Course:-Principle and Practice of

Irrigation
Course Code: Hort252
Course ECTS:- 3

Instructor: Bekam Bekele

Specialization: Irrigation Engineering (MSc)
 Course Content
PART I
 Chapter 1: Introduction

 Chapter 2: Source of Irrigation Water

 Chapter 3: Irrigation Water Quality and Management
 Chapter 4: Soil-Water-Plant Relation in Ethiopia

 Chapter 5: Crop Water Requirement

 Chapter 6: Irrigation Method
 Chapter 7: Agricultural Drainage
 1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Definition and Scope of Irrigation

Definition:

Irrigation is the science of artificial application of water to the

land, in accordance with the crop requirements throughout the
crop period for full nourishment of the crop.
It is the Engineering of controlling and harnessing the various
natural sources of water, by construction of dams & reservoirs,
canals & head works and finally distributing the water to
agricultural fields.
 Necessity of Irrigation

The following are some of the factors that necessitate irrigation.

 Inadequate rainfall
 Uneven distribution of Rainfall

 Increasing the yield of the crops

 Growing a number of crops
 Insuring against drought and

 Growing perennial crop

 Scope of Irrigation Engineering
Irrigation Engineering is not only confined to the application of
water to the land for raising crops, It also deals with;
1. Water resources and hydrology aspect – to locate various
water sources and to study the hydrology of the region.
2. Engineering Aspect - involves the development of a source of
water for irrigation and construction of irrigation structures.
3. Agricultural aspect – Involves irrigation practice and the study
of agricultural characteristics of the land.
4. Management Aspect- deals with successful implementation
and efficient management of engineering and agricultural works.
 1.2 Benefits & Ill-effects of Irrigation
There are various direct and indirect advantages of irrigation.
 Increase in food production
 Optimum benefits
 Elimination of mixed cropping

 General prosperity
 Generation of hydroelectric power
 Domestic water supply

 Facilities of communication
 In land navigation
 Ill-effects of irrigation
Some of the common ill-effects of irrigation are;
 Water logging.
 Rising of water table.
 Water pollution on microbial activities and vegetation.

 Diseases like malaria.

 Cost (Irrigation is complex and expensive in itself).
 Submergence.
 1.3 Irrigation Development in Ethiopia

 Ethiopia is the “water tower” of North Eastern Africa.

 Many rivers arising in Ethiopia are also the sources of the major
water resources in neighboring countries.
 The country is endowed with water resources that could easily be
tapped and used for irrigation
 Ironically this country is already suffering from food shortage.
 Increasing population and chronic drought occurrence in most
part of the eastern and northern part of the country
 Cont’

 In Ethiopia, rain-fed agriculture contributes the largest share of

the total production.
 However, over the past few decades, irrigated agriculture has
become more important.
 Prior to the mid-1980s, irrigation in Ethiopia was concentrated on
the production of commercial crops, principally cotton and
sugarcane on large state farms
 Cont’
In 1956 water resource development (WRD) was established within
Ministry of public works for the Blue Nile basin.
In 1962 Awash valley Authority (AVA) was established which was
concentrated in the Awash .

In 1971 National Water Resources Commission (NWRC) was

established.
In 1977 Valleys agricultural development authority (VADA) was
created to extend the development of valley.
In 1981 NWRC strengthened to absorb functions of VADA including
water resource development authority (WRDA)
 Cont’
In1984 Ten-year perspective plan allocated top priority to agricultural
development with objective of achieving self sufficiency in food
production.

The Water Sector Development program of MoWR (2002) organizes

irrigation schemes in Ethiopia under Four different ways with
sizes ranging from 50 to 85,000 ha
 Challenge and Opportunity of Irrigation
Challenge of Irrigation
 The extension service was inadequate and not packaged.

 Credit service bureaucracy like group collateral was constrained to

improve irrigated crop production.
 Water governance was done by water users but interference by the
government bodies aggravated water use conflicts.
 Streams drying, percolation and seepage of water are the most
challenges.
 Opportunity of Irrigation
 Emphasis and priorities are given to irrigation in the growth and
transformation plan of the country;
 Indigenous knowledge and introduction of promising household water
harvesting and micro-irrigation technologies;
 Government’s strong political commitment and encouragement to
private sector and public enterprises involvement in irrigation
development;
 Abundant water resources, climate and land suitability; availability of
inexpensive labour;
 Availability of suitable lands for irrigation developments especially at
arid areas of the country
 Classification of Irrigation Scheme

 Traditional small scale schemes (up to 100 ha in area).

 built and operated by farmers in local communities

 with government technical and material support.

 A total of 1,309 such schemes existed in 1992 covering an
estimated area of 60,000ha.
 Modern communal schemes(schemes up to 200 ha)

 built by government agencies with farmer participation.

 Cont’
 Modern private schemes (up to 2000 ha)
 owned and operated by private investors individually, in
partnership, or as corporations.
 Medium to large scale irrigation schemes in Ethiopia are private
enterprises
 Currently 18 modern private irrigation projects are operating in
some form over a total area of 6000 ha in Oromiya, SNNPR, and
Affar regions
 Cont’

 Public Schemes of over 3,000 ha

 Owned and operated by public enterprises as estate farms.

