CROP WATER REQUIREMENTS

DR. MOHSIN SIDDIQUE

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGG
UET LAHORE, PAKISTAN

Downloading link:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/31618249/Irrigation/CWR_LEC23.pdf

OBJECTIVE OF STUDY ON CROP WATER REQUIREMENT:

To decide possible cropping pattern of area

Effective use of available water

Plan and design an irrigation project

Plan water resource development in an area

Assess irrigation requirement of an area

Management of water supply from sources

CROP WATER REQUIREMENTS

Crop water requirement (CWR):

(CWR):


It includes;





It is the total amount of water required by the crop in a given period of

time for normal growth, under field conditions.

evapotranspiration,
water used by crops for metabolic growth,
water lost during conveyance and application of water and
water required for special operations such as land preparation, tillage
and salt leaching etc.

It is expressed as the surface depth of water in mm, cm or inches.

CWR = Consumptive use (Cu)
+
Conveyance losses (Wu)
+
Water required for special operation (Ws)
3

CROP WATER REQUIREMENTS

Approximate daily water use and total growing season water use in
millimetres (mm) for some commonly grown crops in Alberta
Source: http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/%24department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex12726

CROP WATER REQUIREMENTS

The crop water requirement mainly depends on:

the climate:
climate: in a sunny and hot climate, crops need more water per day than
in a cloudy and cool climate
Climatic factor
Sunshine
Temperature
Humidity
Wind speed

Crop water requirement

High
Low
Sunny (no clouds)
cloudy (no sun)
hot
cool
low (dry)
high (humid)
windy
little wind

the crop type:

type: crops like maize (Makei) or sugarcane (ganna) need more
water than crops like millet (Bajra) or sorghum

the growth stage of the crop:

crop: fully grown crops need more water than crops
that have just been planted.
Moreover, there are short duration crops, e.g. peas, with a duration of the
total growing season of 90-100 days and longer duration crops, e.g. melons,
with a duration of the total growing season of 120-160 days

CROP WATER REQUIREMENTS

Conveyance Losses:
Losses:

These losses take place from diversion structure (barrage) to the field
(outlet).
Major loss of water in an irrigation channel is due to absorption, seepage or
percolation and evaporation.
In an earthen channels losses due to seepage are much more than the
losses due to evaporation.

The absorption losses depend upon the:

 Type of soil
 Subsoil water
 Age of canal
 Position of Full Supply Level w.r.t to Natural Surface Level
 Amount of Silt carried by canal
 Wetted perimeter
6

CROP WATER REQUIREMENTS

Irrigation water losses in canals

1. Evaporation from the water surface,

2. Deep percolation to soil layers
underneath the canals, 3. Seepage
through the bunds of the canals, 4.
Overtopping the bunds
5. Bund breaks, 6. Runoff in the drain
7. Rat holes in the canal bunds

Irrigation water losses in the field

1. Surface runoff, whereby water

ends up in the drain
2. Deep percolation to soil layers
below the root zone
7

CROP WATER REQUIREMENTS

In Pakistan the following formula can be used for obtaining the conveyance
losses in earthen channels
K= 5.0Q0.625
K= absorption loss per million square feet of wetted perimeter
Q= Discharge in channel (cusecs).




According to Lacey






QA=0.0133 L Q0.5625

QA= Absorption loss

L= Length of channel in thousand feet
Q= discharge in channel (cusecs)

SOURCES OF WATER FOR CROP USE

Effective Precipitation (ER):

(ER):
 It is that part of total precipitation which is used by crop as soil
water reserve.
 It is the precipitation falling during the growing period of a crop that
is available to meet the evapotranspiration needs of the crop. It is
determined as:
ER = Total rainfall (P) Runoff (R) deep percolation (PW)

Gross Irrigation requirements of crops (IRg):

(IRg):
 It refers to the amount of water applied to the field from the start of
land preparation to harvest of the crop together with the water lost
through distributaries, field channels and during water application
to the crop field.
 IRg = CWR (ER + GW+SW )




Where
Ground Water Contribution for Crop Use (GW)
Soil Water Contribution for Crop Use (SW)

Ground Water Contribution for Crop Use (GW):

 It refers to the water used by crops due to capillary rise in case of
shallow water tables.

