Determination of Crop Water Requirements (CWR) Based on Direct Field

Measurement (Through Soil Moisture Samples)

BRIEF DESCRIPTION
The term ‘Water Requirement of a crop’ means the total quantity and the way in which a crop require
water, from the time it is sown to the time it is harvested.
1. Crop water requirement (CWR) for a particular crop is the amount of water required to grow that
crop during its entire growing season.
2. It further includes the water required for rouni (pre-sowing irrigation), weeds and crop growth and
all water losses through evaporation, transpiration and water required for metabolic activities.
3. While estimating the CWR all types of precipitation falling on the crop or soil during its growth
period is considered.
4. The knowledge of CWR for a crop especially with its growth stages is important to meet water
needs of the crop.
5. As most part of the area of Pakistan lies in arid to semi-arid region, therefore assessment of CWR
is very helpful in planning water availability for the crop
6. The CWR is a function of climate, crop type, growth stage, and soil type (Table 1-3).

Table 1. CWR of Different Crops in Pakistan and at Faisalabad

Sr. No. Crops CWR (mm)
1 Wheat 271-515
2 Maize 289-367
3 Sugarcane 1278-1887
4 Cotton 627-1161
5 Rice 587-1318
6 Barley 450-650
7 Alfalfa 601-1675
8 Beans 247-408
9 Sorghum 370-537
10 Bajra 450-650
 Table 2: Factors Affecting CWR
Climate: Temperature, wind, solar radiation, sunshine, hours,
humidity,precipitation
Crops: Crop type, crop stage, crop height

Soil type: water availability

OM: Type and concentration

Topography: Degree and slope

Drainage: Type of drainage and sources of excess water

Irrigation practices: Method of irrigation and its efficiency

Groundwater level: Depth and quality of groundwater

Table 3: Cropping Zones of Punjab Districts

Cropping Zone Districts

Rice-Wheat Sialkot, Narowal, Gujarat, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujranwala, Hafizabad,

Nankana Sahib, Sheikhpura

Mixed Lahore, Kasur, Okara, Pakpattan, Sahiwal, Toba Tek Singh,

Faisalabad, Jhang, Sargodha, Chiniot

Cotton-Wheat Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, DG

Khan,Muzaffargarh, Multan, Lodhran, Vehari
Maize-Wheat-Oil seed Attock, Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Jehlum

Pulses-Wheat Bhakkar, Layyah, Mianwali, Khushab

Soil Moisture Constants

Soil water content expressed under certain standard conditions.

Field Capacity and Permanent Wilting Point are the upper and lower limits of available soil moisture
(ASM) respectively. If the available water in the soil is not enough or the root surface for absorption has
reduced, then there exists a temporary wilting of the plant during the hot and drought periods. The available
water to the plant is a difference in the soil moisture at field capacity (tension 0.33 atm) and at permanent
wilting percentage (tension 15 atm).
Figure 1: Soil moisture characteristics
APPRATUS:
Auger
Beaker
Weighing Balance
Oven

PROCEDURE:

i. Soil samples from the root zoon depth will be taken from the field before and after the
irrigation
ii. Moisture contents of each sample will be determined on using the gravimetric method or any
other method
iii. The field capacity (FC) will be determined using any standard method or selected from the
table 4
iv. Determine the bulk density (Bd) using the core sampling method
v. Determine the effective rootzone depth. Detail is given Table 5
vi. Determine water requirement of crop using the equation 1.

Table 4: Field capacity (FC) of different type of soil

Intake Rate Field Capacity

Soil Texture
inch milimeters % percent
Clay 0.1 2.54 0.35
Silty Clay 0.15 3.81 0.34
Sandy Clay 0.25 6.35 0.30
Clay Loam 0.2 5.08 0.30
Silty Clay Loam 0.15 3.81 0.24
Sandy Clay Loam 0.25 6.35 0.31
Loam 0.35 8.89 0.26
Silt Loam 0.32 8.128 0.27
Silt 0.3 7.62 0.26
Sandy Loam 0.4 10.16 0.17
Loamy Sand 0.5 12.7 0.14
Sand 0.6 15.24 0.10
Effective root zone depth
The soil depth from which nearly 90% of the crop water requirements are met.
This depth is taken into consideration for irrigation water requirements for scheduling irrigation. Effective
root zone depth of different crops grown on very deep, well drained soils is as follows (Table 5)

Table 5: Effective root zone depth

Rooting Depth
Shallow rooted crops (60cm)
Moderately Deep-rooted crops (90cm)
Deep rooted crops (120cm)
Very Deep-rooted crops (180cm)
Crop(s)
Cauliflower, cabbage, onion, potato, lettuce, rice
Carrots, French bean, garden pea, chilli, muskmelon,
tobacco, wheat, castor, banana and groundnut
Cotton, tomato, watermelon, maize, sorghum, sugar beet,
soybeans, pearl millet
Lucerne, citrus, guava, grapevine, coffee, tea, sugarcane,
safflower, mango, pomegranate

