Chapter 3

Crop Water Requirement (CWR)

 Water requirement of crops
Definition: The estimation of the WR of crops is one of the basic
needs for crop planning on the farmland and for the planning of any
irrigation project.
❖ Quantity of water required by a crop or diversified pattern of crop
in a given period of time for its normal growth under field
conditions at a place.
❖ The total quantity of water required is applied in a number of
watering distributed over the entire growth period.

❖ Watering is done at more or less fixed interval throughout the

growth period.
❖ Different crops have different water requirements and the same
crop may have different water requirements
❖The crop water need mainly depends on
✓The climate
✓The crop type
✓The growth stage of crop
❖Water requirement of crops includes
➢the water lost as evaporation from the crop field,
➢water transpired by plants
➢water metabolically used by the crop plants,
➢water lost during application and
➢ the water used for special operations.
 Cont’d…
➢ Water requirement may be formulated from the considering the
source as,
WR = P + GIR + SW + GW − (RO + DP )
WR = ER + GIR + SW + GW
Where, P = Precipitation, cm or mm
GIR = Gross irrigation requirement of crop, cm or mm
SW= Soil water contribution, cm or mm.
GW= Ground water contribution, cm or mm.
RO = Run-off water, cm or mm.
DP = Deep percolation n, cm or mm.
ER = Effective rainfall (effective precipitation) cm or mm.

5
 Definitions
Evaporation
❖ Evaporation is the process during which a liquid changes
in to gas.
Transpiration
❖ Transpiration is the process by which water vapor leaves
the living plant body and enters the atmosphere.

Evapotranspiration (ET)/ Consumptive Use (CU)

❖ It is the total amount of water used by the plant in
transpiration, building of plant tissues etc and
evaporation from adjacent soils or from plant leaves, in
any specified time

6
 Classification of CU
Daily consumptive use
o The amount of water consumptively used during 24 hour
period is called the daily consumptive use.
o It is used for formulating the cropping pattern and to
decide the water supply from sources during different
periods of cropping season.
Peak Period Consumptive Use
o The average daily water use rate during a few days
(usually 6 to 10 days) of highest consumptive use in a
season.
o This is the design rate used in planning an irrigation
system.
7
 Cont’d…
Seasonal Consumptive Use
⚫ The amount of water consumptively used by a crop during
the entire growing season or crop period
⚫ It is essential to evaluate and decide the seasonal water
supply to a command area of an irrigation project.

Actual Crop Evapotranspiration, ETcrop

⚫ The rate of evapotranspiration by a particular crop in a
given period under prevailing/normal soil, water and
atmospheric conditions.

8
 Cont’d…
o It involves the use of crop factor called crop coefficient

o It is computed from reference crop ET (Cu)

o The ETcrop (CU)varies under

➢ different soil water and atmospheric conditions

➢ different stages of crop growth

➢ geographical locations and

➢ periods of the plant year.

9
 Reference Crop Evapotranspiration, ETo
➢ It is defined as the rate of evapotranspiration from a large
area covered by green grass which grows actively,
completely shades the ground and which is not short of
water.
➢ The rate of water which evapo-transpirates depends on the
mainly on the climate.
➢ The highest value of ETo : hot, dry, sunny and windy
➢ The lowest values of ETo : cool, humid and cloudy with
little or no wind.

10
 Factors Affecting Evapotranspiration
⚫ Climatic factors; Includes precipitation, solar radiation,
temperature, wind, relative humidity and adjective heat.

❖ Growing season
❖ Crop characteristics
❖ Soil characteristics
❖ Cultural factors

11
 Calculation of crop water requirements
The basic formula for the calculation:
ETcrop = Kc x ETo
Where:
ETcrop = the water requirement of a given crop in mm per
unit of time
e.g. mm/day, mm/month or mm/season.