SOURCES OF WATER FOR CROP USE

Soil Water Contribution for Crop Use (SW):

(SW):

It refers to the difference in moisture content at the time of
sowing and harvesting of the crops that may be positive or
negative. It is given as:

Where:
 SW = soil water contribution in cm
 Msi = moisture content at the time of sowing in the ith layer, %
 Mhi = moisture content at the time of harvesting in the ith layer, %
 Asi = Apparent specific gravity of soil (The specific gravity of a porous solid
when the volume used in the calculations is considered to exclude the
permeable voids)
 Di = depth of ith layer of the root zone soil, cm

Net Irrigation requirements

 It refers to the amount of water needed to replenish/fill soil
moisture deficit in the crop field.
IRn = IRg x Efficiency of water application
= Cu ER - SW

10

EVAPOTRANSPIRATION (ET) AND CONSUMPTIVE USE (CU)

Consumptive use (CU):

 It is the amount of water required by a crop for its vegetated growth
to evapotranspiration and building of plant tissues plus evaporation
from soils and intercepted precipitation.
precipitation.
 It is expressed in terms of depth of water

DEFINITIONS
a) Evaporation: The process by which water is changed from the liquid or
solid state into the gaseous state through the transfer of heat energy.

b) Transpiration: The evaporation of water absorbed by the crop which

is used directly in the building of plant tissue in a specified time. It does not
include soil evaporation.
11

CLASSIFICATION OF CONSUMPTIVE USE

Daily consumptive use:

use:
 The amount of water consumptively used during 24-hours.


It is usually estimated
to record the peak period consumptive use rates to formulate
the cropping pattern and
 to decide the water supply from sources during different periods
of cropping.


Peak period consumptive use:

use:
 It is the average daily consumptive use during a few days (6
6 to
10 days)
days of highest consumptive use in a season.


It occurs when the vegetation is abundant, temperature is

high and the crops are in flowering stage.

It is used in the planning of an irrigation system

12

CLASSIFICATION OF CONSUMPTIVE USE

Seasonal consumptive use:

use:
 It is the amount of water consumptively used by crops during the
entire cropping season/period.
 It is used to evaluate and decide the seasonal water supply to a
command area of an irrigation project.
Rabi Season
(October to March):
Crop
Consumptive
Use (cm)
Wheat
37
Gram
30
Barley
30
Potato
60-90
Sugar cane
90
Fodder
40
Oil seed
45
Berseen
70

Kharif Season
(April to September):
Crop
Consumptive
Use (cm)
Cotton
25-40
Maize
45
Rice
125-150
Sugar Cane
90

13

EVAPOTRANSPIRATION (ET)

Evapotranspiration:
Evapotranspiration:
 It is defined as the water transpired by crop plants and the water
evaporated from the soil in the crop field and intercepted
precipitation by areal parts of plants in any specified time period

14

IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY ON EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

Potential/reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo):

(ETo):


This is the evapotranspiration rate from a reference surface (crop) which

is not short of water.

The reference surface is a hypothetical grass reference crop with an

assumed crop height of 0.12m, a fixed surface resistance of 70sm-1 and
an albedo of 0.23.
The reference surface closely resembles an extensive surface of green,
well-watered grass of uniform height, actively growing and completely
shading the ground.

Potential/reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo)

Surface resistance describes the resistance of vapour flow through the

transpiring crop and evaporating soil surface

15

IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY ON EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

Actual crop evapotranspiration (ETc):

(ETc):
 It is the rate of evapotranspiration by a particular crop in a given
period under prevailing soil water and atmospheric conditions.


