In the Name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

HIE – 504
Irrigation & Drainage
Engineering
LECTURE 3
Soil Water Plant Relationship &
Water Requirements of Crops
 Soil-Water-Plant relationship
Soil as a porous media
Provides
 Physical support
 Nutrients
 Water &
 Air

3
Soil Properties
Texture
Definition: relative proportions of various sizes of
individual soil particles
USDA classifications
 Sand: 0.05 – 2.0 mm
 Silt: 0.002 - 0.05 mm
 Clay: <0.002 mm
Textural triangle: USDA Textural Classes
Coarse vs. Fine, Light vs. Heavy
Affects water movement and storage
Structure
Definition: how soil particles are grouped or arranged
Affects root penetration and water intake and movement

4
USDA Textural Triangle

5
 Moisture Contents
Water (or moisture) in Soil
 Hygroscopic Moisture
 Capillary Moisture
 Gravitational (or free) Moisture
Oven dry soil = zero moisture
Air dry soil = Hygroscopic moisture
Wilting Coefficient
The moisture content (%) in soil above which the water is available
for the plant for growth.
If moisture content in soil is equal or greater than about 1.5 times of
Hygroscopic m.c. then water is available to plant
Max. Capillary Capacity (or Field Capacity): The moisture
content (mc) above which the water will start flowing under gravity.

6
 Soil Water
Saturation point

Gravitational moisture
Max. Capillary Cap.
Moisture (%) (or Field Capacity)
Capillary moisture
Wilting point (or Coeff.)
Air dry soil
Hygroscopic moisture
0 (%) Oven dry soil

Ref. Wikipedia:
Field capacity is the amount of soil moisture or water content held in soil after excess water has drained
away and the rate of downward movement has materially decreased, which usually takes place within 2–3
days after a rain or irrigation in pervious soils of uniform structure and texture.
The physical definition of field capacity (expressed symbolically as θfc) is the bulk water content retained in
soil at −33 J/kg (or −0.33 bar) of hydraulic head or suction pressure.
7
•Field Capacity (FC or  )
fc
– Soil water content where gravity drainage becomes negligible
– Soil is not saturated but still a very wet condition
– Traditionally defined as the water content corresponding to a
Soil Water Potential of -1/10 to -1/3 bar (tension in soil or pressure
below atmospheric pressure)

•Permanent Wilting Point (WP or  )

wp
– Soil water content beyond which plants cannot recover from
water stress even if placed in humid environment
– Still some water in the soil but not enough to be of use to
plants
– Traditionally defined as the water content corresponding to -
15 bars of Soil Water Potential

8
 Available Water
Definition
Water held in the soil between field capacity and
permanent wilting point
“Available” for plant use
Available Water Capacity (AWC)
AWC =  - 
fc wp
Units: depth of available water per unit depth of soil,
“unitless” (in/in, or mm/mm)
Measured using field or laboratory methods
Readily Available Water Capacity (RAWC)
Taken as 75-80% of AWC

9
Depending on soil texture, which is determined by the particle-size distribution, soils will vary in water
content at field capacity and at the permanent wilting point. Both characteristic values enclose the
plant-available water content. Silt loam soil contains the maximum of available water. The water at the
permanent wilting point is not available to plants. The fineness of texture increases with
the silt and clay content, presented as approximate percentages.

Ref: Lecture presentation of

Dr. Heba Al-Fares, An-Najah National University, Palestine, available on google document 10
 Range of Porosity
Values
Soil Type Porosi
ty, pt
porosities
Unconsolidated
deposits
Gravel 0.25 -
0.40
Sand 0.25 -
0.50
Silt 0.35 -
0.50
Clay 0.40 -
0.70

Ref: http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~martins/climate_water/slides/soil_parameter_ranges.gif, accessed on 10-2-15

11
Important Moisture Contents
Field Capacity (%) Wilting point % Available MC %
USDA Soil
Type min max mean min max mean min max mean
Sand 7 17 12 2 7 5 5 10 8
Loamy sand 11 19 15 3 10 7 8 9 9
Sandy loam 18 28 23 6 16 11 12 12 12
Loam 20 30 25 7 17 12 13 13 13
Silt Loam 22 36 29 9 21 15 13 15 14
Silt 28 36 32 12 22 17 16 14 15
Silt Clay Loam 30 37 34 17 24 21 13 13 13
Silty Clay 30 42 36 17 29 23 13 13 13
Clay 32 40 36 20 24 22 12 16 14