 They are recently developed irrigation schemes during the late

1970s.
 Gode West, Omo Ratti and Alwero- Abobo began late in the 1980s
and early in the 1990s but have not yet been completed
 Functions of Irrigation water
The function of soil moisture in plant growth are diversified.
 It adds water to the soil to supply the moisture essential for
plant growth
 It acts as a solvent for the nutrients.
 The irrigation water supplies moisture which is essential for the
life of bacteria beneficial to the plant growth.
 Irrigation water supplies the moisture which is essential for the
chemical action.
 Some salt present in soil react to produce nourishing food
products only in the presence of water.
 Cont’
 Water cools the soil and the atmosphere and thus makes more
favorable environment for healthy plant growth.
 Irrigation water with controlled supplies washes out or dilutes
salts in the soil.
 It reduces the hazard of soil piping.
 It softens tillage pans.
 2. SOURCES OF IRRIGATION WATER
The water needed to supply an irrigation scheme is taken from a
water source.
 Surface water source (river basins, lakes, wetland, ditches, ponds)
 Ground water source (dug well, unlined open well, tube well
(shallow or deep) etc, specially for lift irrigation
 Harvested water (flooding, diversion flooding, runoff, roof top
harvesting,)
 Nonconventional water( desalinated water)
 Ethiopia Water Potential

Ethiopian Water Resources potential.

 Surface water resources
 Ethiopia has 12 river basins that provide an estimated annual run-
off of ~122 billion m3, with the Abbay basins (in central and
northwest Ethiopia) accounting for ~45 percent of this amount.
 Ethiopia has limited water infrastructure to use this surface
water.
 Cont’
 This could be further refined when data on recent Master plan
studies becomes available.
 Cont’
 This could be further refined when data on recent Master plan
studies becomes available.
Ethiopian River Basins
 Potential of Irrigation in River Basins of Ethiopia
 MoWR has identified 560 irrigation potential sites on the major
river basins with around 3.7 million hectares.
 Abbay River Basin

 Abbay river basin has a catchment area of 199,812 km2covering

parts of
Amhara, Oromia and Benishangul-Gumuz regional states
 It has the major sub-basins of
 Anger, Beles, Dabus, Debre Markos, Didesa, Dindir/Rahid,
Fincha, Guder, Jemma, Lake Tana, Mota, and Muger
 Cont’
 The river basin has a lowest elevation of 500 m and a highest
elevation of 4261 m and The total mean annual flow of 54.8 BMC
 The rivers of the Abbay basin contribute on average about 62
percent of Nile at Aswan;
 According to MoWR data, Abbay river basin has a potential of
211(815,581) ha irrigation projects, of which.
 90 are small-scale (45,856 ha)
 69 are medium-scale (130,395 ha) and

 52 are large-scale (639,330 ha)

 Awash River Basin
 Awash river basin has a catchment area of 112,696 km2.

 The Awash River originates from Central West part of Ethiopia,

flowing 1200 Km long.
 Awash covers parts of the
 Amhara, Oromia, Afar, Somali regional states, and Dire Dawa,
and Addis Ababa City administrative states of the country.
 The river basin has a lowest elevation of 210 m and a highest
elevation of 4195 m.
 Cont’
The total mean annual flow from the river basins is estimated to be 4.9
BMC.
 In this river basin 37 irrigation potential sites are identified out of
which
 5 are small-scale, 18 are medium-scale, and 14 are large-scale

The estimated irrigation potential is 134,121 hectares. Out of these, a

Potential,
 30,556 hectares are for small-scale,
 24,500 hectares for medium-scale and

 79,065 hectares for large-scale development

Lakes and Reservoirs of Ethiopia
 Cont’

Ethiopia plans to significantly increase its irrigated land from the

current 640,000 ha to about 1.8 million ha.
However, Ethiopia faces four key technical, socioeconomic,
institutional, and environmental challenges that must be
overcome in order to meet this ambitious target.
 Behind-schedule scheme delivery

 Low-performance of schemes
 Constraints on scale-up of irrigation projects
 Protecting irrigation development sustainability
 Ground Water Resources of Ethiopia
Ethiopia has barely exploited its groundwater resources due to;
 Hydro-geological complexity and costs
 Especially for agriculture

New and initial estimates of groundwater potential vary from 2.6 to

13.5 billion m3 per year
IRRIGATION WATER QUALITY AND IT’S MANAGEMENT
3. IRRIGATION WATER QUALITY AND MANAGEMENT
 Concept and Definition of Irrigation Water

Every water is not suitable for irrigation.

 The quality of irrigation water is very much influenced by the
contents of the soil which is to be irrigated.
 Particular water may be harmful for irrigation on a particular soil
but the same water may be tolerable or even useful on some other
soil.
 Cont’
Irrigation water may be said to be unsatisfactory for its intended use
if it contains:
 Chemicals toxic to plants or the persons using plant as food
Chemicals that react with the soil to produce unsatisfactory
moisture characteristics.
 Bacteria injurious to persons or animals eating plants irrigated with
water.
In irrigation water evaluation emphasis is placed on the chemical and
physical characteristics of the water.
 Cont’
Suitability of water for irrigation purpose is most affected by:
 The extent of its contamination with inorganic ions and their
relative concentrations that characterize its salinity and sodicity
(alkalinity)
 Toxicity levels of specific ions such as boron (B), lithium (Li),
chloride (Cl), sodium (Na), fluoride (F), etc that have toxic
effects on plants determine the quality of water for irrigation
purpose.
 Basis to evaluate water quality are those related to salinity, water
permeability, toxicity and other miscellaneous problems
 Salinity
 Salts in soil or water reduce water availability to the crop to such an
extent that yield is affected.
 A salinity problem exists if salt accumulates in the crop root zone to
a concentration that causes a loss in yield.
 In irrigated areas, these Salts often originate from

 Saline
 high water table or
 applied water
 The plant symptoms are wilting or a darker, bluish green colour
and sometimes thicker, waxier leaves etc.
 Leaching
 Leaching is the key to controlling a water quality related salinity
problem.
 The amount of leaching required is dependent upon
 Irrigation water quality and
 Salinity tolerance of the crop grown.

