IRRIGATION

ENGINEERING

Course Instructor: Arif Asghar Gopang

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lecture students will be able:

 To describe optimum utilization of irrigation water, crop

ratio, kor-watering, kor period

 To explain the soil moisture irrigation relationship, field

capacity, permanent wilting point, readily available
water, depth and frequency of irrigation

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 OPTIMUM UTILIZATION OF WATER

o The quantity of water at which the yield is maximum is called

the optimum water depth.

o Optimum utilization of water means getting maximum yield

with any amount of water.

o To achieve economy in the use of water, it is necessary that the

farmers be made acquainted with the fact that a certain fixed
amount of water gives the best results.

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OPTIMUM UTILIZATION OF WATER

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 KHARIF/RABI RATIO OR CROP RATIO

o The ratio of the proposed areas, to be irrigated in Kharif

season to that in the Rabi season is called Kharif/Rabi ratio.

o The area to be irrigated for Rabi crop is generally more than

that for the Kharif crop.

o This ratio is generally 1:2 i.e Kharif area is one-half of the

Rabi area.

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 KOR-WATERING
o The first watering given to a crop when it is a few cm high is called kor-
watering.

o The optimum depth of kor-watering for different crops are different. For
example, the optimum depth of kor-watering for Rice and Wheat are 19 cm
and 13.5 cm.
o

o The time period when kor-watering must be supplied is called kor-period.

o The kor-period for rice varies from 2 to 4 weeks and that for wheat varies
from 3 to 8 weeks.

o The kor-period mainly depends upon the climate, it is less for humid climate
and greater for dry climate.
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 FIELD
CAPACITY

o The water retained by soil particles by molecular attraction

and loose chemical bonds after free drainage is called field
capacity. OR
o The quantity of water retained by any soil against gravity is
called field capacity.

o The field capacity consists of two parts; one part is capillary

water and the other part is hygroscopic water.

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FIELD
CAPACITY

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FIELD
CAPACITY

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Field capacity =

Depth of water stored in the root zone =

Where,
F = field capacity
D = depth of rootzone in m
= unit wt. of water
= the dry unit wt. of soil

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PERMANENT WILTING POINT (PWP)

The water content at which plant can no longer extract

sufficient water for its growth is called permanent wilting point.

AVAILABLE MOISTURE
The water which is available to the plants is the difference of
field capacity water and permanent wilting point.
While, the water left in the soil after permanent wilting point
has been reached is known unavailable moisture or
Hygroscopic water.
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 READILY AVAILABLE MOISTURE

It is the portion of the available water which is most easily

extracted by the plants and is approximately 75 to 80% of the
available moisture.

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ESTIMATING DEPTH AND FREQUENCY
OF IRRIGATION

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 ESTIMATING DEPTH AND FREQUENCY
OF IRRIGATION
o Sufficient water should be available in the soil from surface to
root zone depth of the crop.
o As discussed, the moisture may vary between field capacity
(upper limit) and wilting point (lower point).
o The moisture is not allowed to be depleted to the wilting point, as
it would result in considerable fall in crop yield.
o The optimum level (depth of readily available moisture) upto
which soil may be allowed to be depleted in the root zone without
fall in crop yield has to be worked out for every crop and soil
experimentally.
o The irrigation water should be supplied in order to maintain this
optimum level in the soil
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THANKS