Kc = the "crop factor"

ETo = the "reference crop evapotranspiration" in mm per
unit of time
e.g. mm/day, mm/month or mm/season

12
 Methods of Estimating Reference
Evapotranspiration
➢ Direct Methods/Lysimeter
➢ Pan Evaporimeter Method
➢ Empirical Methods
1. Penman-Monteith equation
2. Blaney-Criddle Method
3. Hargreaves equation
4. Thornthwaite method

13
 Cont’d…
Pan evaporation method
ETo can be obtained by using evaporation rates which are
directly measured with an evaporation pan.
Evaporation pan/Evaporimeter
It is a shallow pan, containing water which is exposed to
the evaporative influence of the climate.
The standard pan is the Class A Pan of the US Weather
Station Bureau is widely used.
➢ Diameter of 1.21 m,
➢ Depth of 25 cm
➢ It is placed 15 cm above the ground

14
Cont’d…

15
Cont’d…

16
 Cont’d…

⚫ The principle of obtaining evaporation rates from the pan

is as follows:

➢ The pan is installed in the field 15 cm above the

ground;

➢ The pan is filled with water 5 cm below the rim;

➢ The water is allowed to evaporate during a certain

period of time (usually 24 hours);

17
 Cont’d…
➢ After 24 hours, the water depth is measured again;
➢ The amount of water which has evaporated in a given
time unit is equal to the difference between the two
measured water depths. This is the pan evaporation
rate: Epan (mm/24 hours).
⚫ The readings taken from the pan (Epan) do not give ETo
directly, but have to be multiplied by a "Pan Coefficient"
(Kpan).
ETo = Epan x Kpan
⚫ For the Class A evaporation pan, Kpan varies between
0.35 and 0.85, with an average of 0.70.

18
 Empirical Methods
The Blaney-Criddle Method: Empirical Method
➢ This method is straight forward and requires only data on
mean daily temperatures. Also daily percentage of annual
daytime hours is required.
➢ The Blaney-Criddle formula is:
ETo = p(0.46Tmean + 8)
Where:
ETo = reference crop evapotranspiration (mm/day)
Tmean = mean daily temperature (° C)
p = mean daily percentage of annual daytime hours.

19
 Cont’d…
➢ The Blaney-Criddle Method always refers to mean monthly
values, both for the temperature and the ETo.
➢ If in a local meteorological station the daily minimum and
maximum temperatures are measured, the mean daily
temperature is calculated as follows:

20
 Indicative values of ETo

Climatic zone Mean daily temperature

15° 15-25°C 25°

Desert/arid 4-6 7-8 9-10

Semi-arid 4-5 6-7 8-9

Sub-humid 3-4 5-6 7-8

Humid 1-2 3-4 5-6

21
 Crop Factor - Kc
o To obtain the crop water requirement ETcrop, the reference crop
evapotranspiration, ETo, must be multiplied by the crop factor, Kc.
o The crop factor introduces the crop characteristics in to the equation.
o The crop factor (or "crop coefficient") varies according to the
growth stage of the crop.

❖ There are four growth stages to distinguish:

➢ The initial stage: when the crop uses little water;
➢ The crop development stage: when the water consumption increases;
➢ The mid-season stage: when water consumption reaches a peak;
➢ The late-season stage: when the maturing crop once again requires
less water.

22
The total growing period is divided into 4 growth
stages:
1. The initial stage: this is the period from sowing or
transplanting until the crop covers about 10% of the
ground.
2. The crop development stage: this period starts at the end
of the initial stage and lasts until the full ground cover has
been reached (ground cover 70-80%); it does not
necessarily mean that the crop is at its maximum height.
3. The mid - season stage: this period starts at the end of the
crop development stage and lasts until maturity; it
includes flowering and grain-setting.
4. The late season stage: this period starts at the end of the
mid season stage and lasts until the last day of the harvest;
it includes ripening.
Crop Factor - Kc

