy), high yielding results. nursery to transplant one
hectare.

Generally not irrigated but better to

(viii) Til July-Aug to Oct-Nov -- 1.25 350
irrigate once.
11
Water Requirement of Crops
 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)

Rabi Crops
(i) Oct to March-April 37.5 Three-four watering of 7-10 cm depth. 80-100 1500
Wheat (ordinary)

(ii) Wheat (high yielding) Oct to March-April 45 Five-six watering of 7-10 cm depth. 100-125 4000

(iii) Gram (high yielding) Sept-Oct to March 30 Irrigated when leaves get dry. 12.5 3500

Two watering; one at jointing and

(iv) Barley Oct to Mar-April 30 120 1300
another at booting stage.

Usually irrigated ; sown in high hills

(v) Potatoes Sept-Oct to Feb 60-90 upto early April. Second crop in plains 15,000 35,000
is sometimes, taken in Feb-April.

(vi) Tobacco Oct-Feb to Feb-May 60 Four to five watering. 4,500

Irrigated at intervals of 15 days.

(vii) Linseed i.e Alsi Oct-Nov to March 45-50 Resistant to drought but damaged by 700
frost and flooding.

(viii) Mustard Oct to Feb-Mar 45 Watered at intervals of 7-10 days 33 1000 to 1600

Overlapping crop generally classified under Rabi crop

(i) Sugercane Feb-March to Dec-March 90 5 or 6 waterings of 10 cm or more 500 25,000 – 30,000

Water Requirement of Crops 12

Duty of Water
The duty of water is the relationship between the volume of water and the area of the
crop it matures.
This volume of water is generally expressed as, “a unit discharge flowing for a time
equal to the base period of the crop, called Base of a duty”.
If water flowing at a rate of one cubic metre per second, runs continuously for B days,
and matures 200 hectares, then the duty of water for that particular crop will be defined
as 200 hectares per cumec to the base of B days.
Hence, duty is defined as the area irrigated per cumec of discharge running for base
period B. The duty is generally represented by the letter D. Mathematically, D = A / Q
The duty of water can be expressed as one of the following four ways:
(i)By the number of hectare (or acre,) that one cumec (or cusec) of water can irrigate
during the base period, e.g. 1700 hectares/cumec (or 120 acres/cusec). .
(ii) By total depth of water (or Delta) i.e. 1.20 metres.
(iii)By number of hectare, (or acres) that can be irrigated by a million cubic metre (or
million cu.ft) of stored water. This system is used for tank irrigation.
(iv)By the number of hectare-m Weatterr e
Rsequ(io
rer
mea
ntcor
feC-
rofpts) expended per hectare (or 13acre)
irrigated. This is also used in tank irrigation.
For a precise statement of the duty by the first method, which is quite common in canal
irrigation system, it is necessary to state the following along with the duty figures :
(a) base period, and (b) place of measurement of duty
i.e. the duty of water for a certain crop is 1700 hectares/cumec at the field, for a base
period of 120 days.
The duty varies with the place of its measurement, because of the continuous
conveyance losses as the water flows.
The duty of water goes on increasing as the water flows. For example, in the
following Figure, let C be the head of the field, B be the head of the water course or the
field channel, and A be the head of the distributary.
Let the area of the field be 1700 hectares,
and let 1 cumec water be required to be
delivered at point C, for the growth of the
crop. Thus, the duty at the head of the
field will be 1700 hectares/cumec.
Assuming the conveyance losses between
B and C to be 0.1 cumec (say), the
discharge required at B will be 1.1
cumecs, and hence duty of water
measured at B will be 1700/1.1 W=ate1r5R4eq5uirementof Crops 14
hectare/cumec only.
Again, if the losses between A to B are taken to be equal to 0.2 cumec, the discharge
required at the head of the distributary will be 1.1 + 0.2 = 1.3 cumecs, i e. if 1.3 cumecs
are discharged at A, then 1 cumec will 1 reach at the head of the field. Hence the duty
of water at A will be 1700/1.3 = 1308 hectares/cumec only. Thus, duty at the head of
the water course (at B) is lesser than the duty at the head of the field, and is greater than
the duty at the head of the distributary. The duty at the head of the water course is
called the outlet duty.