Ref: FAO-56
12
Water-Holding Capacity of Soil
Effect of Soil Texture

Coarse Sand Silty Clay Loam

Dry Soil

Gravitational Water
Water Holding Capacity
Available Water
Unavailable Water

13
Conversion of Moisture Contents into Volume (or Depth)
of Water
 Soil water content

 Mass water content (m)

Mw
  = mass water content (fraction)
m
 M = mass of water evaporated, g m 
w
(24 hours at 105oC)
 M = mass of dry soil, g
Ms
s

 Bulk Density (b)

  = soil bulk density, g/cm3

b
Ms
 M = mass of dry soil, g
s
 V = volume of soil sample, cm3 b 
Vb
b
 Typical values: 1.1 - 1.6 g/cm3

 Particle Density (p)

  = soil particle density, g/cm3 Ms

p 
P
 M = mass of dry soil, g
s
 V = volume of solids, cm3
s
 Typical values: 2.6 - 2.7 g/cm3 Vs
14
Conversion of Moisture Contents into Volume (or Depth)
of Water
Ms
b 
Vb
Mw
w 
Vw
b
G
w
M w Vw . w d w.A
mc   
M s Vb . b d s . A.G
d w  mc.d s .G
15
 Standards of Irrigation Water

 Class 1 – excellent to good for most crops

 Class 2 – good to injurious, most probably harmful to more sensitive crops
 Class 3 – unsuitable under most conditions
 Classes & Availability of Soil Water
Water present is soil classified as:
 Hygroscopic Water – not capable of
movement by gravity or capillary forces
 Capillary Water – that part in excess of
hygroscopic water which exists in pore
space of soil by molecular attraction
 Gravitational Water – that part in
excess of hygroscopic & capillary water,
which moves out of soil if favorable
drainage is provided
Water classified on the basis of availability:
 Unavailable
UN-

 Available
 Superfluous
 Availability of Soil Water
 Saturation Capacity – maximum moisture holding capacity or total
capacity  is the amount of water required to fill all the pore
spaces between soil particles by replacing all air held in pore
spaces
 Field Capacity – is the moisture content of the soil after free
drainage has removed most of the gravity water  extremely
useful in estimating the amount of available water in the soil for
plant use
 Availability of Soil Water
 Temporary Wilting – take place during hot windy day, but plant
recover in cooler portion of day  no addition of water is required
 Permanent Wilting Point or Wilting Coefficient – is that water
content at which plants can no longer extract sufficient water from
the soil for its growth  lower range of available moisture range
 If water added to soil  plant regain its turgidity
 If plant doesn’t get sufficient water  it will wilt permanently
 Estimated by dividing field capacity by a factor varying from 2 to
2.4 (depends upon amount of silt in soil). It is 150% of
hygroscopic water
 Depends on rate of water used by plant, the depth of root zone
& water holding capacity of the soil
 Ultimate Wilting or Hygroscopic Coefficient – plant will not regain
its turgidity  even after water added to soil  plant will die
 It is 2/3rd of permanent wilting point
 Availability of Soil Water
 Available Water/Moisture – is the difference in water content
between field capacity & permanent wilting point
 Readily Available Water/Moisture – portion of available moisture
that is most easily extracted by plants  approximately 75% of
available moisture
 Availability of Soil Water
 Moisture Equivalent – an artificial moisture property of the soil 
used as an index of the natural properties  is %age of moisture
retained in a small sample of wet soil 1 cm deep when subjected to
a centrifugal force 1000 times as great as gravity, usually for a
period of 30 minutes
 It is a single factor to which the properties of soil can be related
within reasonable limit. For a medium texture soil:
Moisture Equivalent = Field Capacity
= 1.8 to 2 Permanent Wilting Point
= 2.7 Hygroscopic Coefficient
 Soil/Field Moisture Deficiency – is the water required to bring the
soil moisture content of the soil to its field capacity
 Limiting Soil Moisture Conditions
 It is essential to maintain readily available water in the soil if crops
to make satisfactory growth
 Plant growth may be retarded if the soil-moisture is either
deficient or excessive
 The optimum moisture percentage is that moisture corresponding
to which optimum growth of plant take place
 Depth & Frequency of Irrigation
 When irrigation/watering is done  amount of water supplied
should be such that water content is equal to field capacity
 When water reaches the lower limit of readily available water,
fresh doses of irrigation may be done  to raise the water content
again to field capacity
 Frequency of irrigation is controlled by the amount of available
water contained in the root zone of soil & consumptive use rate
 Duty & Delta
 Duty – relation between the area of a crop irrigated & quantity of
irrigation water required during the entire period of the growth of
that crop  represents irrigation capacity of a unit of water
 Delta – total depth of water required by a crop during the entire
period of the crop in the field & is denoted by Δ
 Crop Period – time is days that a crop takes from the instant of its
sowing to that of its harvesting
 Base Period – refers to the whole period of cultivation from the
time when irrigation water is first issued for preparation of the
ground for planting the crop to its last watering before harvesting
 Relation between Duty & Delta
Metric System