 Salinity in irrigation water can be controlled by

 More frequent irrigation
 Selection of salt tolerant crops and varieties

 Use of extra water for leaching

 Cont’
The two most common water quality factors which influence the
infiltration
 Salinity of the water (total quantity of salts in the water) and

 Sodium content relative to calcium and magnesium content.

 High salinity water will increase infiltration while water with
high sodium to calcium ratio will decrease infiltration.
 Soil irrigated with high sodium water, extremely low salt and
calcium content weakens soil structure.
 The surface soil aggregates then disperse to much smaller
particles which clog soil pores.
 Toxicity
 Toxicity problems occur when certain constituents (ions) in the
soil or water are taken up by the plant and accumulate
concentrations high enough.
 Cause crop damage or reduced yields
 Usually the first symptoms are marginal leaf burn and interveinal
chlorosis.
 The ions of primary concern are chloride, sodium and boron.

 Toxicity can also occur from direct absorption of the toxic ions
through leaves wet by overhead sprinklers
 Cont’
 High nitrogen:- concentrations in the water which supplies
nitrogen to the crop that may cause
 excessive vegetative growth
 lodging, and
 delayed crop maturity

 PH is an indicator of the acidity or basicity of water.

 The normal pH range for irrigation water is from 6.5 to 8.4.
 Abnormal pH: is a warning that the water needs further evaluation.
 Irrigation water with a pH outside the normal range may cause a
nutritional imbalance
 Scale Deposits
 Irrigation water containing a high proportion of slightly soluble
salts such as calcium, bicarbonate and sulphate.
 If the concentration is great enough, the less soluble salts such as
lime (CaCO3) and gypsum (CaSO4) will precipitate and once
precipitated will not readily re-dissolve during subsequent wettings
as the sprinkler rotates. Deposits then begin to build up.
 These may become a serious problem with certain water when
newer types of sprinkler systems are used that apply light, frequent
applications or have high pressure.
 Magnesium Problems
 Soils containing high levels of exchangeable magnesium are often

thought to be troubled with soil infiltration problems.

Classification of irrigation water quality
 Classification of irrigation water is based on the electrical
conductivity and the sodium adsorption ratio.
 Water quality based upon the amount of soluble salts and SAR
contains can be:-
 Acceptable quality
 Unacceptable quality
 Salinity Classes
Water is divided into four classes with respect to electrical conductivity
(salinity)
 Low salinity water (C1) 250ppm - Can be used for irrigation with few
limitations for most crops. occurs normal irrigation practices
 Medium salinity water (C2) 250-750ppm- Can be used if a moderate
amount of leaching occurs
 Medium salinity water (C2) 250-750ppm- Can be used if a moderate
amount of leaching. salinity management required
 Very high salinity water (C4) >2250ppm- is not suitable for irrigation
under ordinary conditions, but may be used occasionally under very
special circumstances.
 Sodium Absorption Ratio
 The SAR is used to classify the risks associated with sodium in
irrigation water sources.
 Using the SAR, irrigation waters can be divided into four classes.
 Such classification is primarily based upon the sodium effects on
the soil physical conditions.
 Low sodium (S1) 10 SAR:- Can be used for irrigation on almost
all soils with little danger of the development on harmful levels of
exchangeable sodium.
 However, sodium sensitive crops such as stone fruit trees and
Avocados may accumulate injurious concentration of sodium
 Can't
 Medium sodium (S2) 10-18 SAR:- Will cause problems on fine
textured soils having high cation exchange capacity, especially under
low leaching conditions unless gypsum is present in the soil.
 This water may be used on coarse textured soils or organic soil with
moderately rapid permeability.
 High sodium water (S3) 18.1-26 SAR:- may produce harmful levels
of exchangeable sodium in most soils and will require special soil
management like good drainage, high leaching, and organic matter
addition.
 Gypsiferous soils may not develop harmful levels of exchangeable
sodium from such water
 Can't
 Very high sodium water (S4) >26.1 SAR:- is generally
unsatisfactory for irrigation purposes except at low and perhaps
medium salinity.
 Where the solution of calcium from the soil or use of gypsum or
other amendments may make the use of this water feasible.
4. BASIC SOIL -WATER -PLANT RELATIONS,
 4. BASIC SOIL -WATER -PLANT
RELATIONS
 Soils are the storehouse of water, nutrients and air which are
necessary for plant growth.
 Knowledge of the process of water transport in soil, into plants
and from soil and plants to the atmosphere are the basics of
irrigation practice
 “when to irrigate and how much to irrigate” questions which
answers depend on soil-water-plant-atmosphere relationships.
 Both excess and deficit of soil water affects the plant growth and
results in yield reduction.
 Concept of S-W-P-R
 Movement of water occurs in response to differences in the
potential energy of water.
 These differences in water potential (potential gradient) are the
driving force for causing the water movement.
 Physical Properties of Soils
 Soil is superficial covering that overlies the bedrock of most of
the land area of the Earth;
 It is a three-phase system constituting solid, liquid and gases.
 The main component of solid phase is the soil pore spaces.