Thus measurements of duty are taken at four points noted below:

(i) At the head of main canal - known as Gross Quantity.
(ii) At the head of a branch canal - known as Lateral Quantity.
(iii) At the outlet of a canal - known as Outlet Factor.
(iv) At the head of land, to be irrigated - known as Net Quantity.

Water Requirement of Crops 15

Water Requirement of Crops 16
Relation between Duty, Delta and Base period
Let, base period of the crop be B days, and
one cumec of water be applied to this crop on the field for B days.
Now, volume of water applied to this crop during B days
= V = (1 x 60 x 60 x 24 x B) m3
= 86,400 B m3
By definition of duty (D), one cubic meter supplied for B days matures D hectares
of land.
:. This quantity of water (V) matures D hectares of land or 104 D sq. m of area.
Total depth of water applied on this land
= Volume/area = 86400 B / 104 D = 8.64 B / D metres
By definition, this total depth of water is called delta (∆),
∆ = 8.64 B / D meter
∆ = 864 B / D cm
Wa e
t r Re quire m en to fCr op s 17
where, ∆ is in cm, B is in days ;and D is d uty in hectares/cumec.
Example
Find the delta for a crop when its duty is 864 hectares/cumec on the field. The base
period of this crop is 120 days.
Solution.
In this question, B = 120 days; and D = 864 hectares/cumec
Since, ∆ = 864 B / D cm
= 864 x 120 / 864
= 120 cm

Water Requirement of Crops 18

Example 3.3 (Punmia)
An irrigation canal has gross commanded area of 80,000 hectares out of which
85% is culturable irrigable. The intensity of irrigation for Kharif season is 30%
and for Rabi season is 60%. Find the discharge required at the head of canal if
the duty at its head is 800 hectares/cumec for Kharif season and 1700
hectares/cumec for Rabi season.
Solution:
Gross culturable area = GCA = 80,000 hectares
Culturable commanded area = CCA = 0.85 x 80,000 = 68,000 hectares
Area under Kharif season = 68,000 x 0.30 = 20,400 hectares
Area under Rabi season = 68,000 x 0.60 = 40,800 hectares
Water required at the head of the canal in Kharif = Area/duty
= 20,400/800 = 25.5 cumecs
Water required at the head of the canal in Rabi = Area/duty

= 40,800/1700 = 24.0 cumecs

Since water requirement in Kharif is more so the canal may be designed to
carry a discharge of 25.5 cumecs.
Example 3.4 (Punmia)
A watercourse has a culturable commanded area of 2600 hectares, out of
which the intensities of irrigation for perennial sugar-cane and rice crops are
20% and 40% respectively. The duty for these crops at the head of watercourse
are 750 hectares/cumec and 1800 hectares/cumec respectively. Find the
discharge required at the head of watercourse if the peak demand is 20% of
the average requirement.
Solution:
Culturable commanded area = CCA = 2,600 hectares
Area under sugar-cane = 2600 x 0.2 = 520 hectares
Area under rice = 2600 x 0.4 = 1040 hectares
Water required for sugarcane = Area/duty = 520/750 = 0.694 cumecs
Water required for rice = Area/duty = 1040/1800 = 0.577 cumecs
Since sugar-cane is a perennial crop, it will require water throughout the year.
Hence,

Watercourse must carry a total discharge = 0.694 + 0.577

= 1.271 cumecs
Example 3.5 (Punmia)
The left branch canal carrying a discharge of 20 cumecs has a culturable
commanded area of 20,000 hectares. The intensity of Rabi crop is 80% and the
base period is 120 days. The right branch canal carrying a discharge of
8cumecs has a culturable commanded area of 12,000 hectares, intensity of
irrigation of Rabi crop is 50% and base period is 120 days. Compare the
efficiencies of the two canal systems.
Solution:
(a) For left branch canal:
Area under Rabi crop = 20,000 x 0.8 = 16,000 hectares
Discharge = 20 cumecs

