LEC# 3

(Chapter 2, Text)
Crop Water Requirements (CWR)

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WHY COMPUTE CROP WATER REQUIREMENTS ?

 Assess irrigation requirement of an area

 Plan and design an irrigation project

 Effective use of available water

 To decide possible Cropping Pattern of area

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CROP WATER REQUIREMENTS
 Crop water requirement (CWR):
 It is the total amount of water required by the crop in a given period of time
for normal growth, under field conditions.

 It includes;
 Evapotranspiration (ET) (also called Consumptive Use)
 water lost during conveyance and application of water, Wu and
 water required for special operations such as land preparation, tillage and
salt leaching etc., Ws

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

CWR = Evapotranspiration (ET)

+
Conveyance+application losses (Wu)
+
Water required for special operation (Ws)

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CROP WATER REQUIREMENTS
 The crop water requirement mainly Depends on:
 the climate: in a sunny and hot climate, crops need more water per day than in
a cloudy and cool climate
Climatic factor Crop water requirement
High Low
Sunshine Sunny (no clouds) cloudy (no sun)
Temperature hot cool
Humidity low (dry) high (humid)
Wind speed windy little wind
 the crop type: crops like maize (Makei) or sugarcane (ganna) need more water
than crops like Millet (Bajra) or Sorghum (Jawar)

 the growth stage of the crop: fully grown crops need more water than crops
that have just been planted.
 Moreover, there are short duration crops, e.g. green 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

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CROP WATER REQUIREMENTS
 Conveyance 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

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 CROP WATER REQUIREMENTS

Irrigation water losses in canals  Irrigation water losses in the field

1. Evaporation from the water surface,
1. Surface runoff, whereby water
2. Deep percolation to soil layers
ends up in the drain
underneath the canals, 3. Seepage
2. Deep percolation to soil layers
through the bunds of the canals, 4.
below the root zone
Overtopping the bunds
5. Bund breaks, 6. Runoff in the drain
7. Rat holes in the canal bunds 6
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION (ET) OR CONSUMPTIVE USE (CU)

 Evapotranspiration (ET) or Consumptive Use (CU)

 It is the quantity of water transpired by plants during their growth or

retained in the plant tissue, plus the moisture evaporated from the
surface of the soil and the vegetation, expressed in feet or inches of
depth of water lost or used in a specified time (ASCE Hydrology
Handbook, Anonymous, 1949).

 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.

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EVAPOTRANSPIRATION (ET)
 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

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WATER BALANCE IN ROOT ZONE

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CLASSIFICATION OF CONSUMPTIVE USE
 Daily consumptive 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:

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

 It occurs when the vegetation is in abundance, temperature is high and the

crops are in flowering stage.

 Seasonal consumptive
 It is used use: of an irrigation system
in the planning
 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.
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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 14
CONSUMPTIVE USE (REPRESENTATIVE VALUES)

 Rabi Season Kharif Season

(October to March): (April to September):
Crop Consumptive Crop Consumptive
Use (cm) Use (cm)
 Wheat 37 Cotton 25-40
 Gram 30 Maize 45
 Barley 30 Rice 125-150
 Potato 60-90
 Fodder 40 Annual Crops
 Oil seed 45 Sugar Cane 90
 Berseen 70

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IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY ON EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
 Reference crop evapotranspiration (Eto or ETr):
 This is the evapotranspiration rate from a reference crop which is not short
of water.

 The reference crop is a hypothetical grass with an assumed crop height of

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

Reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo)

Surface resistance describes the resistance of vapour flow through the
transpiring crop and evaporating soil surface 17
ALBEDO (%AGE REFLECTANCE)
IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY ON EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
 Actual crop evapotranspiration (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 ETo

Actual crop evapotranspiration (ETc) 19

FACTORS AFFECTING EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
 Climatic factors:

 Precipitation, with greater frequency and amount of rainfall, ET

becomes higher.

 Solar radiations, it supplies energy for ET processes. With increasing

day length or solar radiation, ET becomes more.

 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

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FACTORS AFFECTING EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
 Growing 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:
 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:
 Hydraulic conductivity and water holding capacity of soil affect ET.