𝑨𝑺𝑴 = [ (𝑭𝑪 − 𝑴𝑪)𝑷𝒃 × 𝑫𝒔/𝟏𝟎𝟎]-----------------------------------(1)

Where,
ASM = Available soil moisture (cm/m depth of soil)
FC = Field capacity (%)
MC = Permanent wilting point (%)
Bd = Bulk density (g/cm3)
Ds = Effective root zone depth (cm)
For example:
FC = 36.5%
PWP = 18.5%
Pb = 1.6g/cm3
Ds = 100cm
𝐴𝑆𝑀 = [(36.5 − 18.5)1.6 𝑋 100/100]
𝐴𝑆𝑀 = 28.8 𝑐𝑚
i.e., 28.8cm of water is available per meter depth of soil.
In other words, 28.8cm x 10000m2 = 2880m3 of water available per meter depth of soil over an area of
1hectare.
WATER PRODUCTION FUNCTION
Irrigation water plays a critical role during crop growth and producing crop yields especially in the arid
climate regions but its quantity has gained significant economic value in wake of the energy crisis.
Therefore, it is imperative to quantify the impact of applied irrigation water on the crop yields. The
relationship between crop yield and water applied is mostly quadratic. After achieving a certain level of
crop yields, the slope becomes flat while it is steep in the beginning.The first derivative i.e. slope can be
equaled to zero to determine the optimum amount of water required for obtaining maximum crop yields
under that particular environment.
Example Problem
Under a particular crop environment, the applied irrigation water and crop yield relationship are described
by the following quadratic equation; Whereas the crop evapotranspiration and crop yield relationship is
given as;
𝑌 = −2524 + 28.36(𝐼𝑊) − 0.015(𝐼𝑊)2
𝑌 = −3700 + 30.64(𝐸𝑇)
Where,
Y = Crop yields (kg ha-1).
IW = Irrigation Water applied (mm).
ET = Evapotranspiration in (mm).
Calculate:
The ratio of change in yield to the irrigation water applied when the irrigation water is changed from 350
to 450mm and 650 to 750mm.
The efficiency at 400 and 700 mm of applied water level when it is defined as ratio of ET to IW.
Required:
Change in yield =?
Efficiency =?
Solution
Irrigation water changes from 350mm to 450mm.
When IW = 350mm
𝑌 = −2524 + 28.36(𝐼𝑊) − 0.015(𝐼𝑊)2
𝑌 = −2524 + 28.36(350) − 0.015(350)2
𝑌 = 5564.5 𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑎
When IW = 450mm
𝑌 = −2524 + 28.36(𝐼𝑊) − 0.015(𝐼𝑊)2
𝑌 = −2524 + 28.36(450) − 0.015(450)2
𝑌 = 7200.5 𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑎
Change in yield = 7200.5 – 5564.5 = 1636 𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑎
Irrigation water changes from 650mm to 750mm.
When IW = 650mm
𝑌 = −2524 + 28.36(𝐼𝑊) − 0.015(𝐼𝑊)2
𝑌 = −2524 + 28.36(650) − 0.015(650)2
𝑌 = 9572.5 𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑎
When IW = 750mm
𝑌 = −2524 + 28.36(𝐼𝑊) − 0.015(𝐼𝑊)2
𝑌 = −2524 + 28.36(750) − 0.015(750)2
𝑌 = 10308.5 𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑎
Change in yield = 10308.5 – 9572.5 = 1636 𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑎
Efficiency
When IW = 400mm
𝑌 = −2524 + 28.36(𝐼𝑊) − 0.015(𝐼𝑊)2
𝑌 = −2524 + 28.36(400) − 0.015(400)2
𝑌 = 6420 𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑎
𝑌 = −3700 + 30.64(𝐸𝑇)
6420 = −3700 + 30.64(𝐸𝑇)
 𝐸𝑇 = 330.28 𝑚𝑚
𝐸𝑇 330.28
𝜂= × 100 = × 100 = 82.5%
𝐼𝑊 400
When IW = 700mm
𝑌 = −2524 + 28.36(𝐼𝑊) − 0.015(𝐼𝑊)2
𝑌 = −2524 + 28.36(700) − 0.015(700)2
𝑌 = 9978 𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑎
𝑌 = −3700 + 30.64(𝐸𝑇)
9978 = −3700 + 30.64(𝐸𝑇)
𝐸𝑇 = 446.41 𝑚𝑚
𝐸𝑇 446.41
𝜂= × 100 = × 100 = 63.77%
𝐼𝑊 700