F.P.S. System
Estimating depth and frequency of irrigation
based on soil moisture
• Numerical to be solved :
• From book of S.K. GARG.
– Examples 2.1 to 2.7
– Examples 2.8, 2.10, 2.12
– Table 2.13, 2.14
– Examples 2.13, 2.14

29
 Some Definitions
 Gross Command Area (G.C.A) – total area lying between drainage
boundaries which can be commanded or irrigated by a canal system
 Culturable Command Area (C.C.A) – G.C.A contains unfertile barren land,
alakline soil, local ponds, villages & other areas as habitation  which
are known as unculturable areas (U.C.A). The remaining area on which
crop can be grown satisfactorily is known as C.C.A  G.C.A=U.C.A +
C.C.A. It can be further sub-divided into:
 Culturable Cultivated Area – area in which crop is grown at particular
time or crop season
 Culturable Uncultivated Area – area in which crop is not sown at
particular time or crop season, because:

to increase soil fertility, to provide pasture land for animals, different

crop season, to protect land from water logging, etc.
 Intensity of Irrigation – %age of C.C.A proposed to be irrigated during
either a crop season or during a year
 Design of Irrigation Scheme
• Gross Command Area (GCA):
• Culturable Command Area (CCA):
• Non Culturable Command Area (NCCA): 

CCA=GCA-Non Culturable Command Area

•  Alignment of Irrigation Channels:
The alignment of irrigation channels can be divided into two parts, namely
• Alignment of canals and distributory.
• Alignment of water course. 

31
 Alignment of canals and distributory
• Main Canal (Head Reach), Main Canal, Branch Canal, Distributory, Minors.
• Main Canal Head reach (normally in cutting)
• Canal is taken to centre of command area, and at ridge
• Branch Canal usually have discharge > 30 cumecs (1,000 cusecs)
• Distributory (normally less than 30 cumecs) with Outlets
• If Distributory is such that Water Course (WC) is more than 3 km, or WC
capacity required is > 85 liters/sec (3 cusec) then better to form a Minor
canal and reduce length of WC.
• Minor has cap < 2.5 cumecs ( 90 cusecs)

70 m

80
Ridge Line??
90
Valley Line??32
 Alignment of canals and distributory
• The entire tract (land) should be irrigated by flow-irrigation.
• Prefer ‘watershed canals’ over the ‘contour canals’
• Least cut and fills (use falls if required),
• Most economical alignment to be selected out of many
• Least crossings
• Avoid cities
• Avoid well irrigated areas
• Branch & main without outlets
• Make distributaries such that Water Course length should be
< 2 miles
• Scale 2” to a mile Sheets, contour interval 5’

33
 Curvature

Capacity of Channel Cusecs Minimum Radii of curves feet, (m

(cumecs in brackets) in brackets)
Over-3000 (> 100 cumec) 5000 (1500 m)

3000-1000 (100-30) 3000 (900)

1000-500 (30-15) 2000 (600)

500-100 (15-3) 1000 (300)

100-10 (3-0.5) 500 (150)

Less than 10 (< 0.5 cumec) 300 (100 m)

34
 Alignment of Water Course
• Use scale of 8" to a mile (1:8000) and spot levels at every corner of 500 ft.
• Economical
• Minimum in length.