 Local Irrigation/Agricultural practices:

 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 by rotten vegetable matters
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CROP COEFFICIENT
 Crop 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 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.

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CROP COEFFICIENT (KC) CURVE

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SOIL-WATER (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 of soil water/moisture

and field capacity is essential.

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SOIL WATER/MOISTURE AND FIELD CAPACITY
 Gravitational moisture:
 When the water is applied on field, 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 (FC or fc)
 Soil water content when gravity drainage becomes negligible
 Soil is not saturated but still a very wet condition
 Traditionally defined as the water content corresponding to a Soil
Water Potential of -1/10 to -1/3 bar (tension in soil or pressure below
atmospheric pressure (one bar, 14psi, 760 mmHg)
 Permanent Wilting Point (WP or wp)
 Soil water content beyond which plants cannot recover from water
stress even if placed in humid environment
 Still some water in the soil but not enough to be of use to plants
 Traditionally defined as the water content corresponding to -15 bars of
Soil Water Potential

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SOIL WATER/MOISTURE AND FIELD CAPACITY
 Field capacity is further divided into two types:
 1. Capillary 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:
 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:

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

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

Gravitational moisture
Max. Capillary Cap.
Moisture (%) (or field capcity)
Capillary moisture
Wilting point (or Coeff.)
Air dry soil
Hygroscopic moisture
0 (%) Oven dry soil

Ref. Wikipedia:
Field capacity is the amount of soil moisture or water content held in soil after excess water has
drained away and the rate of downward movement has materially decreased, which usually takes
place within 2–3 days after a rain or irrigation in pervious soils of uniform structure and texture.
The physical definition of field capacity (expressed symbolically as θfc) is the bulk water
content retained in soil at −33 J/kg (or −0.33 bar) of hydraulic head or suction pressure.
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MAD is the degree to which the volume of water in the soil is allowed to be depleted
before next irrigation is applied. MAD corresponds to a soil moisture content between
field capacity and permanent wilting point

MAD = f. TAW (2.17)

The soil moisture deficit, SMD, is the depletion of soil moisture below field capacity at the
time that a particular soil moisture content , Ɵ, is measured.

SMD = (Ɵfc - Ɵ) RD (2.18)

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WATER AVAILABILITY
 Crop Period:
 It is the time normally in days that a crop takes from the instance of its
sowing to harvesting.
 Base 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:
 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 (ft) = Volume (acre-ft) / Area (acres)

 Duty of irrigation water:

 It is defined as the no. of hectares (or 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 Crop Total growing

period (days) period (days)
Alfalfa 100-365 Melon 120-160
Barley/Oats/ 120-150 Millet 105-140
Wheat
Bean, green 75-90 Onion, green 70-95
Bean, 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
Maize, grain 125-180 Sunflower 125-130
WATER AVAILABILITY
 Full Supply Factor or Duty:
 The term duty is only used for existing or running projects, but in a

proposed project it is known as full supply factor.

 Variation of Duty with respect to location:
 Duty reduces as we move from field to head of canal.(why?)

 Irrigation Intensity:
 Percentage of culturable area irrigated during a year.

 Cropping Intensity/cultivation intensity:

 It is the %age of area cropped with respect to culturable command area

(CCA) in a year. If whole CCA is cropped once in Rabi, and once in kharif,
the Cropping intensity is 200%.

 Cropping Pattern:
 Cropping Pattern represents the %age area of land under a crop in a season
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 m 3/sec
= V = 1 x 60 x 60 x 24 x B) m3 = 86400 B

By definition of duty, D, is the Area in hectare (10,000 m 2) irrigated by 1m3/sec

1 m3/sec 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.
EXAMPLE 1
 Find the volume of water required if culturable area is 65,000 ha, from the following
data. Water losses may be taken as 16%.

B=BASE PERIOD
D=DUTY

Therfore efficiency = 84%

0
Total Volume of Water required 28548/.84=33986 ha meter
0
Also find Discharge required during Rabi & Kharif?
Example 2:
A moist sand sample has a volume of 464 cm3 in the natural state and a
weight of 793 g. The dry weight is 735 g and the specific gravity of the soil
particle is 2.68. Determine the porosity, soil moisture content, volumetric
moisture content, and the degree of saturation.
 THANK YOU