Crop Water Requirement

and
Methods of its Estimation
 Background
Fundamentals of irrigation
Is it worth it?
 Value of crop
will it repay the investment? Is it worth employing
sophisticated methods?
 Climate
Is the land marginal? Will some temporal readjustment be
beneficial (more or better crops)?
 Topography
how will the system be laid out? Will pumping be needed?
 Water
How much water do you need? Is it available?
 Why it should be measured?
 Irrigation water requirement is one of most important factors
from the agricultural engineering point of view.

 In order to plan the proper irrigation scheduling at the upland

field, to quantify the soil water consumption accurately by Crop
water requirement is prerequisite.

 Crop water requirement is an important part of the water cycle.

 Objectives

 Discuss irrigation water requirements and

need for crop water use information.
 Define evapotranspiration (ET) and
consumptive use (CU)
 Overview of ET and factors affecting ET
 Methods of determining/estimating ET
 Irrigation Water Requirements
 It is essential to know the amount of water need.
 This determines the quantity of water to be added
 and helps in day to day management of irrigation systems.

Total irrigation demand of crops is made up of:

i) Crop water use: includes evaporation and transpiration

ii) Leaching requirement:

iii) Losses of water due to deep seepage in canals and losses

due to the inefficiency of application.
 Soil-Water Balance
IWR= ETc + DP + RO - P  SW - GW + L
P IWR
ETc
L

RO
Crop root
zone

DP GW
SW
 What is crop water use requirement?

 Crop water requirement: Quantity of water required by a

crop/crops in a given period of its normal growth under
field condition

 It includes:
Demand for evapotranspiration
Demand for metabolic processes (negligible <1%)
Demand for pre irrigation, leaching …etc.
Evapotranspiration and Consumptive
Use
 The terms interchangeably used are:
- Crop water use
- Crop consumptive use
- Crop Evapotranspiration

In general, one and the same

Crop water requirement is an equivalent term

Consumptive use includes water retained in plant at harvest,
but this is generally minor relative to amount of ET.
 Evapotranspiration

Combination of two separate processes

Evaporation from the soil surface

Transpiration by the crop

 What is
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION?

Definition
Evaporation of water from the soil and plant
surfaces and transpiration from the stomatal
cavities of plants
 Evapotranspiration concepts

Reference ET (ETref)
 ET rate from a reference vegetative surface,
actively growing, not short of water
 measure of evaporative demand under
current climate conditions

Crop ET under standard conditions

Crop ET under non-standard conditions
 ET Concepts

Reference ET (ETref)

Crop ET under standard conditions

ET of disease-free, well-fertilized crop not short of water
achieving full production

ETc = crop coefficient x ETref

Crop coefficients are determined experimentally by lysimeter or

soil water balance methods as the ratio of measured crop ET
(under optimal growing conditions) to reference crop ET
across the growing season
Crop ET under non-standard conditions
 ET Concepts

Reference ET (ETref)
Crop ET under standard conditions

Crop ET under non-standard conditions

ET of crop considering “real-world” growing
conditions (diseases, pests, fertility problems,
salinity effects, water stress, management, etc.)
Use a water stress coefficient, Ks, and adjust crop
coefficients for other stresses
 Factors affect evapotranspiration

 Weather
 Crop characteristics
 Management
 Environmental conditions
 climatic factors

Effect of the major climatic factors on crop

water needs
 Solar radiation Climatic Factor Crop water need
 Air temperature High Low
 Relative
humidity Temperature hot cool
 Wind speed Humidity low high
(dry) (humid)
Wind speed windy little wind
Sunshine sunny cloudy
(no clouds) (no sun)
 Climatic Factors Affecting ETo

ETo

 Cool  Hot
 Humid  Dry
 Cloudy  Sunny
 Little or no wind  Windy
 Crop Characteristics

 Crop type and variety

Height, roughness, stomatal control,
reflectivity, ground cover, rooting
characteristics
 Stage of development
 Management

 Irrigation method
 Irrigation management (irrigation application)
 Cultivation practices (mulching, shading, weeding)
 Disease and pest control
 Soil Conditions

 Soil type, texture, water-holding capacity

 Soil salinity
 Soil depth and layering
 Poor soil fertility
 Exposure/sheltering
 Indicative Values of ETo, mm/day

Climactic Low Medium (15-25 High

Zone (<15ºc) ºc) (>25ºc)
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

How to determine Evapotranspiration?
 What are some methods for
determining ET?
 Evapotranspiration is not easy to measure.
 Direct measurement
 Specific devices (Gravimetric method, Soil moisture depletion using
neutron meter/probe and Lysimeter measurement etc.)

 Estimated crop evapotranspiration Etc : Empirical and

physically-based equations using climate and weather data;
 using meteorological data, empirical equitation's will be used to
estimate the crop water requirement
 What influences the method you
would select?

Selection of a given method depends on:

 Desired level of accuracy

 Availability of equipment

 Availability of meteorological data

 Technical know how

 Direct measurement
Lysimeter
 a container is filled with soil on which
vegetative cover is maintained, water balance
in the container is monitored.
 PET = input - output + change in storage
 input = ppt + added water
 output = drainage, can be measured at drains in
the bottom of the container with a tipping
bucket
Irrigated lysimeter

PE = Rainfall + Irrigation - Percolation

 Lysimeter
Advantages
very accurate, can measure ET or PET
Primary tool for evaluating weather effects on ET and
evaluation of estimating methods
Precautions/Limitations
very expensive and difficult to construct and set up.
Require careful operation and maintenance
Primarily research application
In most cases which approach is frequently
utilized?
Which approach is frequently utilized?
The most frequent methods are Empirical methods.