• Aligned within one “Rectangle” (Muraba = 25 acer = 990 ft x 1100 ft)

• Minimize the losses by irrigating on both sides.
• One nakka (Connection) is sanctioned for each Rectangle (Muraba)
– a second may be provided if much necessary

35
 110 110 110 110 110 110 110 110 110 110 1100
49.5 kanal
49.5
198
49.5
49.5
49.5
49.5
198
49.5
49.5
49.5 kanal
49.5
One Square (Muraba)
198
49.5 1100 x 990 ft
49.5
49.5 25 acres of 220' x 198'
49.5
198
49.5
49.5
49.5 kanal
49.5
198
49.5
49.5

990.0 220 220 220 220 220

11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11

24.75 marla marla marla marla marla marla marla marla marla marla
One Kanal
110 x 49.5 ft
24.75 marla marla marla marla marla marla marla marla marla marla
2022marlas
22
of 22
22' x 12'-3"
22 22
12.375 marla marla marla marla marla
12.375 marla marla marla marla marla
One Kanal 12.375 marla marla marla marla marla
110 x 49.5 ft 12.375 marla marla marla marla marla
36
20 marlas of 11'x 24'-9"
Physiography of Pakistan

37
Soil Types of Pakistan

38
 Soil Types of Pakistan
Soil Type Area  %age
(000’ ha)
1. Loamy and sandy stratified soils 1 0.1
2. Loamy and clayey non-calcareous soils 4.6 0.6

3. MOUNTAINS: Loamy shallow soils  18.6 2.3 13. Laomy sandy stratified soils 18.8 2.4
14. Loamy clayey soils 90.4 11.4
VALLEYS : Loamy non-calcareous soils
15. Loamy soils of old river terraces 21.9 2.8
4. Loamy sandy stratified soils 1.5 0.2 16. Laomy clayey mainly dense saline 2 0.3
5. Loamy clayey non-calcareous soils 7.7 1 sodic soils
17. Loamy and clayey partly slaine sodic 52.7 6.6
6. Loamy non-calcareous soils of alluvial/loess plains 18.2 2.3
soils

7. MOUNTAINS: Loamy and shallow soils  10.2 1.3 18. Mainly loamy saline soils 15.3 1.9
19. Silty and calyey saline soils 5.6 0.7
VALLEYS : Laomy soils
20. Rolling to hilly sandy soils 116.9 14.7
8. MOUNTAINS: Rock out-crops loamy and shallow soils  17 2.1
21. Mainly loamy partly gravelly soils 46.6 5.8
VALLEYS : Loamy soils 
22. Mainly loamy partly gravelly soils 16.7 2.1
9. Loamy partly gravelly soils 0.7 0.1
23. MOUNTAIND: Rocky out-crop with 244.5 30.6
10. MOUNTAINS: Loamy shallow soils and rock out-crop  2.7 0.3 patchy soils 
VALLEYS : Mainly loamy partly gravelly
VALLEYS : Loamy soils soils
11. MOUNTAINS: Rock out-crop and loamy very shallow 41.7 5.2 24. Clayey and loamy severly slaine sodic 2.7 0.3
soils  soils
VALLEYS : Loamy soils 25. Glaciers and snow caps 3.4 0.4
12. MOUNTAINS:Rock outcrop, some loamy very shallow  22.7 2.9 26. Rivers 13 1.6

soilsVALLEYS : Mainly loamy soils TOTAL:  796.1 39 100

 Crops vs. Soil type
• Heavy retentive soils (>40% clay) are good for rice & sugarcane
• Light sandy soil (2 – 8% clay) is suitable for gram, fodder, pulses etc
• Medium or normal soil (10-20% clay) is good for wheat, cotton, maize,
vegetables, oil seeds etc.