 These pore spaces are filled with water and air in varying
proportions, depending on the amount of moisture available.
 percentage of the total soil volume that is occupied by solid and
the fraction or percentage that is pore space
 Soil Texture
Soil texture refers to the relative size of soil particles in a given soil.
According to their size soils particles are grouped into sand, silt and
clay.
 Soil Structure
Soil structure refers to the arrangement and the tendency of
individual soil particles to bind together into aggregates.
The arrangements of soil aggregates give soil its structure.

The overall quality of the soil structure may be evaluated in terms

of its:
 Porosity,
 Aggregation,
 Cohesiveness,

 Permeability for water or air

 Cont’
On the basis of their shape soil structures can be typed as:
 Granular
 Blocky (angular and sub-angular)
 Platy
 Columnar and prismatic
 Single grain (non-structure)
 Massive (non-structure)
 Common methods of soil structure management include
 addition of organic matter
 adoption of suitable tillage,
 soil conservation
 cropping practices
 Bulk Density
bulk density is the weight of oven dry soil per unit total volume.

Bulk density of a soil is affected by soil texture, organic matter

content and tillage practices.
It decreases with an increase in looseness of soils and increases with
compaction of soil.
That means, a low density indicates a high volume of pore space and a
high density shows low volume of pore space in soil.
 Particle Density
It denotes the mass of soil solid per unit volume of soil solid and is
expressed in gm/cm3.
Thus the particle density of any soil is constant and does not vary with
the amount of space between the particles.

It is defined as the mass (weight) per unit volume of soil particles (soil
solids).
 Total Pore Space and Porosity
Total pore space (E) is the ratio of the volume of pores (voids) to the
total volume of soil and is expressed in %.
The difference in weight between saturated and oven dry cores
represents a volume of the pore space

The ratio is then multiplied by 100 to obtain the porosity in percent.

 Soil Water Content

Soil water content is measured using

 Gravimetric,
 Neutron scattering,

 Gamma ray,
 Capacitance method,
 Time domain electrometer
 Types of Soil Water
Hygroscopic Water
 The water that an oven dry soil absorbs when exposed to air
saturated with vapour is called hygroscopic water.
 Water held tightly to the surface of soil particles by adsorption
forces.
 It occurs as a very thin film over the surface of soil particles and
is held tenaciously at a tension of 31 atmospheres.
 Capillary Water

 The capillary water supplies the water needed by plants.

 Hence, it is also designated as plant available water
 Main factors that influence the amount of capillary water in the soil
are the structure, texture and organic matter content of the soil.
 Optimum growth of plant takes place when the soil water is
maintained at near field capacity.
 Gravitational water
When sufficient water is added to
soil, water gradually fills the pore

system expelling air completely

from soil.
 Water moving downwards

through soil under gravity is

termed as gravitational water.

 The water tension at this

stage is 0.33 atm or less
 Soil Water Retention
 The soil stores water needed by plants.

 Adsorptive and capillary forces, also called Matric forces, hold

significant amounts of water in the voids between individual soil
particles.
 Adsorptive forces result because of the attraction between
negatively charged clay particles and the positive end of dipole
water molecules.
 Capillary forces are due to adhesion between soil particles and
water and the surface tension of water
 Cont’
 Matric forces must be overcome to remove water from a soil.

 The minimum force required to remove water from a soil varies

with the amount of water in the soil,
 As the voids between soil particles are filled with water and the
soil approaches saturation, the matric forces holding water in the
soil approach zero.
 Conversely, as the water content of the soil approaches zero the
Matric forces approach negative infinity.
 Thus, it is much easier for plants to obtain water when the soil is
moist than when it is dry
 Field Capacity
 The soil is at field capacity when all the gravitational water has
been drained and a vertical movement of water due to gravity is
negligible.
 Further water removal for most of the soils will require at least 7
kPa (7 cbars) tension
 The permanent wilting point is the point/situation where there is no
more water available to the plant.
 The permanent wilting point depends on plant variety, but is
usually around 1,500 kPa (15 bars).
 Saturation Capacity
It is the moisture content of soil when all the pores are filled with
water.
Maximum available soil moisture (MASM) is the moisture content
between field capacity (FC) and wilting point (WP).

For soils having different layers, the total maximum available soil
moisture (TMASM) within the root zone can be expressed as
 Maximum Readily Available Moisture
 It is the portion of the maximum available moisture that is easily
extractable by the plant.
 It may be 60–75% of the maximum available moisture depending
on; soil, plant type (crop cultivar) and species, and stage of crop.
Presently available soil moisture (PASM) is the moisture currently
available for plant.
It is equal to the difference between the present soil-water content (𝜃)
and moisture content at permanent wilting point (𝜃PWP).
Total presently available soil moisture (TPASM) is the sum of the
available moisture within the root zone
 Depletion of Available Soil Water
 The percentage depletion of available soil-water is the lowering of
current state of soil-moisture from field capacity with respect to
theoretical maximum possible available soil-moisture.