Duty = Area/Discharge = 16,000/20 = 800 hectares / cumec

(b) For right branch canal:
Area under Rabi crop = 12,000 x 0.5 = 6,000 hectares
Discharge = 8 cumecs
Duty = Area/Discharge = 6,000/8 = 750 hectares / cumec
Since left canal system has higher duty, it is more efficient.
Example 3.6 (Punmia)
A watercourse has a culturable commanded area of 1200 hectares. The
intensity of irrigation for crop A is 40% and for B is 35%, both the crops being
Rabi crops. Crop A has kor period of 20 days and crop B has a kor period of 15
days. Calculate the discharge of the watercourse if the kor depth for crop A is
10 cm and for crop B is 16 cm.
Solution:
(a)For crop A:
Area under irrigation = 1200 x 0.40 = 480 hectares
Kor period = b = 20 days; Kor depth = δ = 10 cm = 0.1 m
Duty = (8.64 x b) / δ = (8.64 x 20) / 0.1 = 1728 hectares/cumec
Hence discharge required = Area / duty = 480/1728 = 0.278 cumecs
(b) For crop B:
Area under irrigation = 1200 x 0.35 = 420 hectares
Kor period = b = 15 days; Kor depth = δ = 16 cm = 0.16 m
Duty = (8.64 x b) / δ = (8.64 x 15) / 0.16 = 810 hectares/cumec
Hence discharge required = 420/810 = 0.518 cumecs
Thus the design discharge of watercourse = 0.278 + 0.518 = 0.796
say 0.8 cumecs
Example 3.7 (Punmia)
A watercourse commands an irrigated area of 600 hectares. The intensity of
irrigation of rice in this area is 60%. The transplantation of rice takes 12 days,
and total depth of water required by the crop is 50cm on the field during the
transplantation period. During the transplantation period, the useful rain falling
on the field is 10 cm. Find the duty of irrigation water for the crop on the field
during transplantation, at the head of the field, and also at the head of the
distributary, assuming losses of water to be 20% in the watercourse. Also
calculate the discharge required in the watercourse.
Solution:
Note:
 Rice seed is initially germinated in separate seed beds.
Afterwards, Seedlings (young plants) of rice are thrust (transplanted) by hand
in another previously prepared land.
 Preparation of land for rice crop includes its thorough saturation before
ploughing, so as to puddle and soften the surface soil.
Transplantation takes about 10-15 days; requires large quantity of water, i.e.
30-60 cm on the field.
Example 3.7 (Cont.)
We know that Δ = 8.64 B / D
Where

B = transplantation period = 12 days

Δ = Depth of irrigation water actually applied in the field
= 50 – 10 = 40 cm = 0.40 m
D = Duty of the irrigation water on the field in hectares/cumec
D = 8.64 B / Δ = (8.64 x 12) / 0.40 = 259.5 hectares/cumec
This duty is on the field.

Since the losses in the canal are 20%, 1 cumec of water discharge at the head
of watercourse will become 0.8 cumecs at the head of field and hence will
irrigate 259.5 x 0.8 = 207.6 hectares only.
Hence the duty of water at the head of watercourse will be 207.6 ha/cumec.
Now total area under rice plantation = 600 x 0.6 = 360 hectares

Discharge at the head of watercourse = 360/207.6 = 1.735 cumecs

Example 3.8 (Punmia)
Table below gives the necessary data about the crop, their
duty and the area under each crop commanded by a canal
taking off from a storage reservoir. Taking a time factor for
the canal to be 13/20. calculate the discharge required at
the head of the canal. If the capacity factor is 0.8,
determine the design discharge.
Crop Base period Area Duty at head of
(days) (hectares) canal
(hectares/cumec)
Sugar-cane 320 850 580