Crop Rotations
• Benefits of crop rotation:
• Increase fertility of crop,
• reduce diseases, and
• reduce insects
• Examples:
• Wheat  Sorgum (Juvar) Gram
• Rice  Gram
• Cotton  Wheat  Gram or Sugarcane
40
• Cotton  Juvar  Gram
 Pakistan: Aridity based on Moisture Index (%age)

41
http://namc.pmd.gov.pk/zone.php?type=c dated: 225-2-2013
 Pakistan Agro-climatic Zones
I Indus Delta
II Southern irrigated
III Sandy Desert (a&b)
IV Northern Irrigated plains (a&b)
V Barren lands
VI Wet mountains
VII Northern dry mountains
VIII Western dry mountains
IX Dry western plateau
X Suleiman Piedmonts

42
 Pakistan Agro-climatic Zones
• Zone I: Delta, arid, marine, temperature 20-40 oC.
The soils are clayey and silty.
Rice, sugarcane, banana and pulses

• Zone II: Southern Irrigated Plains, The soils are silty and
sandy loam. Cotton, wheat and sugarcane are grown on the
left bank of the Indus and Rice, wheat and gram on the right
bank

• Zone III: Sandy Desert (a). The maximum rainfall is 300-500

mm. The soils are sandy and loamy fine sand. The land is used
for grazing.
Sandy Desert (b). Thal

Source PARC, 1980

43
 Pakistan Agro-climatic Zones
• Zone IVa: Northern Irrigated Plain (a) - Flood Plains and Bar Uplands.
Semi Arid. The soils are sandy, loam-clay and loam. The canal irrigated
crops are wheat, rice, sugar cane, oilseed and millets in the north and
wheat, cotton, sugar cane, maize, citrus and mangoes in the centre and
south.

• Zone IVb: Northern Irrigated Plain (b) - alluvial valleys of Peshawar and
Mardan. The climate is semi-arid. The soils are silty clays and clay loams.
The main crops are sugar cane, maize, tobacco, wheat, berseem, sugar
beet and orchards.

• Zone V: Barani (Rainfed) Lands. In the North the mean monthly rainfall is
200 mm in summer and 35 to 50 mm in winter. The main crops are wheat,
millet, oilseed and pulses.

44
 Pakistan Agro-climatic Zones
• Zone VI: Wet Mountains - High Mountains. The mean monthly rainfall is 235 mm
in summer and 116 mm in winter. The soils consist of silt loams to silty clays. A
small area is under Rainfed agriculture but most of it is under forest.

• Zone VII: Northern Dry Mountains. The valley soils are deep and clayey. Most of
the area is used for grazing.

• Zone VIII: Western Dry Mountains. Most of the land is used for grazing. On part of
the loamy soils wheat and fruit crops are grown.

• Zone IX: Dry Western Plateau - mountainous areas. The land is used mainly for
grazing. Melons, fruit crops, vegetables and wheat are grown where water is
available.

• Zone X: Sulaiman Piedmont - plains of the Sulaiman Range. The climate is arid
and hot. Irrigation relies on floods of the hill torrents.

45
Punjab Agro-Climatic Zones
BI
B II

A IV
CI
C II
A III

DI
D II
A II
C II

D III

46
Ref http://www.parc.gov.pk/maps/
Cropping Pattern Katchi Canal
Existing (Pre-Canal Pattern):

Crops Cropped Intensities Crops Cropped Intensities

Area Percent of Area Percent of
(Acres) CA (Acres) CA

Kharif Rabi
Sorgum 11,285 1.58 Wheat 4,848 0.68
Oil Seeds 357 0.05
Gram 214 0.03
Pulses 1,070 0.15
Oil Seeds 4,706 0.66
Fodder 2,068 0.29
Others 143 0.02 Total Rabi 9,768 1.37
Total 14,902 2.09
Kharif

ANNUAL : 24,670 3.46

47
 Lecture 4 OUTLINE
• Consumptive Use of Water (or Evapo-transpiration)
– Relationship between AET/PET & Available Moisture
– Factors Affecting Consumptive Use of Water
– Direct Measurement of Consumptive Use
– Consumptive Use Determination by Use of Equations
• Irrigation Efficiencies
• Determination of Irrigation Requirement of Crops
• Solved Examples
 Consumptive Use of Water (or Evapo-transpiration)
 Consumptive Use of Water (or Evapo-transpiration) is the depth of
water consumed by evaporation & transpiration during crop
growth, includes water consumed by weed growth if any
 Evaporation is the transfer of water from liquid to vapor state
Evaporation Rate@water surface ↔ Vapor Pressure@surface – Vapor Pressure@overlying air
(Dalton’s Law)
 Transpiration is the process by which plants dissipate water from
the surface of their leaves, stalks & trunks during growth process
 As much as 99% of total water received by plants is lost
 Associated with photosynthesis of plants  process of day light hours
 Transpiration Ratio is the ratio of weight of water transpired by the
plant during its growth to the weight of dry matter produced by
plant exclusive of roots
 Avg. transpiration ratio for wheat & rice are 560 & 680 respectively
 Consumptive Use of Water (or Evapo-transpiration)
 Potential Evapo-transpiration (PET) evapo-transpiration is the total
loss of water from farm land as evaporation & from plants grown
on it as transpiration. If sufficient moisture is always available to
completely meet the needs of the plants, the resulting evapo-
transpiration is called Potential Evapo-transpiration (PET)
 Actual Evapo-transpiration (AET) real evapo-transpiration occurring
in a specific situation is called Actual Evapo-transpiration (AET)