 Infiltration is a process in which water enters the surface strata of

the soil mass.
 The excess water moves vertically downwards to reach the
groundwater table.
 This vertical movement is called percolation.
 Factors Affecting Infiltration
 Major factors governing the rate of infiltration of water are:
 Conditions and characteristics of surface soil,

 Duration and intensity of irrigation or rainfall,

 Vegetation cover,
 Tillage and crop management practices

 Soil texture, soil structure and soil compaction,

 Soil organic matter content soil surface sealing,
 Presence of cracks in surface soil,

 Soil depth, depth of water table and the soil hydraulic conductivity
 5.2 CROP WATER REQUIREMENT
 The amount of water required to compensate the
evapotranspiration loss from the cropped field is defined as crop
water requirement.
 Crop water requirement refers to the amount of water that needs
to be supplied.
 Crop evapotranspiration refers to the amount of water that is lost
through evapotranspiration.
 Irrigation water requirement basically represents the difference
between the crop water requirement and effective precipitation.
 It includes leaching of salts and non-uniformity water application.
 Evapotranspiration Process

 Evaporation is the process whereby liquid water is converted to

water vapour and removed from the evaporating surface.
 Energy is required to change the state of the molecules of water
from liquid to vapour.
 This driving force is difference between the water vapour pressure
at the evaporating surface and that of the surrounding atmosphere.
 Factor Affecting Evaporation
 Solar radiation,

 Air temperature, humidity and wind speed

 The degree of shading of the crop canopy and
 The amount of water available at the evaporating surface

 Transpiration
 Transpiration is vaporization of liquid water in plant tissues and
the vapour removal to the atmosphere through their stomata.
 Transpiration, like direct evaporation, depends on the energy
supply, vapour pressure gradient and wind speed
 Factors Affecting Transpiration
 Climatic parameters radiation, temperature, humidity and wind.

 The soil water content and the ability of the soil to conduct water.
 Crop characteristics, environmental and cultivation practices.

Evapo-transpiration (ET)
 Evaporation and transpiration occur simultaneously and there is
no easy way of distinguishing between the two processes.
 When the crop is small, water is predominately lost by soil
evaporation, but once the crop is well developed transpiration
becomes the main process
 At sowing 100% Evaporation, at full coverage 90% transpiration.
 Cont’
Figure below show trend of Evaporation and Transpiration .
 Factors Affecting Evapotranspiration
 Weather parameters
 Crop factors (crop type, variety and development stage)

 Management and environmental conditions

 soil salinity, poor land fertility, and limited application of
fertilizers, the presence of hard or impenetrable soil horizons, the
absence of control of diseases and pests and poor soil management
may limit the crop development and reduce the
evapotranspiration
 Cont’
Figure: Evapotraspiration with reference ET concepts
 Reference Crop Evapotranspiration

 The evapotranspiration rate from a reference surface not short of

water is called the reference crop evapotranspiration.
 The reference surface is a hypothetical grass reference crop with
specific characteristics and height 0.12m.
 The only factors affecting ETo are climatic parameters.

 Consequently, ETo is a climatic parameter and can be computed

from weather data.
 Eto does not consider the crop characteristics and soil factors.
 Crop Evapotranspiration Under Standard
Conditions (ETc)

 ETc is the evapo-transpiration from disease free, well-fertilized

crops, grown in large fields, under optimum soil water conditions,
and achieving full production under the given climatic conditions.
 ETc refers to the evapo-transpiration from excellently managed,
large and well watered fields that achieve full production under the
given climatic conditions.
 Crop Evapotranspiration Under non-standard
Conditions (ETc adj)
 ETc adj is the evapotranspiration from crops grown under
management and environmental conditions that differ from the
standard conditions.
 When cultivating crops in fields, the real crop evapotranspiration
may deviate from ETc due to non-optimal conditions such as the
presence of pests and diseases, soil salinity, low soil fertility, water
shortage or waterlogging.
 ETc adj calculated by using a water stress coefficient Ks and/or by
adjusting Kc.
 Cont’
Fig Step for calculating Etc adj
 Irrigation Water Requirement
In the crop field, water is used in many pathways such as direct
evaporation from soil and plant surface, transpiration through plant
leaves, assimilation into the plant and plant fruits, and other
beneficial uses such as salt leaching, crop cooling, and freeze
protection.
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.
 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 (specially in saline soil).

 Water for special use such as crop cooling and freeze protection.
 Net Irrigation Water Requirement for Normal
Growth Period
IWRnc is the net irrigation requirement for normal growth period
(from sowing/transplanting to last watering, i.e., excluding land
preparation and pre sowing irrigation) (mm).

GWc-ground water contribution, RE- effective rainfall and P-deep

percolation.
 Total Net Irrigation Water Requirement
It is the water required for normal field crop irrigation plus water
required for special purposes.

NIWR is the total net irrigation requirement for successful cultivation

of a crop (mm),
WRLS is the depth of water required for land soaking (mm),
WRLP is the depth of water required for land preparation (mm),
WRnc is the depth of water required for crop ET demand (mm), and
WRL is the depth of water required for leaching (mm)
 Cont’d

where WRLS is the depth of irrigation water required for land soaking
(mm), Ws is the depth of water required to saturate the soil (mm),
ET0 is the reference evapotranspiration during the time of soil
saturation (mm),
C is the evaporation coefficient The value of C is about 0.9.
P is the deep percolation loss during the soil saturation (mm),
Re is the effective rainfall during the period (mm), and
Ea is the application efficiency.
 Gross Irrigation Water Requirement (W gross)
 Gross water requirement is the water required for irrigation
considering field application loss and conveyance loss.

where Ec is the field conveyance efficiency and Ea is the field

application efficiency
 ETo Measurement
Specific devices and accurate measurements of various physical
parameters or the soil water balance in lysimeters are required to
determine evapo-transpiration.
 Lysimeter experiment

