Chapter 7 - Irrigation Management

UNIT 8
IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT
Important terms and definitions
Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the soil that is deficient

in moisture and does not meet the full requirements of growing crops.
Water requirement is the quantity of water required by a crop in a given

period for its normal growth and development under field conditions at a
specific place.
Irrigation Efficiency is a measure of the amount of water delivered by

irrigation that actually ends up as available water to the plant.
Water loss from Irrigation system
Water is lost from the irrigation system in several ways:

- Evaporation
- Unwanted wetting of banks of delivery
ditches/channels
- Deep percolation
- seepage and run-off

Loss of irrigation water can be minimized by:
- Adequate planning of the irrigation system.
- Proper design of the irrigation method.
- Proper land preparation.
- Efficient operation of the system.
Choice of Irrigation method is influenced by the following factors:
 Soil type: The soil physical properties such as texture, structure, porosity, infiltration rate, etc.
influence the selection of irrigation methods.
 Topography of land: If the land is sloppier strip method can be used. For undulating topography
instead of strip method, sprinkler or drip methods can be used.
 Climate: Rainfall, temperature, humidity, wind velocity etc., influence the irrigation methods. For
example, heavy wind affects sprinkler irrigation and temperature affects surface method of
irrigation by high evaporation loss.
 Water sources: The flow velocity, quantity and quality of available water are also important
factors
Irrigation frequency
Irrigation frequency refers to the number of days between any two subsequent irrigations during
periods without rainfall. It depends on the consumptive use rate of a crop and the amount of
available moisture in the crop root zone.
Irrigation Methods
There are four methods of irrigation:

1.Surface irrigation (flooding, check basin method, border strip method and furrow
method)
2.Overhead irrigation (sprinkler irrigation)
3.Sub-surface irrigation (furrows)
4.Drip irrigation.
Surface irrigation
In this system, water is applied directly to the soil surface from a channel located at the upper reach
of the field.
The efficiency of surface irrigation can be enhanced by:

- Proper construction of the water distribution system
- Proper land preparation
- Considering soil type: fine textured soils with low infiltration rate require smaller streams while
coarse-textured soils with high infiltration rates require larger streams to spread over the
entire field.
Advantages of surface irrigation

- Surface irrigation can be used on nearly all types of soil and crops.
- The capacity of surface system is efficient to permit an entire farm to be irrigated in a small
time period.
- It is usually inexpensive to operate because of low power requirements.
Types of Surface Irrigation Systems
Surface irrigation systems may be grouped into two broad classifications:

- Complete flooding: where the entire land surface in the area being irrigated is covered with water.
Check basin and border strip are most common methods of complete flooding.
- Check basin method: This is the simplest and most common method of irrigation. It consists of
applying irrigation water to a leveled areas enclosed by ridges.
- Border strip method: land is well leveled, graded and divided into a number of long parallel strips
called borders that are separated by low ridges. Each border is irrigated by allowing the water to
flow from the upper end of the border in a thin sheet. The water moves towards the lower end
with a non-corrosive velocity and covers the entire width of the border.
Overhead Irrigation/ Sprinkler irrigation
In this method, the irrigation water is pumped through nozzles and applied to the crop in the form
of spray. Sprinkler irrigation is suitable for all crops and for terrain that is too uneven for surface
irrigation.
Types of sprinkler system
- Rotating sprinkler: heads are spaced equally along the lateral lines. The lateral lines
remain in one place until required amount of water has been applied and are moved the
same distance for each successive setting.
- Perforated pipes: water is pumped through very small, closely spaced orifices in the pipe.
These perforated pipes form the lateral lines and provide fairly uniform distribution along
both sides of the pipe.
Advantages of sprinkler system:
- Soluble fertilizers, herbicides and fungicides can be applied to the irrigation water
economically.
- It is used to protect crops against frost or high temperatures that reduce the quality and
quantity of the produce.
- Water application can be more uniform and carried out with greater precision with sprinkler
system than with surface irrigation, except during times of high wind.
- Water use efficiency is also greater with sprinkler irrigation.
- Sprinkler during the hot hours of the day may improve the microclimate, prevent transient
wilting, and increase stomatal opening and thereby improving the photosynthetic
effectiveness.
Disadvantage of sprinkler system
- The capital investment for equipment is relatively high.
- Water loss due to evaporation and
- The interception of water by the foliage is greater with sprinklers than with
surface irrigation method.
- It is not well suited to very windy areas.

Drip Irrigation System
 Water is applied through network of pipelines and allowed to fall drop by drop at crop root
zone by a special device called drippers.
 These drippers control the quantity of water to be dropped out. In this system, the crop root
zone is always maintained at field capacity level.
 This method is suitable for most soils with a low water-holding capacity and a high infiltration
rate.
 This method is also suited to irrigating vegetables, most field crops, small grains, pasture
grass, most forage crops and flowers.
Advantages of drip irrigation
- There is considerable saving in water since the water can be applied almost
precisely to the root zone and there is no need to wet the entire area between the
crops.
- It permits the application of fertilizer through the system.
- It minimizes such conventional losses as deep percolation, run-off and soil water
evaporation.
- The system is easily laid down and can be removed at any time after the crop has
been harvested.
Drainage
Definition: it is the process of removal of excess water as free or gravitational water from the
surface and the sub surface of farm lands with a view to avoid water logging and creates favourable
soil conditions for optimum plant growth.
Drainage is required under the following conditions.
- Water ponding on the surface for longer periods.
- Excessive soil moisture content above FC not draining easily as in clay soil.
- Humid region with continuous or intermittent heavy rainfall.
- Flat land with fine textured soil.
- Low lying flat areas surrounded by hills.

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UNIT 8

Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the soil that is deficient

Water requirement is the quantity of water required by a crop in a given

Irrigation Efficiency is a measure of the amount of water delivered by

Water is lost from the irrigation system in several ways:

There are four methods of irrigation:

The efficiency of surface irrigation can be enhanced by:

Advantages of surface irrigation

Surface irrigation systems may be grouped into two broad classifications:

Types of sprinkler system

- Water use efficiency is also greater with sprinkler irrigation.

- The capital investment for equipment is relatively high.

- Water loss due to evaporation and

- It is not well suited to very windy areas.

- It permits the application of fertilizer through the system.

Drainage is required under the following conditions.

- Water ponding on the surface for longer periods.

- Humid region with continuous or intermittent heavy rainfall.

- Flat land with fine textured soil.

- Low lying flat areas surrounded by hills.

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