WATER

MANAGEMENT IN
CROPS

 Water management is the activity of

planning, developing, distributing and
optimum use of water resources under
defined water polices and regulations.

Importance of Water
Management
in Crop Production

 Water is one of the most important inputs essential for the

production of crops. Plants need it continuously during their life
and in huge quantities. It profoundly influences photosynthesis,
respiration, absorption, translocation and utilization of mineral
nutrients, and cell division besides some other processes. Both
its shortage and excess affect the growth and development of a
plant directly and, consequently, its yield and quality.
Water affects the performance of crops not only directly but
also indirectly by influencing the availability of other nutrients,
the timing of cultural operations, etc. Water and other
production inputs interact with one another.
Rainfall is the cheapest of source of natural water supply. Its
distribution is very uneven and uncertain. Artificial water supply
through irrigation on one occasion and removal of excess water
through drainage on the other becomes imperative. Water
management in India thus comprises of irrigation and drainage
or both. With proper combination of water and soil nutrients the
crop yields can be boosted manifold under irrigated agriculture.
Water helps a plant by transporting important nutrients through
the plant. Nutrients are drawn from the soil and used by the
plant. Without enough water in the cells, the plants droop, so

Drainage water
management
Drainage water management is the practice of
using a water control structure in the main,
submain, (or sometimes lateral) drain to raise the
drainage outlet to various depths. This allows
farmers to have more control over drainage.

Types of drainage system

(1). Surface drainage
The regular surface drainage systems, which start
functioning as soon as there is an excess of
rainfall or irrigation applied, operate entirely by
gravity. They consist of reshaped or reformed land
surfaces and can be divided into:
Bedded systems, used in flat lands for crops other
than rice;
Graded systems, used in sloping land for crops
other than rice.

 A drainage system (geomorphology), the pattern

formed by the streams, rivers, and lakes in a
particular drainage basin. A drainage system
(agriculture), an intervention to control
waterlogging aiming at soil improvement for
agricultural production.

Two types of drainage

system
Surface drainage systems
The regular surface drainage systems, which start
functioning as soon as there is an excess of
rainfall or irrigation applied, operate entirely by
gravity. They consist of reshaped or reformed land
surfaces and can be divided into:
Bedded systems, used in flat lands for crops other
than rice;
Graded systems, used in sloping land for crops
other than rice.

 Subsurface drainage systems[edit]

Like the surface field drainage systems, the
subsurface field drainage systems can also be
differentiated in regular systems and checked
(controlled) systems.

 The subsurface field drainage systems consist of

horizontal or slightly sloping channels made in the
soil; they can be open ditches, trenches, filled
with brushwood and a soil cap, filled with stones
and a soil cap, buried pipe drains, tile drains, or
mole drains, but they can also consist of a series
of wells.

 Surface drainage systems are usually applied in

relatively flat lands that have soils with a low or
medium infiltration capacity, or in lands with highintensity rainfalls that exceed the normal
infiltration capacity, so that frequent waterlogging
occurs on the soil surface.
Subsurface drainage systems are used when the
drainage problem is mainly that of shallow water
tables.
When both surface and subsurface waterlogging
occur, a combined surface/subsurface drainage
system is required.

Irrigation

 Irrigation is the method in which water is supplied

to plants at regular intervals for agriculture. It is
used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops,
maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of
disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of
inadequate rainfall. Additionally, irrigation also
has a few other uses in crop production, which
include protecting plants against frost,[1]
suppressing weed growth in grain fields[2] and
preventing soil consolidation.[3] In contrast,
agriculture that relies only on direct rainfall is
referred to as rain-fed or dry land farming.

Types of irrigation
Surface irrigation
In surface (furrow, flood, or level basin) irrigation
systems, water moves across the surface of
agricultural lands, in order to wet it and infiltrate
into the soil. Surface irrigation can be subdivided
into furrow, and basin irrigation. It is often called
flood irrigation when the irrigation results in
flooding or near flooding of the cultivated land.