 Field experimental plots

 Soil moisture studies
 Water balance method
6. IRRIGATION METHOD
 6. Method of Irrigation
Surface Irrigation
 The term 'surface irrigation' refers to methods in which water is
distributed over the field by overland flow.
 A flow is introduced at one edge of the field and covers the field
gradually.
 The rate of coverage (advance) is differences between the discharge
onto the field and the accumulating infiltration into the soil.
 Secondary factors include field slope, surface roughness, and the
geometry or shape of the flow cross-section.
 Con't
Irrigation systems generally consist of four components;
 Physical systems
 Social and organizational systems
 Cropping system

 Economic systems
 The Physical systems of surface irrigation systems as a whole
consist of four subsystems.
 The water supply subsystem, The water delivery subsystem.
The water use subsystem and The water removal subsystem
 Con't
Irrigation systems generally consist of four components;
 Physical systems
 Social and organizational systems
 Cropping system

 Economic systems
 The Physical systems of surface irrigation systems as a whole
consist of four subsystems.
 The water supply subsystem, The water delivery subsystem.
The water use subsystem and The water removal subsystem
 Con't
The function of water delivery sub- system is to convey water from
the source to field through main canal, distributaries, minors and
field channels at constant, regulated rate, at proper elevation, with
seepage controlled, without excessive erosion or sediment taken,
with appropriate water quality and amount.
 Water Supply Sub –Systems
The output from water delivery sub–system is the input for water
application sub–system.
 Functions: -
 To distribute the desired amount of water with the designed
uniformity over the field.
 To satisfy erosion control standards

 To provide necessary surface drainage

 Con’t
 The water use sub- system receives water from the application sub
–system.
 Functions: -
 To supply the water requirement of the crop.
 To maintain acceptable level of soil salinity.

 To ensure adequate nutrients.

 To provide soil conditions for supporting plants, preventing soil
crusting facilitating tillage etc
 Water Removal Sub –System
 This sub –system is used for removal and disposal of surface and
sub- surface waters from land to improve agriculture operations.
Functions: -
 To provide proper root aeration by lowering ground water table.
 To maintain appropriate salinity levels within the soil profile.

 To dispose (remove) excess irrigation or rain water from the field.

 Advantage
 It is more acceptable to agriculturalists that appreciate the effect of
water shortage on crop yield since it appears easier to apply the depth
of required to fill the root zone.
 It can be developed at the farm level with minimal capital investment.
 The major capital expense of the surface irrigation system is generally
associated with land grading.
 Energy requirements for surface irrigation systems come from
gravity.
 Surface irrigations are less affected by climatic and water quality
characteristics and easily-managed method of irrigation as well.
 Disadvantage
 There is one disadvantage of surface irrigation that Challenge every
designer (Engineer) and irrigator.
 It is very difficult to define the primary design variables, discharge
and time of application, due to the highly spatial and temporal
variability of the soil
 Less efficient in applying water and labor-intensive.
 Tend to be more affected by water logging and soil salinity if
adequate drainage is not provided
 Land leveling costs can be high, difficulty in applying light,
frequent irrigations early and late in the growing season of crops.
 Surface Irrigation Processes
 Advance phase: the time interval between the start of irrigation and
arrival of the advancing (wetting) front at the lower end of the field.
 Ponding (wetting storage or continuing) phase: the irrigation time
extending between the end of advance and inflow cut-off.
 Depletion (vertical recession) phase: the time interval between
supply cut-off and the time that water dries up at the inlet boundary.
 Recession (horizontal recession) phase: the time required for the
water to recede from all points in the channel.
 The time difference at each measuring station between advance and
recession is the opportunity time, T, infiltration to occur.
Different Irrigation Phase
 Surface Irrigation Methods
1. Wild flooding
 Ditches are excavated in the field, and they may be either on the
contour or up and down the slope.
 Water from this ditch, flows across the field.

 The movement of water is not restricted.

 The initial costs of land preparation is low, labor requirement are

usually high and application efficiency is also low
 Wild flooding is most suitable to close growing crops, pastures

 This method may be used on lands that have irregular topography,

where borders, basins and furrows are not feasible.
Wild Flooding Irrigation
 Basin Irrigation
 Basin irrigation uses generally a level area surrounded by ridges
(bounds, dikes) to guide water as it flows from one end to the other
to prevent from leaving the field.
 A basin is typically square in shape but exists in all sorts of
irregular and rectangular (small or large) configurations.
 The flow rate must be large enough to cover the entire basin.
 Basin irrigation is suited to crops (rice, cotton, groundnuts)

 To soils of moderate to low intake rate (50 mm/hr or less) having

smooth, gentle and uniform land slopes
Basin Irrigation Method
 Border Irrigation
 Border irrigation makes use of parallel earth rides to guide a sheet
of flowing water across a field.
 The land between two levees is simply called a border.
 Border strips, like basins, can be described as rectangular channels
(narrow or wide) in which the width of flow plays a dominant role
in affecting the geometric elements of the channel.
 Border irrigation is a more controlled version of wild flooding with
additional field ditches that serve as supply sources for applying
water to the field
Border Irrigation Method
 Furrow Irrigation
 Water discharged into and runs down small sloping channels called
furrows or corrugations
 The two most common furrow irrigation systems are the straight
furrow irrigation and graded furrow irrigation.
 Water infiltrates from the bottom and sides of furrows moving
laterally downward to wet the soil and to move soluble salts,
fertilizers and herbicides carried in the water.
 Best suited from medium to moderately fine textured soils with
relatively high water holding capacity and conductivity which allow
water movement in both the horizontal and vertical directions.
Furrow Irrigation Method
Criteria for the Selection of Surface Irrigation Methods.

