IRRIGATION

ENGINEERING

Course Instructor: Engr. Arif Asghar Gopang

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lecture students will be able:

 To know the advantages and disadvantages of various

irrigation methods

 To select the best irrigation method according to the to

land topography, type of crops and availability of water
resources

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 BASIN IRRIGATION
ADVANTAGES
o Efficient with good design
o Less labor than furrow irrigation
o Best suited for lands/crops where leaching is required to wash out salts
from the root zone
o Water application and distribution efficiencies are generally high.
LIMITATIONS
o It requires accurate land leveling to achieve high application efficiency
o Not suitable for crops which are sensitive to waterlogging

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 BORDER IRRIGATION

ADVANTAGES
oEasy to construct and maintain
oOperational system is simple and easy
o
oNatural drainage is facilitated through downward slope
oComparatively less labor is required

LIMITATIONS
oRequires flat and smooth topography
oNot suitable for sandy soils

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 FURROW IRRIGATION

ADVANTAGES
 Less water is required as compared to basin or border
 Evaporation loss is less

 Wastage of water is minimum

 It is suitable for row crops

LIMITATIONS
 Not suitable for high permeable soil where vertical
infiltration is much higher than the lateral entry
 High amount of water is needed than drip or sprinkler
irrigation
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 SPRINKLER
IRRIGATION
ADVANTAGES
 Readily automatable.
 Facilitates to fertilizers.

 High efficient irrigation system.

 Land levelling is not necessary

 Use of limited source of water

LIMITATIONS
 High initial and maintenance cost.
 Technical skill is required.

 Not adapted in windy climate and high temperature. 6

 DRIP IRRIGATION
ADVANTAGES
 High efficient systems.
 Each plant receives the same amount of water.

 In addition to water, fertilizer can also be applied directly to

the root zone of the plant.
 Limited water resources can be used

LIMITATIONS
 High initial cost
 Technical skill is required

 The closer the system higher the system cost per hectare
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WHICH IRRIGATION METHOD CAN BE USED HERE

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 ENERGY REQUIREMENT
SURFACE IRRIGATION METHOD REQUIRES LITTLE
OR NO ENERGY REQUIREMENT

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 SELECTION OF IRRIGATION METHOD

 It is necessary to decide appropriate method

of irrigation before installation in the field.

 Keep in mind the advantages and disadvantages of every method

 The method must suits to the local conditions.

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 FACTORS AFFECTING SELECTION OF AN
IRRIGATION METHOD
SOIL TYPE
o Light Sandy soils are not well suited to furrow or basin
irrigation systems.
o This is because of its low water holding capacity and
high infiltration rate.
o Sandy soils need slow and frequent application of water.
o High efficiency irrigation systems are useful for such
soils.

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 SOIL TYPE
 On loam or clay soils all three irrigation methods can be
used, but surface irrigation is more commonly found.
 For clay soils, due to their low infiltration rate and low
permeability, surface irrigation methods are ideally used.

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 CLIMATE
o Strong winds may disturb the spraying of water from
sprinklers.
o Under windy conditions, drip irrigation or surface
irrigation methods are most recommended.
o In areas of supplementary irrigation, drip or sprinkler
irrigation methods may be more suitable than surface
irrigation methods.

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FIELD SHAPE/GEOMETRY AND TOPOGRAPHY
o Flat lands with a slope of 0.1% or less, are best suited for basin
irrigation method.

o Border irrigation method is generally used with zero side slope

and a small but uniform longitudinal slope not exceeding 1%.

o Steeper land compared to border or basin irrigation (mild sloppy

topography 0.2 to 5%) is needed to establish furrow irrigation.

o Sprinklers or drip irrigation can be adapted to any steeper and

uneven topography, land levelling is not normally required.
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 WATER AVAILABILITY AND QUALITY
o The efficiency of drip and sprinkler irrigation method is
generally high than surface irrigation methods.
o So, these high efficient methods are more suitable when
water is in short supply.
o Surface irrigation is preferred when irrigation water
contains much sediment.
o The sediments may clog the drip or sprinkler irrigations
systems.

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 REQUIRED LABOR INPUTS

o Surface irrigation often requires a much higher labor

input for construction, operation and maintenance
than sprinkler or drip irrigation.
o Surface irrigation requires accurate land levelling,
regular maintenance and a high level of farmers'
organization to operate the system.
o Sprinkler and drip irrigation require little land
levelling; system operation and maintenance are less
labor-intensive.
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CROP TO BE USED IRRIGATED OR TYPE OF CROP

o The crop type also influences the selection of the irrigation

method.

o Surface irrigation can be used for all types of crops.

o Sprinkler and drip irrigation, due to high initial

cost are limited to high-value cash crops, such
as vegetables and fruit trees.

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 TYPE OF CROP CONTINUES…

o Those crops that cannot stand in a very wet soil for more than
12–24 hrs should not be grown in basins.

o Row crops such as maize, vegetables, and trees are best suited
to furrow irrigation.

o Close growing crops such as wheat, mustard, and alfalfa are

best suited to border irrigation.

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 COST AND BENEFITS
o Before choosing any irrigation system, an estimate must be
made of the costs and benefits of the available options.

o On the cost side, not only the construction and installation but
also the operation and maintenance (per hectare) should be
taken into account.

o These costs should then be compared with the expected

benefits (price of yields).

o The farmers would select those methods which require less

cost and producing higher benefit.
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 REQUIRED DEPTH AND FREQUENCY OF IRRIGATION
APPLICATION

oThedepth of water (mm) required per irrigation and seasonal total

water requirement influence the irrigation method.
oField experience has shown that most water can be applied per
irrigation application when using basin irrigation, less with border
irrigation, and least with furrow irrigation.
oIf
only little water is to be applied per application as in shallow
rooting crop, furrow irrigation would be most appropriate.
oOn a clay soil and with a deep rooting crop, border or basin
irrigation would be more appropriate.

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ANY
QUESTIONS ?
THANK
S