Subsurface textile irrigation

Subsurface Textile Irrigation (SSTI) is a technology
designed specifically for subsurface irrigation in
all soil textures from desert sands to heavy clays.
A typical subsurface textile irrigation system has
an impermeable base layer (usually polyethylene
or polypropylene), a drip line running along that
base, a layer of geotextile on top of the drip line
and, finally, a narrow impermeable layer on top of
the geotextile (see diagram). Unlike standard drip
irrigation, the spacing of emitters in the drip pipe
is not critical as the geotextile moves the water
along the fabric up to 2 m from the dripper.

Localized irrigation
Localized irrigation is a system where water is
distributed under low pressure through a piped
network, in a pre-determined pattern, and applied as
a small discharge to each plant or adjacent to it.

Subsurface textile irrigation

Subsurface Textile Irrigation (SSTI) is a technology
designed specifically for subsurface irrigation in all
soil textures from desert sands to heavy clays. A
typical subsurface textile irrigation system has an
impermeable base layer (usually polyethylene or
polypropylene), a drip line running along that base, a
layer of geotextile on top of the drip line and, finally,
a narrow impermeable layer on top of the geotextile.
Unlike standard drip irrigation, the spacing of emitters
in the drip pipe is not critical as the geotextile moves
the water along the fabric up to 2 m from the dripper.

Drip (or micro) irrigation

Drip (or micro) irrigation, also known as trickle
irrigation, functions as its name suggests. In this
system water falls drop by drop just at the
position of roots. Water is delivered at or near the
root zone of plants, drop by drop. This method can
be the most water-efficient method of irrigation,
[29] if managed properly, since evaporation and
runoff are minimized. The field water efficiency of
drip irrigation is typically in the range of 80 to 90
percent when managed correctly.

Drip irrigation a dripper in action

Irrigation using sprinkler

systems
In sprinkler or overhead irrigation, water is piped
to one or more central locations within the field
and distributed by overhead high-pressure
sprinklers or guns. A system utilizing sprinklers,
sprays, or guns mounted overhead on
permanently installed risers is often referred to as
a solid-set irrigation system

sprinkler irrigation

Center pivot irrigation

Center pivot irrigation is a form of sprinkler
irrigation consisting of several segments of
pipe (usually galvanized steel or aluminum)
joined together and supported by trusses,
mounted on wheeled towers with sprinklers
positioned along its length. The system
moves in a circular pattern and is fed with
water from the pivot point at the center of the
arc. These systems are found and used in all
parts of the world and allow irrigation of all
types of terrain.

Irrigation using Center pivot

A small center pivot system from

beginning to end

The hub of a center-pivot irrigation system

Rotator style pivot applicator

sprinkler

Center pivot with drop sprinklers

Sub-irrigation
Sub-irrigation has been used for many years in
field crops in areas with high water tables. It is a
method of artificially raising the water table to
allow the soil to be moistened from below the
plants' root zone. Often those systems are located
on permanent grasslands in lowlands or river
valleys and combined with drainage
infrastructure. A system of pumping stations,
canals, weirs and gates allows it to increase or
decrease the water level in a network of ditches
and thereby control the water table.

In-ground irrigation
most commercial and residential irrigation
systems are "in ground" systems, which means
that everything is buried in the ground. With the
pipes, sprinklers, emitters (drippers), and
irrigation valves being hidden, it makes for a
cleaner, more presentable landscape without
garden hoses or other items having to be moved
around manually. This does, however, create
some drawbacks in the maintenance of a
completely buried system.

Water sources
Irrigation water can come from groundwater
(extracted from springs or by using wells), from
surface water (withdrawn from rivers, lakes or
reservoirs) or from non-conventional sources like
treated wastewater, desalinated water or
drainage water. A special form of irrigation using
surface water is spate irrigation, also called
floodwater harvesting.

Efficiency
Modern irrigation methods are efficient enough to
supply the entire field uniformly with water, so
that each plant has the amount of water it needs,
neither too much nor too little.
Successful agriculture is dependent upon farmers
having sufficient access to water.

 PREPARED BY
MICHELLE D. FELIZARDO
GISELLE CATIMBANG