The important factors that should be taken into account when

determining which surface irrigation method is most suitable:
basin, border or furrow irrigation are
 Natural circumstances (slope, soil type),
 Type of crop and required depth of application,
 Level of technology, previous experiences with irrigation, required
labor input.
 Flat lands, with a slope of 0.1 % or less, are best suited for basin
irrigation: little land leveling will be required.
 Con’t
 Furrow irrigation can be used on flat lands (short, near horizontal
furrows) on mildly sloping land with a slope of maximum 0.5 %.
 A minimum slope of 0.05 % is recommended to assist drainage.
 Border irrigation can be used on sloping land up to 2 % on sandy
soil and 5 % on clay soil.
 A minimum slope of 0.05 % is recommended to ensure drainage.

Generally, surface irrigation may be difficult to use irregular slopes, as

considerable land leveling may be required to achieve the required
land gradients
 Type of Crop
 Paddy rice is always grown in basins. Those crops that cannot stand
a wet soil for more than 12-24 hr should not be grown in basins.
 Furrow irrigation is best suited for irrigating row crops such as
maize, vegetables and trees.
 Border irrigation is particularly suitable for close growing crops
such as small grains (sesame) and forage crops (alfalfa), but border
irrigation can be used for row crops and trees.
 Con’t
 Required depth of irrigation application

 Field 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.
 Usually 40 –70 mm of water are applied in basin irrigation, 30 – 60
mm in border irrigation and 20 – 50 mm in furrow irrigation.
 Con’t
Differences and similarities of the three primary surface irrigation
systems.
 Sprinkler Irrigation
 Sprinkler irrigation is a method of applying irrigation water which
is similar to natural rainfall.
 Water is distributed through a system of pipes usually by
pumping.
 It is then sprayed into the air through sprinklers so that it breaks
up into small water drops which fall to the ground.
 The pump supply system, sprinklers and operating conditions
must be designed to enable a uniform application of water.
 Con’t
 Irrigation water may be applied to crops by flooding it on the field
surface, by applying it beneath the soil surface, by spraying it
under pressure or by applying it in drops .
 Selection of the methods depends up on:-soil ,Topography ,crop ,
availability of water supply , technology available.
 Actual choice is based on:--site &soil X-ics (slope , permeability,
water holding capacity), Cropping pattern and water availability
 Why Called Pressurized Irrigation ?
 Water moves through the pipes under pressure, it is not exposed to
the atmosphere as in the open channels
 Energy is required in order to develop enough head to overcome
frictional resistances in the pipe and pump sections so that adequate
amount of supply can reach the point of interest.
 In Both Sprinkler and Drip irrigation mechanical Energy is added.
With this respect either a power supply system OR
 An optimum elevation difference between the critical points to
create suitable head for the water to flow is required
 Major components of Pressurized System
 Water sources

 Energy sources (Gravity, Mechanical, Internal combustion)

 Distribution Network(pipe or canal)
Sprinkler Irrigation Method
 Uses of Sprinkler Irrigation
 Main advantages - to irrigate crops to increase crop production.

 Other uses:
 municipal, industrial &agricultural waste disposal.
 lightly wet the soil surface after seeding to improve germination

 Frost protection
 Application of fertilizers , pesticides and soil amendments
 Crop cooling
 Adaptability of Sprinkler Irrigation
Conditions that favor Sprinkler Irrigation
 Soils too porous for good distribution by surface methods.
 Shallow soils the topography of which prevents proper leveling for
surface irrigation methods.
 Land having steep slopes and easily erodible soils.

 Irrigation stream too small to distribute water efficiently by surface

irrigation.
 Undulating land too costly too level sufficiently for good surface
irrigation.
 Suitability of Sprinkler Irrigation
 Crops : - suitable for most row , field and tree crops, But large
sprinklers are not good for delicate crops such as lettuce.
 Slopes:- Adaptable in any farmable slopes – uniform or undulating.
The lateral should be laid along the contour line to minimize
pressure changes.
 Soils:- Best suited to sandy soils with high infiltration rates.
 The average application rate of the sprinkler must be less the basic
soil infiltration rate. Why ???
 Adaptability of Sprinkler …
 Irrigation water:-A good clean supply of water, free of suspended
sediments, Is required to avoid problems of sprinkler nozzle
blockage and spoiling the crop by coating it with sediment.
 Advantage
 Sprinkler systems can be designed so that less interference with
cultivation and other farming operations occurs and less land is
taken out of production than with surface methods.
 Frequent and small depth of water be applied by sprinkler systems.

 Higher water application efficiency can normally be obtained by

sprinkler irrigation.
 Con’t
 For areas requiring in frequent irrigation, sprinkler irrigation can be
provided at a lower capital investment per acre of land irrigated
than can surface irrigation.
 Water measurement is easier with sprinkler than with surface
methods.
 Whenever water can be delivered to the field under gravity
irrigation, sprinkler irrigation is particularly attractive.
 When domestic and Irrigation water come from the same source, a
common distribution line can be frequently used
 Limitation of Sprinkler Irrigation
 Wind distorts sprinkler pattern and causes uneven distribution of
water.
 Ripened soft fruits may be affected by spraying water.
 Water must be clean and free of sand, debris and large amount of
dissolved salts.
 High initial investment as compared to surface irrigation.

