Thursday, March 5, 2020 1

Thursday, March 5, 2020 1

 CE-402 IRRIGATION ENGINEERING
Lecture Notes
Prepared By
Engr. Arshad Ali Azeemi
Lecturer, Department of Agricultural Engineering
University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar, KPK
Email: arshadaliuet@gmail.com
 CLASS OUTLINES

 Types of Irrigation

 Methods of Irrigation

Thursday, March 5, 2020 3

 Thursday, March 5, 2020 4
Thursday, March 5, 2020 4
 Types or Classes of Irrigation

Irrigation

Flow Irrigation Lift Irrigation

Perennial Inundation
Irrigation Irrigation

1. Direct Irrigation (River Canal Irrigation): Diversion Scheme

2. Storage Irrigation (Reservoir Irrigation): Storage Scheme
3. Combined Irrigation: Storage and diversion scheme
Thursday, March 5, 2020 5
 Types or Classes of Irrigation

Thursday, March 5, 2020 6

 Thursday, March 5, 2020 7
Thursday, March 5, 2020 7
 Classification of Irrigation methods
Irrigation water may be applied to the crops by three basic
methods:

1. Surface Irrigation Method

2. Sub-surface Irrigation Method (drip or trickle irrigation)
3. Sprinkler Irrigation Method

• Surface Irrigation method is further be sub-divided into:

1. Flooding (Wild or Controlled)
2. Furrow Method
3. Contour Farming

Thursday, March 5, 2020 8

 Classification of Irrigation methods

Thursday, March 5, 2020 9

Factors affecting the choice of Irrigation Methods
• The method should be such that uniform water distribution with as
small as 6 cm water depth application can be made for light irrigation.
• At the same time, it should afford heavy uniform application of 15 to
20 cm water depth.
• It should allow the use of large concentrated water flows for reduction
of conveyance losses, and labour cost.
• It should be suitable for use with economic conveyance structure.
• It should be such that mechanized farming is facilitated.

Thursday, March 5, 2020 10

 1. Surface Irrigation
Water is applied to the field in either the controlled or uncontrolled manner.

Surface irrigation is entirely practiced where water is abundant.

The low initial cost of development is later offset by high labour cost of applying water. There
are deep percolation, runoff and drainage problems.

It may be either;

 Controlled: Water is applied from the head ditch and guided by corrugations, furrows,
borders, or ridges.

 Uncontrolled: Wild flooding.

Thursday, March 5, 2020 11

 1. Surface Irrigation
a. Un-Controlled Irrigation:
Also called as flood Irrigation . Water is supplied to the field Wildly in one time at once.

In this method, water is spread or flooded on a rather smooth flat land, without much control or
prior preparation.

It is the wasteful use of water, and is practiced largely where irrigation water is abundant and
inexpensive.

Thursday, March 5, 2020 12

 1. Surface Irrigation
b. Controlled: Three types;
• Basin irrigation
• Furrow irrigation
• Border irrigation

Thursday, March 5, 2020 13

 1. Surface Irrigation
a. Controlled:
• Basin irrigation:
Basins are horizontal, flat plots of land, surrounded by small dykes or bunds.

Thursday, March 5, 2020 14

 1. Surface Irrigation
• Basin irrigation:
 This method of irrigation is adopted mainly in orchards.
 Usually round basin are made for small trees and square basin for large trees.
 These basins allow more water to be impounded as the root zones of orchard plants
are usually very deep.
 Each basin is flooded and water is allowed to infiltrate into the soil.
 Based on type of crop and soil, nearly 5-10 cm depth of water may be needed for
every irrigation.
 The advantage of basin method is that unskilled labour can be used as there is no
risk of erosion.
 Disadvantages: there is difficulty in using modern machinery and it is also labour
intensive.