Overlap for sugar-cane 90 120 580

(hot weather)
Wheat (Rabi) 120 600 1600

Bajri (Monsoon) 120 500 2000

Vegetable (hot weather) 120 360 600

Solution:
Discharge required for crops:
Discharge for sugar-cane = 850/580 = 1.465 cumecs
Discharge for overlap sugar-cane = 120/580 = 0.207 cumecs
Discharge for wheat = 600/1600 = 0.375 cumecs
Discharge for Bajri = 500/2000 = 0.250 cumecs
Discharge for vegetables = 360/600 = 0.600 cumecs
Since sugar-cane has a base period of 320 days, it will require water in
all seasons i.e. Rabi, Monsoon & Hot weather.
Discharge required in Rabi = 1.465 + 0.375 = 1.84 cumecs
Discharge required in Monsoon = 1.465 + 0.25 = 1.685 cumecs
Discharge required in hot weather = 1.465 + 0.207 + 0.600 = 2.272
cumecs
Thus the maximum demand of 2.272 cusecs is in the hot weather.
The time factor = 13/20
Therefore,
Full supply discharge at the head of the canal will be
= 20272 x 20/13
= 3.32 cumecs
Since, Capacity factor = 0.8
Hence,
Design discharge = full supply discharge / capacity factor
= 3.32 / 0.8
= 4.15 cumecs
Example 3.9 (Punmia)

The base period, intensity of irrigation and duty of various

crops under a canal system are given in the table below.
Find the reservoir capacity if the canal losses are 20% and
the reservoir losses are 12%.

Crop Base period Area Duty at the field

(days) (hectares) (hectares/cumec)
Wheat 120 4800 1800

Sugar-cane 360 5600 800

Cotton 200 2400 1400

Rice 120 3200 900

Vegetables 120 1400 700

Solution:
(i) Wheat
Discharge required = 4800 / 1800 cumecs
Volume of water required = (4800 / 1800) x 120 = 320 cumec-days
(ii) Sugar-cane
Discharge required = 5600 / 800 cumecs
Volume of water required = (5600 / 800) x 360 = 2520 cumec-days
(iii) Cotton
Discharge required = 2400 / 1400 cumecs
Volume of water required = (2400 / 1400) x 200 = 342 cumec-days
(iv) Rice
Discharge required = 3200 / 900 cumecs
Volume of water required = (3200 / 900) x 120 = 426 cumec-days
(v) Vegetables
Discharge required = 1400 / 700 cumecs
Volume of water required = (1400 / 700) x 120 = 240 cumec-days
Hence, total volume of water required on the field for all crops = 320 + 2520 +
342 + 426 + 240 = 3848 cumec-days
1 cumec-day = 1 cumec flowing for a whole day
= 1 x 24 x 60 x 60 m3
1 hectare meter = 1 x 104 m2
Hence, 1 cumec-day = (1 x 24 x 60 x 60) / (1 x 104) hectare-meters
= 8.64 hectare-meters
Hence, total volume of water required on the field = 3848 x 8.64
= 33300 hectare-meters
Since losses in the canal system are 20%, the volume of water required at the
head of canal = 33300 x (100/80) = 41600 ha-m
Allowing 12 % reservoir losses,
The capacity of the reservoir = 41600 x (100/88) = 47300 ha-m

Note: Alternatively this problem can also be solved in a tabular form. (Next
slide)
 Duty at the Volume
Base period field D Delta Δ = Area = (Δ x A)
Crop
B (days) (ha/cumec) (8.64 B)/D (ha)
(ha-m)

Wheat 120 1800 0.576 4800 2765.0

Sugar-cane 360 800 3.890 5600 21800.0

Cotton 200 1400 1.235 2400 2965.0

Rice 120 900 1.152 3200 3690.0

Vegetables 120 700 1.480 1400 2070.0

Total 33290

Therefore, capacity of the reservoir = 33290 / (0.8 x 0.88) =

47,300 ha-m
FACTORS AFFECTING DUTY
The duty of water of canal system depends upon a variety of the factors. The principal
factors are:
1. Methods and systems of irrigation;