 High power requirements.

 Fine textured soils with slow infiltration rate can not be irrigated
efficiently in hot windy areas.
 Criteria for Selection Various Type of Irrigation
Various types of sprinkler systems have been developed in response to
 Economic and labour conditions,
 Topographic conditions,
 Special water application needs and

 The availability of water and land resources.

 Sprinkler Classification
Classification ased on the arrangement for spraying irrigation water.
ii) Perforated sprinkler
 iii) Rotating sprinklers:
 Extensively used due to its ability to apply water at a slower rate.

 It uses relatively large nozzle openings which are favorable in

water containing silt and debris since less stoppage of sprinklers is
experienced.
 Application rates less than 2 mm/hr are possible.
 Advantageous for soils with low infiltration rates.
 Con’t
2. Classification based on the method of developing pressure:

 Pump powered system

 Gravity sprinkler system
 Hybrid systems (Pumps + Gravity)
 Classification of Sprinkler Based on Portability
3. Classification according to portability and make up of units
 Permanent System
 Fully permanent systems consist of permanently laid mains, sub
mains, laterals and stationary water sources with pumping plant.
 mains, sub mains and laterals are usually buried below plough
depth
 These systems are suited for automation of the system using
moisture sensing devices.
 Generally good for perennial crops and ideal for fertilizer and
chemical applications.
 Sprinklers may be permanent or moved along laterals
 Semi- Portable System/hand move/
 Only laterals, risers and sprinklers are portable

 Water source, pumping unit, main lines and submains are

permanent
 The sprinkler nozzles rotate such that each nozzle wets in a circular
pattern.
 The uniformity of application comes from the over lapping of these
circular patterns both along the sprinkler line and between
successive positions of the lines
 Solid Set System
 This is similar to the hand move type except for the pipe lines are
left in a fixed position for the entire growing season.
 Because there are no lines to be moved, the entire field must be
covered by application patterns of the overlapping sprinkler nozzles
 Mobile Sprinkler
These are self-propelled machines or which are external power unit ,
designed mobile with all required system components to irrigate
larger area.
 In these systems labour requirement is very less.
 However mechanical break down is more likely.
 Therefore it is advisable to allow some reserve capacity (time) and
use that same system capacity as for conventional system.
 Side-Roll System
 Similar to a hand move …. Mounted at the center or by an
rigidly coupled laterals outside power source (one end)
 Each pipe is supported by a Works well in low growing
large wheel crops
 Lateral line forms axle for the sprinkler be upright
wheels  Adapted to rectangular fields
 When twisted, the line rolls (uniform topo. ,no obstructions)
sideways  Wheel diameter …lateral clears
 Mechanically moved by an the crop
engine  Lateral move distance a whole
Con’t
 Center Pivot System
 Labor-saving sprinkler system
 The water source for this system, whether a well or buried pipeline, is
located at the center of the field and delivers water to the pivot arm.
 The pivot arm is rotated by hydraulic(oil drive) or electric drive
motors connected to the wheels at the intermittent towers
 The rotation of the pivot arm results in the pattern of circular irrigated
areas.
 Specially designed linear move system is adopted to irrigate the
corners of irrigable land left un irrigated with the center pivot system
 Con’t
 Sprinklers can be mounted on top of the spans oron drop-tubes,
which put them closer to the crop.
 The water application amount is controlled by the speed of rotation.
 Center pivots are adaptable for any height crop and are particularly
suited tolighter soils.
 They are generally not recommended for heavy soils with low
infiltration rates.
 Linear Move System
The water supply system is more complex for a linear-move system
than a center pivot because the distribution system delivers water
along the entire length of one side of the field instead of only at the
center.
 Big Gun System
 Gun traveler sprinkler is a high capacity sprinkler fed with water
through a flexible hose, it is mounted on self- propelled chassis and
travels along a straight line while watering.
 It has a single large diameter nozzle which sprays large volumes of
water reaching 40 – 120 m3/hr in a circular pattern.
 The nozzle is connected to a flexible hose which is pulled along a
straight line so a strip of field is irrigated on one pass.
 Boom Sprinkler System
This system is carried by a trailer and can be folded during
transportation.
 Sprinkler system components
Pump unit, Mainline and sub mainlines, Laterals, riser pipes and
Sprinklers.
 Sprinkler System Components
A typical sprinkler irrigation system consists of the following
components:
 Pressure generating units(Pump unit)
 Water carrier units (Mainlines , sub mainlines, Laterals)
 Water delivery units (riser pipes and Sprinklers)

 Quality improvement sub units ( Screens , Desiltingbasins)

 Ancillary units ( Fertilizer and other chemical applicator)
7. AGRICULTURAL DRAINAGE
 7. AGRICULTURAL DRAINAGE
 Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-
surface water from an area.
 Many agricultural soils need drainage to improve production or to
manage water supplies.
 Drains can be either surface or sub surface based on condition of
water to be removed and or a combination
Types of agricultural drainage
 Natural drainage, however, is often inadequate and artificial or
man-made drainage is required.
 There are two types: surface drainage and subsurface drainage.
 Objective
 To maintain the soil structure

 To maintain aeration of the root-zone

 To assure suitability of the fields for cultivation and harvesting
purposes
 To drain away accumulated salts from the root zone