 AET = PET or AET/PET = 1  if the available moisture content in

the soil is at field capacity (Fc)
 AET is zero  at wilting coefficient (wc)
 Relationship between AET/PET & Available Moisture
 Relation between AET/PET & available moisture can be developed
for different types of soils on the basis of experimental results:
 For same AET/PET ratio  sandy soil has more available
moisture than clayey soil, or in other words
 For same available moisture, AET/PET ratio will be less for sandy
soil than for clayey soil
 Factors Affecting Consumptive Use of Water
 Evaporation depends upon humidity
 Mean monthly temperature
 Wind velocity in locality
 Monthly precipitation in area
 Growing season of crop
 Cropping pattern
 Irrigation depth i.e. depth of water application
 Irrigation practices & methods of irrigation
 Soil
 Topography
 Direct Measurement of Consumptive Use
1. Tank & Lysimeter Methods
 Tank is a container having an area of 10m2, 3m deep

 Tank is filled with the soil of field & crop is grown

 Cu is determined by estimating the quantity of water required to

maintain constant moisture conditions for satisfactory plant growth

 In Lysimeter, the bottom is pervious, Cu is difference of water applied &

that draining through pervious bottom  which is collected in a pan

2. Field Experimental Plots

 Irrigation water is applied to selected field experimental plots in such a
way that there is neither runoff nor deep percolation
 Yield obtained from different fields are plotted against total water used

 Yields are selected which appear to be most profitable  basis of Cu

 Direct Measurement of Consumptive Use
3. Soil Moisture Studies
 Suited to areas soil is fairly uniform & groundwater is deep enough 
so that it doesn’t affect the fluctuations in soil moisture within root zone
 Soil moisture measurements are done  before & after each irrigation
 Water quantity extracted per day from soil is computed for each period
 A curve is drawn between rate of water use & time  seasonal use
4. Integration Method
 Necessary to know division of area:
a) Irrigation crop area  unit Cu for each crop times its area
b) Natural vegetation area  unit Cu of native vegetation times its area
c) Water surface area  water surface evaporation times its area
d) Bare land area  evaporation from bare land times its area
 Summation of all above products  annual Cu for total area
 Direct Measurement of Consumptive Use
5. Inflow & Outflow Studies for Large Area
Annual consumptive use for large area is found by:
 Consumptive Use Determination by Use of Equations
1. Blaney-Criddle Method
2. Penman Method
3. Hargreaves Class A Pan Evaporation Method
 Consumptive Use Determination by Use of Equations
1. Blaney-Criddle Method
Blaney & Criddle (1962) proposed an empirical relation to express potential
evapo-transpiration (consumptive use) in terms of temp. & day time hours:

(Table-1)

Table-2
Consumptive Use Determination by Use of Equations
1. Blaney-Criddle Method
Table-1 Table-1

Table-1
Consumptive Use Determination by Use of Equations
1. Blaney-Criddle Method
Table-2
Consumptive Use Determination by Use of Equations
2. Penman Method

Table-3

Equation-1
Equation-2
Consumptive Use Determination by Use of Equations
2. Penman Method
Table-3 Table-3
Consumptive Use Determination by Use of Equations
2. Penman Method
Equation-1
Equation-1a
Table-3

Equation-1a
Consumptive Use Determination by Use of Equations
2. Penman Method

Equation-2

Table-4

Table-1

Table-5
Consumptive Use Determination by Use of Equations
2. Penman Method
Table-4

Table-4
 Consumptive Use Determination by Use of Equations
2. Penman Method
Table-5