Thursday, March 5, 2020 15

 1. Surface Irrigation

Thursday, March 5, 2020 16

 1. Surface Irrigation
• Furrow Irrigation:
Furrow are narrow ditches dug on the field between the rows of crops.
In furrow irrigation, only a part (1/2 to 1/5) of the land surface (the furrow) is wetted
thus minimizing evaporation loss.
Furrow irrigation is adapted for row crops like corn, maize, sugarcane, cotton, banana,
tobacco, and cabbage. It is also good for grains

Thursday, March 5, 2020 17

 1. Surface Irrigation
• Furrow Irrigation:
 In this method water is applied on the field is directed to flow through narrow
channels dug between the rows of crops, instead of distributing the water throughout
the whole field evenly.
 The furrows must all have equal dimensions, in order to guarantee that the water is
distributed evenly.
 Furrow irrigation is a cheap method in areas where water is inexpensive.
 Suitable for mild slope and problematic in steep slope terrain’s due to erosion
problem.
 Length of furrows varies from 3m or less to as much as 500m. (common length is
100 to 200m)

Thursday, March 5, 2020 18

 1. Surface Irrigation

Thursday, March 5, 2020 19

 1. Surface Irrigation
• Border Irrigation:
 In a border irrigation, controlled surface flooding is practiced whereby the field is
divided up into strips by parallel ridges or dykes and each strip is irrigated separately
by introducing water upstream and it progressively covers the entire strip.
 Border irrigation is suited for crops that can withstand flooding for a short time e.g.
wheat.
 In border irrigation, water is applied slowly.
 The root zone is applied water gradually down the field.
 At a time, the application flow is cut-off to reduce water loses.
 Ideally, there is no runoff and deep percolation.
 The problem is that the time to cut off the inflow is difficult to determine.

Thursday, March 5, 2020 20

 1. Surface Irrigation
• Border Irrigation:
 In this method, parallel ridges are made to guide a sheet of flowing water when the
water moves down the slope.
 The filed is divided into several long parallel strips called borders that are separated
by low ridges.
 Field should be even surface over which the water can flow down the slope with a
nearly uniform depth.
 Evenly strip is independently irrigated by turning a stream of water at the upper end.

Thursday, March 5, 2020 21

 1. Surface Irrigation
• Border Irrigation:
 Then water spreads and flows down the strip in a thin sheet.
 Water moves towards the lower end without erosion covering the entire width of the
border.
 Border method is suitable for most of the soils, while it is best suited for soils having
moderately low to high infiltration rates.
 However, it is not suitable for course sandy and clay textured soils.
1. Straight Border Irrigation
2. Contour Border Irrigation

Thursday, March 5, 2020 22

 1. Surface Irrigation
• Free Flooding or Ordinary Flooding:
 In this type of irrigation, ditches are excavated in field, either on contour (known as contour
flooding) or up and down as free flooding.
 Water application on field with out levees is known as wild flooding and if levees are
available then it is called controlled flooding.

• Checks Flooding:
 It similar to flooding method except flow is controlled by levees.
 Levees can be constructed along the contour or along the slope of a field.
 This method is suitable for permeable as well as less permeable soil.

Rice Field
Thursday, March 5, 2020 23
 1. Surface Irrigation

Thursday, March 5, 2020 24

 1. Surface Irrigation

Thursday, March 5, 2020 25

 1. Surface Irrigation

Thursday, March 5, 2020 26

Thursday, March 5, 2020 27
 2. Sprinkler Irrigation
 The sprinkler system is ideal in areas where water is scarce.
 A Sprinkler system conveys water through pipes and applies it with a
minimum amount of losses.
 Water is applied in form of sprays sometimes simulating natural
rainfall.

Thursday, March 5, 2020 28

 2. Sprinkler Irrigation
 In this type of irrigation water is applied to plants like natural rainfall.
 Water is distributed through a system of pipes usually by pumping.
 Water under pressure is carried and sprayed into the air above the crop through a
system of;
 Overhead perforated pipes, nozzle lines, or through nozzles fitted to riser pipes
attached to a system of pipes laid on the ground.
 Nozzles of fixed type or rotating under the pressure of water are set at suitable
intervals in the distribution pipes.
 Sprayed water wets both the crop and the soil and, hence, has a refreshing effect.
 Water is applied at a rate less than the intake rate of soil so that there is no runoff.
 Measured quantity of water is applied to meet the soil water depletion.

Thursday, March 5, 2020 29

 2. Sprinkler Irrigation
 Suitability
 Sprinkler irrigation is suited for most row, field and tree crops and water can be
sprayed over or under the crop canopy.
 Large sprinklers are not recommended for irrigation of delicate crops such as lettuce
because the large water drops may damage the crop.