2. Mode of applying water to the crops;

3. Methods of cultivation;

4. Time and frequency of tilling;

5. Types of the crop;

6. Base period of the crop;

7. Climatic conditions of the area;

8. Quality of water;

9. Method of assessment;

10. Canal conditions;

11. Character of soil and sub-soil of the canal;

12. Character of soil and suWba-tseorRileqoufiretmheentiorfrCirogpastion fields. 32
METHODS OF IMPROVING DUTY
When once the various factors affecting duty are properly understood, the duty can be
improved by making those factors less effective which tend to reduce the duty.
1.Suitable method of applying water to the crops should be used.
2.The land should be properly ploughed and leveled before sowing the crop. It should
be given good tilth.
3.The land should be cultivated frequently, since frequent cultivation reduces loss of
moisture specially when the ground water is within capillary reach of ground surface.
4.The canals should be lined. This reduces seepage and percolation losses. Also, water
can be conveyed quickly, thus reducing, evaporation losses.
5.Parallel canals should be constructed. If there are two canals running side by side,
the F.S.L. will be lowered, and the losses will thus be reduced.
6.The idle length of the canal should be reduced.
7.The alignment of the canal either in sandy soil or in fissured rock should be avoided.
8.The canal should be so aligned that the areas to be cultivated are concentrated along
it.
Water Requirement of Crops 33
9. The source of supply should be such that it gives good quality of water.
10.The rotation of crops must be practiced.
11. Volumetric method of assessment should be used.
12.The farmers must be trained in the proper use of water, so that they apply correct
quantity of water at correct timing.
13.The land should be redistributed to the farmers so that they get only as much land as
they are capable of managing it.
14.Research stations should be established in various localities to study the soil, the
seed and conservation of moisture. The problems concerning the economical use of
water should be studied at research stations.
15.The canal administrative staff should be efficient, responsible and honest. The
operation of the canal system should be such that the farmers both at the head of the
canal as well as at the tail end get water as and when they need it.

Water Requirement of Crops 34

Evapotranspiration (ET)
Evapotranspiration denotes the quantity of water transpired by
plants during their growth, or retained in the plant tissue, plus
the moisture evaporated from the surface of the soil and the
vegetation.

FactorsAffecting Evapotranspiration

•Weather
•Crop characteristics
•Management
•Environmental conditions

Water Requirement of Crops 35

 Weather

– Solar radiation
– Air temperature
– Relative humidity
– Wind speed

July 12, 2005 NRCSIWM TrainingCourse 36

Crop Characteristics

• Crop type and variety

– Height, roughness, stomatal control, reflectivity, ground
cover, rooting characteristics

• Stage of development

July 12, 2005 NRCSIWM TrainingCourse 37

Management

• Irrigation method
• Irrigation management
• Cultivation practices
• Fertility management
• Disease and pest control

July 12, 2005 NRCSIWM TrainingCourse 38

Environmental Conditions

• Soil type, texture, water-holding capacity

• Soil salinity
• Soil depth and layering
• Poor soil fertility
• Exposure/sheltering

July 12, 2005 NRCSIWM TrainingCourse 39

Determination of Consumptive Use (Cu)
(A) Direct Measurement
1. Lysimeter method: Cu is determined by irrigating a small plot
with no lateral inflow. Cu is the difference of water applied
and that collected through pervious bottom and collected in
pan/bottle.

2. Field experimental plots:

A more dependable method.
Water application with no runoff and deep percolation
Usual trend: initially, yield increases with application
then, yield decreases
Irrigation vs. yield is plotted.
Optimum Cu is breaking/peak point of the curve.
3. Soil moisture studies:
suited where soil is faily uniform & GW is deep
soil moisture measured before and after each irrigation.
water consumed per day is calculated
rate of use vs. time is plotted

4. Irrigation methods:
area based determination of Cu
area under irrigated crops
Natural vegetation
water surface
bare land is calculated first
Cu is the integration of unit use of water multiplied with that
area, expressed in cu. m.
5. Inflow and outflow studies:
for annual Cu of large areas
U = (I+P) + (Gs-Ge) – R
where
U = valley consumptive use
I = total inflow during the year
P = yearly precipitation on valley floor
Gs = ground storage at the beginning of the year
Ge = ground storage at the end of the year
R = yearly runoff
(B) Using Equations
• wide variety of empirical, semi-empirical, and
physically-based equations/models
• generally categorized as:
–temperature methods
–radiation methods
–combination methods
–pan evaporation methods