Table-5
Consumptive Use Determination by Use of Equations
3. Hargreaves Class A Pan Evaporation Method

Table-6
Equation-3
Consumptive Use Determination by Use of Equations
3. Hargreaves Class A Pan Evaporation Method

Equation-3
Consumptive Use Determination by Use of Equations
3. Hargreaves Class A Pan Evaporation Method
Table-6

Table-6
Consumptive Use Determination by Use of Equations
3. Hargreaves Class A Pan Evaporation Method
Consumptive Use Determination by Use of Equations
3. Hargreaves Class A Pan Evaporation Method
Consumptive Use Determination by Use of Equations
3. Hargreaves Class A Pan Evaporation Method
Consumptive Use Determination by Use of Equations
3. Hargreaves Class A Pan Evaporation Method

Table-1

Table-5
Consumptive Use Determination by Use of Equations
3. Hargreaves Class A Pan Evaporation Method
 Irrigation Efficiencies
1. Water Conveyance Efficiency
Takes into account the conveyance or transit losses & is determined by:

2. Water Application Efficiency

Ratio of the quantity of water stored into the root zone of the crops to the
quantity of water delivered to the field & is determined by:
 Irrigation Efficiencies
Common losses from field are:
(i) Surface runoff, Rf
(ii) Deep percolation, Df

 In well designed irrigation system, ηa should be 60%

 Sprinkler irrigation has ηa of 75%, however in drip irrigation ηa is 90%
Factors Responsible for Lowering ηa are:
a. Irregular land surface
b. Shallow soil underlain by gravels
c. Either very small or excessively large irrigation streams
d. Non-attendance of water during irrigation
e. Long irrigation runs
f. Wrong irrigation methods
g. Improper preparation of land
h. Compact impervious soil
i. Steep slopes of land surface
 Irrigation Efficiencies
3. Water Use Efficiency
Ratio of water beneficially used including leaching water to the quantity of
water delivered & is determined by:

4. Water Storage Efficiency

Gives an insight, how completely the required water has been stored in the
root zone during irrigation & is determined by:
 Irrigation Efficiencies
5. Water Distribution Efficiency
Evaluates the degree to which water is uniformly distributed through out the
root zone & is determined by:

6. Consumptive Use Efficiency

Evaluates the loss of water by deep percolation & by excessive surface
evaporation following an irrigation, & is determined by:
 Determination of Irrigation Requirement of Crops
1. Effective/Usefull Rainfall (Re)
It is that part of the precipitation falling during the growing period of a crop
that is available to meet the evapo-transpiration needs of the crop
2. Consumptive Irrigation Requirement (CIR)
Amount of irrigation water that is required to meet the evapo-transpiration
needs of the crop during its full growth, therefore CIR=C u-Re

3. Net Irrigation Requirement (NIR)

Amount of irrigation water required at plot to meet the evapo-transpiration
needs of the crop as well as other needs such as leaching, etc. Thus,
NIR=Cu – Re + water lost in deep percolation for leaching purpose, etc

4. Field Irrigation Requirement (FIR)

Amount of water required to meet NIT plus water lost in percolation in field
water courses, field channels & field application of water. Thus,
5. Gross Irrigation Requirement (GIR)
Sum of water required to satisfy the FIR & the water lost as conveyance
losses in distributaries upto the field. Thus,
 Determination of FIR & GIR using Hargreaves Method
In order to determine FIR or GIR of a certain crop, it is essential to
have the knowledge of monthly or periodical pan evaporation data
as well as the knowledge of pan evaporation coefficient, K
Determination of FIR & GIR using Hargreaves Method

Table-6
Solved Example – Blaney Criddle Method
 Home Assignment

1. The Moisture Content at Field Capacity of clay loam soil is 28% by

weight while that at permanent wilting point is 14% by weight.
Root zone depth is 1 m and the Bulk density is 1.2 g/cm3.
Calculate the Net and Gross Depth of Irrigation required. If the
Irrigation efficiency is 0.7.
2. 45 m3 of water was pumped into a farm distribution system. 38
m3 of water is delivered to a field which is 2 km from the well.
Compute the conveyance efficiency.
3. Delivery of 10 m3/sec to a 32 ha farm is continued for 4 hours.
Soil probing after irrigation indicates that 30 cm of water has been
stored in the root zone compute the application efficiency.