24
 Calculation for crop water requirement (CWR)
Example 1 Crop to be grown: Sorghum
❖Length of total growing season: 120 days (sum of all 4
crop stages.
❖ETo: average of 6.0 mm/day over the total growing
season. Kc is 0.78
❖Crop water Requirement:
✓ ET crop = kc x ETo
✓ ET crop = 0.78 x 6 = 4.68 mm per day
✓ ET crop = 4.68 x 120 days = approx. 560 mm per total
growing season
Cont…
❖Kc : mainly depends on
✓ The type of crop
✓ The growth stage of the crop
✓ The climate

❖ETo : measure/predict by
✓ Using evaporation pan
✓ Using Penman-Monteith Equation
✓ The Blaney-Criddle Equation
Cont….
Determination of crop factor Kc, it is necessary to
✓ Determine the total growing period of each crop
✓ Determine the various growth stages of each crop

✓ Determine the Kc values for each crop for each of

the growth stages
The total growing period of some crops

FAO,1995
Approximate duration of growth stages for various
field crops

FAO,1995
Values of the crop factor (Kc) for various crops and
growth stages

FAO,1995
Example for calculating the water requirement of crops
Given data: Tomato crops
 Step 1: Estimating the duration of the various growth stages

Wheat

(Gur--)

(Gur- Bito--)

( Bito-Eb)

( Eb- Cam)

( Cam-Wax)
 Calculation
Step 1: Estimating the duration of the various growth stages
Step 2: Estimating the Kc factor for each of the 4 growth
stages
Step 3: Calculating the crop water need on a monthly basis
Step 4: Calculate the monthly and seasonal crop water needs
Step 2: Estimating the Kc factor for each of the 4 growth stages
• Kc initial stage = 0.45
• Kc crop development stage = 0.75
• Kc mid season stage = 1.15
• Kc late season stage = 0.8
• February Kc Feb = 0.45
• March 5 days Kc = 0.45
• 25 days Kc = 0.75
1) April 15 days Kc = 0.75
2) 15 days Kc = 1.15
3) Kc April = 0.95
4) May Kc May = 1.15
5) June 5 days Kc = 1.15
6) 25 days Kc = 0.8
7) Kc Jun = 0.85
Step 3: Calculating the crop water need on a monthly basis
ETcrop = ETo × Kc (mm/day)
❖ February: ET crop = 5.0 × 0.45 = 2.3 mm/day
❖March: ET crop = 5.8 × 0.70 = 4.1 mm/day

❖April: ET crop = 6.3 × 0.95 = 6.0 mm/day

❖May: ET crop = 6.8 × 1.15 = 7.8 mm/day

❖June: ET crop = 7.1 × 0.85 = 6.0 mm/day

 Step 4: Calculate the monthly and seasonal crop water
needs.
Note: all months are assumed to have 30 days

❖February: ET crop = 30 × 2.3 = 69 mm/month

❖March: ET crop = 30 × 4.1 = 123 mm/month

❖April: ET crop = 30 × 6.0 = 180 mm/month

❖May: ET crop = 30 × 7.8 = 234 mm/month

❖June: ET crop = 30 × 6.0 = 180 mm/month

✓ The crop water need for the whole growing season of

tomatoes is 786 mm
 Irrigation Water Requirement
Irrigation Requirement
⚫ Irrigation requirement of a crop refers to the amount of
water needed to applied or supplied by irrigation in order
to meet the water requirement of the crop for optimum
growth and yield.
Consumptive Irrigation Requirements (C.I.R)
⚫ It is the amount of irrigation water required in order to
meet the evapotranspiration needs of the crops during its
full growth.
C.I.R = Cu – Re, where Re is effective rainfall

38
 Irrigation Water Requirement
Net Irrigation Requirement (NIR)

⚫ It is the amount of irrigation water required in order to

meet the evapotranspiration needs of the crops as well as
other needs such as leaching etc.