It refers to the evapotranspiration from a disease free crop

growing in a large field under optimal soil conditions with
adequate water and fertility and giving full potential production
under the given environment.
It is usually calculated by multiplying the Crop Coefficient (Kc)
with ETo, thus:
ETc = Kc.
Kc. ETo

Actual crop evapotranspiration (ETc)

16

FACTORS AFFECTING EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

Climatic factors:
factors:

Precipitation,
Precipitation with greater frequency and amount of rainfall, ET
becomes higher.

Solar radiations,
radiations it supplies energy for ET processes. With increasing
day length or solar radiation, ET becomes more.

Temperature,
Temperature Temperature of plant and soil rises because of more
amount of solar radiation received from the sun and consequently
increases ET.

Wind speed, ET from soil surface and plants occurs at a higher rate
on a windy day. The moist air in the immediate vicinity of a moist soil
or leaf surface is swept away by wind and the dry air occupies the
space.

Relative humidity, ET varies inversely with the atmospheric humidity

17

FACTORS AFFECTING EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

Growing season:
season:
 Length of growing season and the actual date of sowing and
maturing are important factors. The growing season of a crop
coinciding with the hotter part of the year is expected to increase ET.
Crops grown in different seasons have different ET.

Crop characteristics:
characteristics:
 Growth habit, canopy development, leaf area index, plant density,
duration and time of year when the growth is made, are important
consideration to study the effect of crop characteristics on ET.

Soil characteristics:
characteristics:
 Hydraulic conductivity and water holding capacity of soil affect ET.

Cultural Factors:
Factors:
 Irrigation frequency, method of irrigation, depth of irrigation,
fertilizer application and mulching are the important cultural factors
affecting ET.
Mulching is covering of soil due to rotten vegetable matters

18

CROP COEFFICIENT

Crop coefficient:
coefficient:
It is the ratio b/w the actual crop evapotranspiration to the
reference crop evapotranspiration.


Kc = ETc / ETo

It is determined experimentally for various crops.

ETc is determined by Lysimeter technique and ETo is determined

with USWB class A evaporation pan.

Kc is different for different crop and for different crop growth

stages.

It is mainly affected by crop type, soil type and climate of the

area.
19

CROP COEFFICIENT (KC) CURVE

20

SOILSOIL-WATER (MOISTURE)
(MOISTURE) - PLANT RELATIONSHIP

Water is essential to crop plants for their growth and

development.

Amount of water required by the crops is influenced by the soil

type.

Soil water plant relationship is a process that requires to be

regulated for maximization of yields with a given unit of water.

An understanding of this relationship is essential in order that

water management principles are applied to various climate, soil
and cropping regions of both rain-fed and irrigated lands.

To understand this relationship, the concept

water/moisture and field capacity is essential.

of

soil

21

SOIL WATER/MOISTURE AND FIELD CAPACITY

Gravitational moisture:
moisture:
 When the water falls over the ground, a part of it gets absorbed in
the root zone, and the rest flows downwards under the action of
gravity, and is called as gravitational moisture.

Field Capacity:
Capacity:
 Immediately after the rain or irrigation water application, when all
the gravity water has drained down, a certain amount of water is
retained on the surface of soil grains by molecular attraction and by
loose chemical bonds (adsorption). This water cannot be drained
under the action of gravity and is called the field capacity.


Field capacity is very important because it is the water which is

available in the soil for crop use

The total field capacity water is not used by the crops. The plants
can extract water from the soil till the permanent wilting point is
reached.
22

SOIL WATER/MOISTURE AND FIELD CAPACITY

Fields capacity is further divided into two types:

1. Capillary moisture:
moisture:
 It is that moisture which is attached to the soil molecules by
surface tension against gravitational forces and which can be
extracted by crop through capillarity.
2. Hygroscopic moisture:
moisture:
 It is that moisture which is attached to the soil molecules by
loose chemical bond and it is not available to the plants for
use (adsorption).

Permanent wilting point:

point:
 It is moisture content at which plant can no longer extract
sufficient water for its growth and wilts up.