 Suitable Slopes
 Sprinkler irrigation is adaptable to any farmable slope, whether uniform or
undulating.
 Lateral pipes supplying water to the sprinklers should always be laid out along land
contour.
 This will minimize the pressure changes at the sprinklers and provide a uniform
irrigation.

Thursday, March 5, 2020 30

 2. Sprinkler Irrigation
 Suitability
 Uniform application by “artificial rain”
 Good application efficiencies (0.7 – 0.8)
 Dependent on wind, temperature, humidity
 Fairly terrain independent (but design must take terrain into account)
 Can have a low labor content

However,
 More initial cost
 High maintenance cost due to pumping
 Can be complex to run
Types
 Permanent, Semi-Permanent, Portable

Thursday, March 5, 2020 31

 2. Sprinkler Irrigation

Thursday, March 5, 2020 32

 2. Sprinkler Irrigation

Thursday, March 5, 2020 33

 2. Sprinkler Irrigation

Thursday, March 5, 2020 34

 3. Drip or Trickle Irrigation

Thursday, March 5, 2020 35

 3. Drip or Trickle Irrigation
 In this irrigation system:
Water is applied close to plants so that only part of the soil in which the roots grow is
wetted i.e. entire field is not wetted.
Water is conserved.
Weeds are controlled because only the places getting water can grow weeds.
There is a low pressure system.
There is a slow rate of water application somewhat matching the consumptive use.
Application rate can be as low as 1–12 l/hr.
There is reduced evaporation, only potential transpiration is considered.
There is no need for a drainage system.

Thursday, March 5, 2020 36

 3. Drip or Trickle Irrigation

Thursday, March 5, 2020 37

 3. Drip or Trickle Irrigation
Suitability
Drip irrigation is adaptable to any farmable slope.
Normally the crop would be planted along contour lines and the water supply pipes
(laterals) would be laid along the contour also,
This is done to minimize changes in emitter discharge as a result of land elevation
changes.
Drip irrigation is suitable for most soils.
On clay soils water must be applied slowly to avoid surface water ponding and
runoff.
On sandy soils higher emitter discharge rates will be needed to ensure adequate
lateral welting of the soil.

Thursday, March 5, 2020 38

 3. Drip or Trickle Irrigation
Suitability
One of the main problems with drip irrigation is blockage of the emiiters.
All emitters have very small waterways ranging from 0.2–2.0 mm in diameter and
these can become blocked if the water is not clean.
Thus it is essential for irrigation water to be free of sediments.
If this is not so then filtration of the irrigation water will be needed.
Blockage may also occur if the water contains algae, fertilizer deposits and dissolved
chemicals which precipitate such as Ca.
Filtration may remove some of the materials but the problem may be complex to
solve and requires an experienced professional.

Thursday, March 5, 2020 39

 4. Sub-Surface Irrigation Irrigation
Applied in places where natural soil and topographic condition favour water application
to the soil under the surface, a practice called sub-surface irrigation. These conditions
include:
a) Impervious layer at 15 cm depth or more
b) Pervious soil underlying the restricting layer.
c) Uniform topographic condition
d) Moderate slopes.

Thursday, March 5, 2020 40

 4. Sub-Surface Irrigation Irrigation
In subsurface irrigation water is applied to a series of field ditches deep into soil
surface.

Thursday, March 5, 2020 41

 Efficiency of Irrigation Methods

Least Efficient

Flood Irrigation

Furrow Irrigation

Bubbler Irrigation

Sprinkler Irrigation

Drip Irrigation

Most Efficient

Thursday, March 5, 2020 47

 Expected Benefits of HEIS
• 40 - 50% water saving
• 30 - 100% increase in agricultural productivity
• 25 - 40% saving in fertilizers
• 40 - 45% increase in cropping intensity
• Employment generation
• Participation of the private sector
• Avg. Addl. income to farmers - Rs. 20,000/acre

Thursday, March 5, 2020 43

 Key Points for Best Irrigation Method
• Uniform water infiltration.

• Deliver water to the root zone.

• With the higher efficiency.

• With the lowest operative cost.

• With the lowest cost per acre & per metric ton
produced.

Thursday, March 5, 2020 44

 Thursday, March 5, 2020 45
Thursday, March 5, 2020 45