NIR = Cu - Re + water required to fulfill other needs such

as leaching+ land preparation etc

39
 Irrigation Water Requirement
⚫

NIR
FIR =
a

40
 Irrigation Water Requirement
Gross irrigation requirement, GIR
⚫ Gross irrigation requirement, GIR is the quantity of water
required at the head of the canal.
⚫ The quantity of water required at the head of the canal is
greater than the field irrigation requirement because there
are always some transit/ conveyance losses.
GIR = FIR + Conveyance losses
FIR
GIR =
c

Where:  c is water conveyance efficiency

41
Duty of water (D), Base period and Delta of crops
1. Crop period
❖The time period that elapses from the instant of its sowing
to the instant of its harvesting is called the crop-period.
2. Base period (B)
• The base period is the period between the first watering
and the last watering.
• It is slightly different from the crop period
 Cont’d…
3.Duty of water
➢ Duty of water is its capacity to irrigate land.
➢ It is the relation between the area of the land irrigated and the
quantity of water required.
➢ It is usually defined as the area of land which can be irrigated if one
cumec of water is applied to the land continuously for the entire
base period of the crop.
➢ It is expressed in hectares/cumecs.
4. Delta ()
⚫ Delta () is defined as the total depth of water required by a crop
during the entire base period.
⚫ If the entire quantity of applied water were spread uniformly on the
land surface, the depth of water would have been equal to delta.

43
Example:
If 5600 hectares of land can be irrigated for growing a crop
with a available discharge of 4 cumec continuously for
the entire crop period, then the duty of water for this crop
= 5600/4 = 1400 hectares/cumec.
 Cont’d…

Computation of Delta of a Crop

Delta (in m) of any crop can be determined by
dividing the total quantity of water (in ha-m) required
by the crop by the area of the land (in ha)

Total Quantityof Water (ha − m)

=
Total Area of Land (ha)

45
Relation between duty, base period and delta

Equating the quantites of water or volumes

8.64B
D=


8.64B
=
D

46
 Different Forms of Duty
Flow duty
➢ The duty of water in hectares/cumec as defined above is
convenient in the case of flow irrigation from canals and is
usually called flow duty.
➢ If the flow duty and the area of land to be irrigated are
known, the required discharge in the canal can be
determined.
Area, ha
Disch arg e, Q =
Duty, ha / cumec

The discharge is in cumecs.

47
 Cont’d…
Quantity of Duty
➢ For tank/dam/pond irrigation, the duty is usually
expressed as the total area of land which can be irrigated
per million m3 of water stored in the tank/reserviour.
➢ If the quantity duty in ha/Mm3 and the area to be irrigated
are known, the volume of water to be stored in the tank
can be determined. Thus

Area, ha
Volume of water in Mm = 3

Duty, ha / Mm3

48
 Cont’d…
Duty in the form of total depth (or delta)
➢ Duty can also be expressed in terms of the total depth (i.e.
delta) of water required for a crop.
➢ It is another form of the quantity duty because the total
depth, delta is equal to the volume divided by the area of
land. Thus

Volume(ha − m)
Delta =
Area, ha

The delta is in metres

49
 Difference between Delta and Consumptive use
❖ The consumptive use of water for a crop is the water actually used
by it in its metabolism and evapotranspiration.
❖ Delta is the quantity of water actually supplied to the crop.
❖ Delta includes not only the consumptive use of water for a crop
but also the water lost by evaporation and seepage from canals and
by deep percolation in the field.
❖ Hence, delta is generally greater than the consumptive use.
❖ However, if suitable values of water application efficiency and the
conveyance efficiency are taken into account, the water
requirements by the consumptive use concept may approach the
value of delta.
❖ The modern trend is to use the consumptive use concept for the
determination of water requirements of crops and the capacity of
canals.
50
 Factors affecting Duty (cont’s---------)
⚫ Duty of water depends upon the following factors.

⚫ In general, the smaller the losses, the greater is duty

because one cumec of water will be able to irrigate larger
area.

1. Type of soil

⚫ The duty of water depends upon the type of soil.

