AEM 403-IRRIGATION ENGINEERING (3)

UNIT-4

Prepared by:
Dr. Anjitha Krishna P. R.
Asst. Professor (Faculty of Agrl. Engg.)
DEI, Agra
 Syllabus of AEM 403
 Unit1
 Major and medium irrigation schemes of India, purpose of irrigation, environmental impact
of irrigation projects, source of irrigation water, present status of development and
utilization of different water resources of the country
 Unit2
 Measurement of irrigation water: weir, flumes and orifices and other methods; open
channel water conveyance system : design and lining of irrigation field channels, on farm
structures for water conveyance, control & distribution;
 Unit3
 Underground pipe conveyance system: components and design; land grading: criteria for
land levelling, land levelling design methods, estimation of earth work;
 Unit4
 Soil water plant relationship: soil properties influencing irrigation management, soil water
movement, infiltration, soil water potential, soil moisture characteristics, soil moisture
constants, measurement of soil moisture, moisture stress and plant response;
 Unit5
 Water requirement of crops: concept of evapotranspiration (ET), measurement and
estimation of ET, water and irrigation requirement of crops, depth of irrigation, frequency
of irrigation, irrigation efficiencies; surface methods of water application: border, check
basin and furrow irrigation- adaptability, specification and design considerations.
 Contents
 Three phase system of soil

 Mechanical composition of soil

 Clay and loam soil-characteristics
 Soil structure-properties, management
 Soil profile

 Soil degradation
 Soil micronutrients
Three phase system of soil and irrigation management
 Solid phase : minerals+organic matter+chemical compounds
 Size and shape of soil particles give rise to pore spaces
 The finer particles (secondary minerals) for the most important reactive constituent of a soil
 Minerals + decomposed organic matter determines availability of plant nutrients, water, air and
resistance of soil to degradation

 Liquid phase: soil solution

 Main turgidity
 Helps in photosynthesis
 Act as solvent, in which plant take their nutrients through roots

 Gaseous phase:
 O2:20%; N: 78.6%, CO2:0.5%, Ar:0.03% (

 CO2 content 15 to 20 times more tan atmospheric air due to respiration of plants and soil organisms

 When pore space filled with water, concentration of CO 2 in soil air rises, resulting in unfavourable

conditions for biological activities (i.e. production of methane, H 2S, etc)

 Mechanical Composition of soil
 It is the solid phase of soil composed of mineral fraction, formed by
weathering or deposited by water or wind
 Mineral particles are chief components of most soils on volumetric basis,
except in organic soils (ex:peat) and are most stable
Table 1. Soil textural classification
Particle diameter
Soil particle fraction
USDA ISSS

Gravel > 2 mm > 2 mm

Very coarse sand 1 to 2 mm -----------------------------------
Coarse sand 0.5 to 1 mm 0.2 to 2 mm
Medium sand 0.25 to 0.5 mm ---------------------------------
Fine sand 0.1 to 0.25 mm 0.02 to 0.2 mm
Very fine sand 0.05 to 0.1 mm ---------------------------------
Silt 0.002 to 0.05 mm 0.002 to 0.02 mm
 Clay soil-important characteristics
 Contain > 40% of clay
 Clay micelles are negatively charged, possess cation exchange capacity
 Have much greater surface area than cubes or sphere of similar volume
due to plate-like shape, which enables to hold more water than sandy soils
 Clay minerals: kaolinite, montmorillonite, illite
 Kaolinite: silica+alumina platelets in 1:1 ratio, shows little swelling or shrinking
with change in hydration
 Montmorillonite&illite: silica+alumina platelets in 2:1 ratio

 In illite, K+ ions occurring between silica platelets of adjacent micelles form

chemical bonds, strong enough to prevent separation and swelling
 Soil containing large proportion of montmorillonite swell and shrink with change in
hydration. Such soils develop broad deep cracks during prolonged droughts
 Loam soil-important characteristics

 Contains more or less equal proportion of sand, silt and clay

 Properties are intermediate between sand and clay
 Hold more available water and cations than sand

 Better aerated and easier to work than clay

 Considered most favourable for crop growth
 Properties of soil structure
 Porosity: determined from bulk density & true density

 Aggregation: distribution determined by dry sieving & stability and

size distribution of water stable aggregates from wet sieving
 Cohesiveness: Cohesion from direct shear test, compressive strength
from triaxial test
 Permeability: readiness with which soil transmit water
 Management of soil structure
 To conserve soil by decreasing its detachability and transportability

 To increase infiltration and percolation capacities, so that runoff and erosion

are minimized
 Management practices to improve soil structure:
 Proper land use & soil conservation practices

 Subsoiling & adoption of proper tillage practices at optimum soil moisture

content
 Addition of organic matter & crop rotation

 Mulching & optimum level of fertilizer application

 Drainage & controlled irrigation

 Protection from compaction of wet soil

 Use of soil conditioners

 SOIL PROFILE

 Vertical section through soil mass

 A: zone of maximum biological
activity
 B: Blocky or prismatic structure
 C: unconsolidated material affected
relatively little by action of soil
organisms
 D/R: below C horizon,
hardrock/sand/clay (not parent
material)
 Soil degradation
 Physical processes:

 Erosion by water, erosion by wind, soil compaction, loss of soil structure,

water logging, hardsetting etc.
 Chemical processes:

 Salinization, solidification, acidification, fertility depletion, accumulation

of toxic compounds, laterization
 Biological processes:

 Decline in soil organic matter, decline in microbial population etc

 Factors affecting these processes are land (topography, vegetation, geology,
hydrology), climate, land use (cultivated/grassland/shrub/forest), socio
economic situation (human and livestock population, government policies),
urbanization
 Soil micronutrients
 Boron:
 Non-metal, ranges from 7 to 80 ppm

 Large concentration is toxic to plants & deficiency associated with dry weather and low
soil moisture
 Crops sensitive to boron deficiency: sugarbeet, apple, cabbage, cauliflower, sunflower
etc.

 Cobalt: Required in symbiotic N2 fixation

 Copper:
 55 to 70 ppm

 Crops highly responsive to copper: wheat, rice, lucern, citrus, onion, carrot, lettuce

 Iron:
 Avg. conc 600 ppm, present in minerals, clays, oxides & hydroxides

 Manganese: Soyabean is highly sensitive to its deficiency

 Soil micronutrients (cont…)
 Molybdenum: Soil conc: 0.2 to 5 ppm
 Availability decreases with soil acidity

 Zinc
 Conc: 80 ppm
 Zn deficiency if pH within 6 to 8

 Sensitive to deficiency: beans, citrus, maize, grapes, rice, soyabean etc.

 Sodium
 Major adverse effect on soil is dispersing action on clay and organic matter, resulting in breakdown
of soil structure and blocking of large soil pores
 Reclamation of sodic soil with gypsum

 Chlorine
 SO42-, NO3- restrict uptake in plants, important for spinach, beet root, cabbage, potatoes etc.

 Silicon: important in weathering process

 Solenium: 0.1 to 2 ppm conc, important for fodder crops