Available moisture:
moisture:
 It is the difference in moisture content between field capacity
and permanent wilting point.
23

WATER AVAILABILITY

Crop Period:
Period:
It is the time normally in days that a crop takes from the instance of its
sowing to harvesting.
Base period:
period:
It is the time between first watering of crops at the time of its sowing
and the last watering of crops before harvesting
Delta of crops:
crops:
Total depth of water required by the crop in unit area during base
period. In other words it is the total depth of water required for maturing
the crop.

Volume of water required by the crop = Delta x Area
 or
Delta = Volume (acre(acre-ft) / Area (acres)
Duty of irrigation water:
water:
 It is defined as the no. of hectares (acres) of land irrigated for full
growth of a given crop by supply of 1 m3/sec (1 ft3/sec) of water
continuously during the entire base period.

INDICATIVE VALUES OF THE TOTAL GROWING PERIOD

Crop

Total growing
period (days)

Crop

Total growing
period (days)

Alfalfa

100-365

Melon

120-160

Barley/Oats/
Wheat
Bean, green

120-150

Millet

105-140

75-90

Onion, green

70-95

dry

95-110

dry

150-210

Citrus

240-365

Pepper

120-210

Cotton

180-195

Rice

90-150

Grain/small

150-165

Sorghum

120-130

Lentil

150-170

Soybean

135-150

Maize, sweet

80-110

Squash

95-120

grain

125-180

Sunflower

125-130

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DUTY, DELTA AND BASE PERIOD

Let there be a crop of base period B days.
Now the volume of water applied to this crop during B days @ 1 m3/sec
= V = 1 x 60 x 60 x 24 x B) m3 = 86400 B
By definition of duty, D, is the Area in hectare or (10000m2) irrigated by 1m3/S
1 m3/S of water supplied for B days irrigates D hectares (104 m2) of land.
Therefore, total depth of water required by crop per unit area (Delta)
= Volume/Area = 86400B/104D
Hence,
Delta = = 8.64 B / D (meters)
Delta = = 864 B / D (centimeters)
Example: find the delta of a crop when its duty is 864 hectare/cumecs with base
period of 120 days.

WATER AVAILABILITY

Full Supply Factor/(Duty):

Factor/(Duty):
 The term duty is only used for existing or running projects, but in a
proposed project it is known as full supply factor.

Intensity of Irrigation:
Irrigation:
 Percentage of culturable area irrigated during a base period or annually

Cropping Intensity/cultivation intensity:

intensity:
 It is to the %age of area of a particular crop with respect culturable
command area

Cropping Pattern:
Pattern:
 It means how many crops and how much area for a crop is being
cultivated.

WATER AVAILABILITY

Water Allowance:
Allowance: is antonymous of duty. It is the discharge in cusec
required to irrigate 1000 Acres of an area and is expressed in cusec/1000
acres (or in cumec/100 ha) at outlet head, distributory head or main canal
head
Water Conveyance Efficiency:
Efficiency: It is the ratio of the water delivered to the
farmer by conveyance system to the water introduced into the canal at
source.
Gross Command Area (GCA):
(GCA): is the total amount of area which needs to be
irrigated. It also includes the area which cannot be cultivated e.g., villages,
roads, utility etc.
Culturable Command Area (CCA):
(CCA): is the effective area which is culturable
or the area that is cultivated out of gross command area.
NonNon-Culturable Command Area (NCCA):
(NCCA): It is the area which is not
cultivated.

CCA=GCA NonNon-Culturable Command Area

PROBLEM

Find out the capacity of the reservoir if its culturable area is 65000 ha, from
the following data
B=BASE PERIOD
D=DUTY

THANK YOU

Thats all for today and

Do not forget the collect ASSIGNMENT from the Khalid

photocopy..

Submission date is next week (15/02/2012

15/02/2012:
15/02/2012 Wednesday)

Feel free to contact

smohsin@uet.edu.pk
smohsin@uet.edu.pk