⚫ Coarse-grained soils, the percolation losses are high, and,

therefore, duty is low.

⚫ Fine-grained soils, the losses are small and duty is high.51

 Factors Affecting Duty (cont’s---------)
2. Type of crop
⚫ Different crops require varying quantities of water.
Therefore, duty varies from crop to crop.
⚫ Duty is low for crops which required a large quantity of
water and vice versa.
3. Structure of soil
⚫ The soil structure affects the plant growth to a very large
⚫ A good structure is called good tilth of soil.
⚫ In a soil with good structure, evaporation losses from the
soil surface are relatively less and hence duty is high.
⚫ Moreover, a soil with good structure becomes properly
aerated because of large voids and the yield of crop is
increased, 52
 Factors Affecting Duty (cont’s---------)
5. Climatic conditions
⚫ Evaporation losses are more if the temperature and wind
velocity are high and, therefore, duty is decreased.
⚫ On the other hand, rainfall during the base period reduces
the irrigation requirements and hence the duty is increased.
6. Method of cultivation
⚫ If the land is properly ploughed upto the required root-zone
depth and made quite loose before sowing of the crops, the
water retention capacity of the soil is increased and,
therefore, the number of watering is reduced and duty is
increased.
⚫ On the other hand, if the land is not properly ploughed and
the method of cultivation is faulty and less efficient, duty is
decreased. 53
 Factors Affecting Duty (cont’s---------)
7. System of irrigation
⚫ The system of irrigation may be
⚫ (i) perennial or non-perennial,
⚫ (ii) canal irrigation or tank irrigation,
⚫ (iii) flow irrigation or lift irrigation.
⚫ Duty is different for different systems.
(i) Perennial or non-perennial
⚫ In this system the water is applied to the land throughout
the growth period, whereas in the non-perennial system,
the water is applied only during the flood season.
⚫ The non perennial system is also known as (inundation
system).
54
 Factors Affecting Duty (cont’s---------)
⚫ In the perennial system. the soil remains continuously wet
and hence less quantity of water is required for initial
wetting of soil and therefore duty is high.
⚫ On the other hand, in the inundation system, there is
wasteful use of water and therefore duty is low.
(ii) canal irrigation or tank irrigation
⚫ In the case of tank irrigation, duty is high because the
commanded area is close to the tank and the transmission
losses are less.
⚫ On the other hand, in the case of canal irrigation (or flow
irrigation), the transmission losses are high and duty is
low.
55
 Factors Affecting Duty (cont’s---------)
(iii) Flow irrigation or lift irrigation

⚫ In the case of lift irrigation (or well irrigation).duty is

high because the commanded area is close to the well,

⚫ In the case of flow irrigation, duty is low.

⚫ Moreover, the cultivator uses the water in the lift

irrigation more economically as it is expensive.

56
 Factors Affecting Duty (cont’s---------)
8. Method of application of water
⚫ The method of irrigation (or the mode of application of
water) affects the duty of water because water application
efficiency is different for different methods.
⚫ Drip irrigation method is the most efficient method and
duty is very high. In the case of the sprinkler method of
irrigation, duty is also high because seepage losses are
reduced.
⚫ On the other hand, in the methods of surface irrigation,
duty is low. However, in the case of the furrow method of
surface irrigation, duty is relatively high because water is
not applied to the entire land and, therefore, the losses are
small.
57
 Factors Affecting Duty (cont’s---------)
9. Age and frequency of cultivation
⚫ Duty increases with the age of cultivation. In the initial
stages of cultivation, the land is not properly leveled and
hence more than the required quantity of water is applied
and therefore duty is low. However, the slope and
condition of land improve with age of the fields and duty
is increased.
⚫ Frequent cultivation of land reduces the loss of moisture
through weeds and evaporation from soil and hence duty
is increased.
⚫ On the other hand, if cultivation is done after a long
interval, duty is decreased.