(1) Blaney-Criddle Formula

(2) Hargreaves Class A Pan Evaporation Method
Percentage daylight hours for Northern Hemisphere (0-500 latitude)
 Consumptive use Coefficients

* The lower values are for more humid areas and the higher values are
for more arid climates.
** Dependent upon mean monthly temperature and stage of growth of
crop.
Values of monthly consumptive use calculated from the above formula
have been tabulated in the last column ofTable.
Thus, Yearly Consumptive use = ∑Cu= 1750 mm = 1.75 m.
(2) Hargreaves ClassAPan EvaporationMethod
Cu= K.Ep
Where
Ep= Pan evaporation (data obtained from Meteorological dept.);and
K = Crop factor for that period(Crop coefficient)

Values of Crop factor, K

Irrigation Efficiencies
Efficiency is the ratio of the water output to the water input, and is
usually expressed as percentage. Input minus output is nothing but
losses, and hence, if losses are more, output is less and, therefore,
efficiency is less. Hence, efficiency is inversely proportional to
the losses. Water is lost in irrigation during various processes and,
therefore, there are different kinds of irrigation efficiencies, as
given below :

Water conveyance Efficiency (ηc)

It is the ratio of the water delivered into the fields from the outlet
point of the channel, to the water pumped into the channel at the
starting point. It takes the conveyance or transit losses into
account.
Water delivered to the farm Wf
c  
Water diverted from the river or reservoir Wr
Water application Efficiency (ηa)
It is the ratio of the quantity of water stored into the root zone of
the crops to the quantity of water delivered into the field. It may
also be termed as farm efficiency, as it takes into account the water
lost in the farm.

Water stored in the root zone during irrrigation

a 
Water delivered to the farm

Ws W f  R f  D f 
 
Wf Wf
where
R f  Surface runoff; D f  Deep percolation
Water storage Efficiency (ηs)
It is the ratio of the water stored in the root zone during irrigation
to the water needed in the root zone prior to irrigation ( i.e. field
capacity – existing moisture content ).

Water stored in the root zone during irrrigation

s 
Water needed in the root zone prior to irrigation
Ws

Wn
Water-use Efficiency (ηu)
It is the ratio of the water beneficially used, including leaching
water, to the quantity of water delivered.

Water used consumptively

u 
Water delivered to the farm
Wu

Wd
(v) Uniformity coefficient or Water distribution Efficiency (ηd)
The effectiveness of irrigation may also be measured by its water
distribution efficiency), which is defined below:

  y ;
 d  1001 
 d 
where
d  average depth of water stored during irrigation;
.
y  average numerical deviation in depth of water stored from
average depth stored during irrigation

Irrigation Efficiencies 54
The water distribution efficiency represents the extent to which the
water has penetrated to a uniform depth, throughout the field.
When the water has penetrated uniformly throughout the field, the
deviation from the mean depth is zero and water distribution
efficiency is 1.0
Consumptive use Efficiency,cu
Normal consumptive use of water

Net amount of water depleted from root zone soil water
.
Wcu

Wd

Irrigation Efficiencies 55
Penetration Depths 2 1.9 1.8 1.6 1.5

Deviation from Mean 0.24 0.14 0.04 -0.16 -0.26

Abs. Value of Dev. from Mean 0.24 0.14 0.04 0.16 0.26
Example 10.17
A stream of 135 litres per second was diverted from a canal and
100 litres per second were delivered to the field. An area of 1.6
hectares was irrigated in 8 hours. The effective depth of root zone
was 1.8 m. the runoff loss in the field was 432 cu.m. The depth of
water penetration varied linearly from 1.8 m at the head end of
the field to 1.2 m at the tail end. Available moisture holding
capacity of the soil is 20 cm per meter depth of soil. Determine
the water conveyance efficiency, water application efficiency,
water storage efficiency and water distribution efficiency.
Irrigation was started at a moisture extraction level of 50 percent
of the available moisture.