58
 Factors Affecting Duty (cont’s---------)
10. Condition, type and location of the canal
⚫ If the canal is in good condition and properly maintained,
the duty is more compared to that in the canal with
indifferent condition and poor maintenance.
⚫ The duty is higher for the lined canals as compared to that
for the unlined canals. Even in unlined canals, duty is
higher when the soil is non-alluvial than when the soils is'
alluvial.
⚫ If the canal is located in the middle of the commanded
area, the length of the distributaries and water courses is
small and, therefore, losses are small and duty is high.
⚫ On the other hand, if the canal is located away from the
commanded area, duty is low.
59
 Factors Affecting Duty (cont’s---------)
11. Method of assessment of water
⚫ If the assessment of water and charges of irrigation water
are on the volumetric basis, the cultivators use the water
more carefully and the wastage is less, and, therefore, duty
is high.
⚫ On the other hand, if the assessment is based on a flat rate
based on the area under cultivation, the wastage is more
and duty is less.
12. Skill of cultivators
⚫ If the cultivators have skill and proper training, they make
judicious use of water and therefore duty is high.

60
 Factors Affecting Duty (cont’s---------)
13. Base period

⚫ In general, when the base period of a crop is long, more

water is required and duty is low.

⚫ However, the decrease in duty with an increase in the base

period is not proportional.

14. Salt content of soil

⚫ If the soil contains harmful salts and alkalis, water has to

be applied liberally/ abundantly /freely so that these salts
and alkalis are leached off. This reduces the duty of water.
61
 Methods for Improvement of Duty
⚫ Duty of water may be improved by counter-acting all the
factors that decrease it. In general, duty is improved by
decreasing the various losses.
⚫ The following methods are commonly used In general,
➢ Properly plowing and leveling of the land
➢ The land should be regularly cultivated
➢ The alignment of the canal in sandy soils or in fissured
rocks should be avoided
➢ As far as possible, the canal should be located in the
middle of the commanded area
➢ The canal should be lined to reduce the losses

62
 Methods for Improvement of Duty
⚫ Efficient methods of irrigation should be adopted
⚫ Volumetric assessment of irrigation water should be
introduced
⚫ The cultivators should be trained
⚫ Land should be consolidated
⚫ Salty conditions should be avoided
⚫ Avoid use of very big canal
⚫ Sufficient water should be supplied as and when needed.
⚫ canal administrative staff should be properly educated and
trained

63
 Importance of Duty

⚫ It helps us in designing an efficient canal irrigation system

⚫ Knowing the total available water at the head of main

canal, and the overall duty for all crops required to be
irrigated in different seasons of the year the area which can
be irrigated can be worked out

⚫ Inversely, if we know the crop area required to be irrigated

and their duties, we can workout the discharge required for
designing canal.
64
 Irrigation Efficiencies
➢ Efficiency is the ratio of the water out put to the water input.
⚫ The ratio of the amount of water available (output) to the amount of
water supplied (input) is known as Irrigation Efficiency. It is
expressed in percentage.
(i) Efficiency of water conveyance
⚫ It is the ratio of the amount of water applied to the land to the amount
of water supplied from the reservoir. It is the ratio of the water
delivered into the fields from the outlet point of the channel, to the
water entering into the channel at its starting point.

Quantityof water of delivered into the fields from the outlet

c = x100
Quantityof water diverted fromthe offtake

FIR
c = x100
GIR
65
 (ii) Efficiency of water- application

It is the ratio of the water stored in root zone of plants

to the water applied to the land.

Water stored in the root zone

a = x100
Water applied to the field

NIR
a = x100
FIR

66
 (iii) Efficiency of Water Storage

It is the ratio of the water stored in the root zone

during irrigation to the water needed in the root
zone prior to irrigation

Water stored in the root zone during irrigation

a = x100
Water needed in the root zone prior to irrigation

67
(vi) Uniformity Coefficient (cu)
⚫ It is used to measure the effectiveness of irrigation.
⚫ The water distribution efficiency represents the extent to which
the water has penetrated to a uniform depth, throughout the field.
When the water has penetrated uniformly throughout the field, the
deviation from the mean depth is zero and water distribution
efficiency is 1.0.
Cu = 100(1.0 −
 /X/
)
mn
⚫ Where
CU = Uniformity Coefficient
=is the summation of deviations from the mean depth in
filtered
m= mean depth
n = number of observations
68
 Project Efficiency, Ep

Project Efficiency (Ep)

▪ It indicates the overall efficiency of the systems from
the headwork to the final use by plants for Cu.
▪ This shows how efficiently the water source used in
crop production.
▪ The Overall project efficiency must be considered in
order to fix the amount of water required at the
Diversion headwork.
▪ It is obtained by multiplying all the efficiencies
considered in the project.

69
The depth of penetrations along the length of a boarder strip at points 30m apart were probed.
Their observed values are 2.0, 1.9, 1.8, 1.6 & 1.5 meters. Compute the water distribution
efficiency.
Solution: The observed depths at 5 stations are given
2 + 1.9 + 1.8 + 1.6 + 1.5
D, Mean depth = = 1.76m
5
- Value of deviation from the mean are
(2 -1.76), (1.9 - 1.76), (1.8 -1.76), (1.6 - 1.76), (1.5 - 1.76)
0.24, 0.14, 0.04, - 0.16 & - 0.26
The absolute values of these deviations from the mean are
0.24 0.14 0.04 0.16 0.26
- The average of the absolute values of deviations from the mean
0.24 + 0.14 + 0.04 + 0.16 + 0.26
d = mean = = 0.168
5
- Thus the water distribution efficiency (d )
 d  0.168
 d = 1 −  = 1 − = 0.905 = 90.5%
 D  1.76 
 Examples
1. Delivery of 10 m3/s to a 32 ha farm is continued for 4
hours. The tail water is 0.27 m3/s. Soil penetrating after
irrigation indicates that 30 cm of water has been stored
in the root zone. Compute the Application Efficiency.
Solution:
❖ Total volume of water applied
= 10 m3/s x 4 hrs x 3600s/hr = 144,000 m3
❖ Total tail water = 0.27 x 4 x 3600 = 3888 m3
❖ Total water in root zone = 30 cm = 0.3 m x 32 ha x 10,000
m2/ha = 96,000 m3

❖ Ea = Water stored in the root zone X 100

Total water applied
Ea = 96,000/144,000 = 66%
2. 45 m3 of water was pumped into a farm distribution
system. 38 m3 of water is delivered to a turn out (at head
ditch) which is 2 km from the well. Compute the
Conveyance Efficiency.
 a = Quantity of water delivered to the field x100
Quantity of water diverted from off take
= 38/45 x100
= 84%
Water lost by evaporation
Stream

And seepage Farm

Ws Wd
3. Suppose that 56mm of water needed in the root zone
prior to irrigation. If 49mm is stored in the root zone
during the given irrigation application, calculate storage
efficiency .
Se = waterstored in the root zone during irrigation x 100
Water needed in the root zone prior to irrigation
= 49 x100
56
=87.5%
End of chapter
 Quiz (5%)
1. Define crop water requirement and irrigation water requirements
and their differences
2. A Uniformity Check is taken by penetrating many stations down
the border. The depths of penetration (cm) recorded were:
Locations Depths (cm)

1 6.4
Calculate the Uniformity of water
2 6.5
distribution efficiency!!!!!!!!!!
3 6.5
4 6.3
5 6.2
6 6.0
7 6.4
8 6.0
9 5.8
10 5.7
 Quiz (5%)
1. Define crop water requirement and irrigation water
requirements and their differences.

2. Define crop period, base period, duty and delta.

3. What is the difference between delta and

consumptive uses?

4. Quantify relation between duty, base period and

delta.