Irrigation Efficiencies 57
Solution:
(i) Water conveyance efficiency,
W
c  f 100100100 74%
Wd 135

(ii) Water application efficiency,

a  Ws 100
Wf

Water delivered to the plot

10060608  2880 cu.m
1000
 Water stored in the root zone
= 2880 -432 = 2448 cu.m
Water application efficiency

 2448100 85%
2880
(iii) Water storage efficiency,
s  W s 100
Wn

Water holding capacity of the zone

 20 1.8  36 cm
Moisture required in the root zone
 36 - 36  5 0 18cm
100
 18 1.610,000 2880 cu.m
100

Water storage efficiency  244810085%

2880
(iv) Water distribution efficiency
d  1 .100
y
 d
1.8 1.2
d  1.5 m
2
Numerical deviation from depth of penetration:
At upper end = 1.8 – 1.5 = 0.3
At lower end = 1.5 – 1.2 = 0.3

0.3  0.3
Average numerical deviation, y   0.3 m
2
 0.3 .100
 d   1
 1.5 
 80%
DETERMINATION OF IRRIGATION REQUIREMENTS OF
CROP
In order to determine the irrigation requirements of a certain crop, during
its base period, one should be acquainted with the following terms.
1.Effective Rainfall (Re): is part of the precipitation falling during the
precipitation period of the crop, that is available to meet the
evapotranspiration needs of the crop.
2.Consumptive Irrigation Requirements (CIR): is the amount of
irrigation water that is required to meet the evapotranspiration needs of
the crop (Cu) during its full growth. CIR
= Cu - Re
3.Net Irrigation Requirement (NIR): is the amount of irrigation water
required at the plot to meet the evapotranspiration needs of water as well
as other needs such as leaching etc. Thus
NIR = Cu –Re + water lost in deep percolation for the
purposes of leaching Water Requirement of Crops 61
4. Field Irrigation Requirement (FIR): is the amount of
irrigation water required to meet the net irrigation
requirements plus the water lost at the field (i.e in
percolation in the field water courses, field channels and
field application of water). If ηa is water application
efficiency:
FIR = NIR / ηa

5. Gross Irrigation Requirement (GIR): is the sum of water

required to satisfy the field irrigation requirement and the
water lost as conveyance losses in distrbutaries up to the
field. If ηc is the water conveyance efficiency, then
GIR = FIR / ηc
Water Requirement of Crops 62
Problem, (p/73, Punmia):
Determine the Consumptive use (Cu) and Gross irrigation
requirement (GIR) for wheat crop from the following data:
Pan Evaporation Consumptive use Effective rainfall
Dates and period Ep coefficient, Re
of growth K
(cm) (cm)

(1) (2) (3) (4)

Nov
3-30
15.8 0.3 -

Dec
13.1 0.77 0.8
1-31

Jan
12.8 0.90 0.6
1-31

Feb
15.0 0.76 -
1-29

March
16.2 0.58 -
1-12

Water Requirement of Crops 63

 DeterminationofIrrigationRequirementsofWheat
Period of Growth : 3rd Nov – 12 March( 131 Days), ηa = 0.68 , ηc = 0.8
Pan Consumptive
No . of days % of Consumptive
Evaporation, use
up to growing use Effective NIR FIR GIR
Interval Ep Cu rainfall = Cu – Re = NIR/ηa = FIR /ηc
mid point season coefficient, = K . Ep
of interval K Re
(cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm)
(3) (6) (8) (9) (10)
(2) (4) (5) (7)
(1)
= (2) * 100 = (4) * (5) = (6) - (7) = (8)/0.68 = (9)/0.8

Nov
14 11 15.8 0.3 4.7 - 4.7 6.9 8.6
3-30
Dec
44 33 13.1 0.77 10.1 0.8 9.3 13.7 17.1
1-31
Jan
75 57 12.8 0.90 11.5 0.6 10.9 16.0 20.0
1-31
Feb
105 80 15.0 0.76 11.4 - 11.4 16.8 21.0
1-29
March
125 95 16.2 0.58 9.4 - 9.4 13.8 17.3
1-12
∑= 47.1 45.7 67.2 84.0
Irrigation Efficiencies 64
Refer similar example in S. K. Garg Book