 Meteorological approach is commonly used

b/c:
 ET data are frequently required at short notice for project
planning and/or irrigation scheduling

 Those direct methods are expensive, demanding and used for research
purposes.
 They remain important for evaluating ET estimates obtained by
more indirect methods.

 Difficult to obtain field measurement data to specific areas due to

limited equipment and skilled manpower
Depending on data availability different methods
are used to calculate/estimate ETo

FAO Penman-Montieth method

Blaney-criddle method
Radiation method
Pan evaporation method
Methods for Estimating ETo and Data Requirements

Method Temp Humidity Wind speed Sunshine Radiation Evaporation

Blaney-
Criddle      

Pan   
 
Penman     

Radiation   
  

E: Estimated data  : Measured data

 : used if available
Methods for Estimating ETo

 Among these methods, modified penman method is

 more reliable
 with a possible error of 10% only.

 using the other methods the possible errors are:

 For pan evaporation i.e 15%,
 For Radiation Methods i.e 20%
 Modified Blaney­Criddle method i.e 25%
 Evaporation Pan Method
 Oldest / simplest method to measure evaporation Measure
water depths in a pan
U.S. Weather Bureau has standard Class A pan
 evaporation measured by monitoring the water level in the
pan, usually with a float gauge, corrected for rain input.
 Recommended for periods of 10 days or longer.
 Good for monthly and Seasonal
 Evaporation Pan Method
Sunken Colorado pan
U.S. Weather Bureau Class A
Pan

120.7cm 120.7cm

25cm
15cm
Wooden
support
Galvanize
d steel
 Evaporation Pan
ET0=kpEpan

ET0 = evapotranspiration for grass reference crop

kp = pan coefficient
Epan = evaporation from pan
oAverage k
p

oFor class A = 0.70

oFor sunken = 0.80

Pan coefficients for Class A pan. (From FAO, 1977)
Evaporation Pan Method
Advantages

•real-time evaporation rates

•on-site data
•relatively easy

Disadvantages

•data influenced by pan placement and type

•water in pan stores and releases water differently
than crop
•edge effects on heating of pan
 Evaporation Pan Method
Some examples
1)Type of pan: Class A evaporation pan 2)Type of pan: Sunken Colorado pan
Given Given
Water depth in pan on day 1 = 150 mm Water depth in pan on day 1 = 411 m
Water depth in pan on day 2 = 144 m Water depth in pan on day 2 = 409 mm
Rainfall (during 24 hours) = 0 mm Rainfall (during 24 hours) = 7 mm
K pan = 0.75 K pan = 0.90
Formula: Formula:
ETo = K pan × E pan ETo = K pan × E pan
Calculation: Calculation:
E pan = 150 ­144 = 6 mm/day E pan = 411 ­409 + 7 = 9 mm/day
ETo = 0.75 × 6 =4.5 mm/day ETo = 0.90 × 9 = 8.1 mm/day
Example 1 Given Pan Evaporation Data from Class A pan
for seven days of a month: 8.2, 7.5, 7.6, 6.8, 7.6, 8.9 and 8.5
mm/day. Mean wind speed= 1.9 m/s and RH of 73%.

Description Calculation/Condition Result (mm/day)

Wind speed is light U<2 m/s
RH is high RHmean>70%
Average Epan (8.2 + 7.5 + 7.6 + 6.8 + 7.6 + 7.9
8.9 + 8.5)/7
Average ETo 0.7 x 7.9 5.53
 Modified Blaney-Criddle Method
Tmean : Mean daily temperature (0C)
Tmax  TMin
ETo  f * c Tmean 
2 p : mean daily percentage of annual day
time hours

f  [ p (0.46Tmean  8)] C: Adjustment factor which depends on

relative humidity, wind speed and sunshine
hours
ETo = Reference crop evapotranspiration
(mm/day) as an average for a period of 1
month

 Originally developed in the 1920’s and 1930’s; modified

in 1945, 1950, 1952, 1960, 1965, 1970
 One of the oldest methods of estimating ET
• mean monthly temperature
• monthly percent of annual daylight hours
• Length of growing period
Mean daily percentage (p) of annual daytime hours for different latitudes

Latitude North Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

Degree (°) South Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

60 0.15 0.20 0.26 0.32 0.38 0.41 0.40 0.34 0.28 0.22 0.17 0.13

55 0.17 0.21 0.26 0.32 0.39 0.36 0.38 0.33 0.28 0.23 0.18 0.16

50 0.19 0.23 0.27 0.31 0.34 0.36 0.35 0.32 0.28 0.24 0.21 0.20

45 0.20 0.23 0.27 0.30 0.34 0.35 0.34 0.32 0.28 0.24 0.21 0.20

40 0.22 0.24 0.27 0.30 0.32 0.34 0.33 0.31 0.28 0.25 0.22 0.21

35 0.23 0.25 0.27 0.29 0.31 0.32 0.32 0.30 0.28 0.25 0.23 0.22

30 0.24 0.25 0.27 0.29 0.31 0.32 0.31 0.30 0.28 0.26 0.24 0.23

25 0.24 0.26 0.27 0.29 0.30 0.31 0.31 0.30 0.28 0.26 0.25 0.24

20 0.25 0.26 0.27 0.28 0.29 0.30 0.30 0.29 0.28 0.26 0.25 0.25

15 0.26 0.26 0.27 0.28 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.28 0.27 0.26 0.25

10 0.26 0.27 0.27 0.28 0.28 0.29 0.29 0.28 0.28 0.27 0.26 0.26

5 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.27 0.27 0.26

0 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27
The use of the Blaney-Criddle formula
Step 1: Determination of the mean daily
temperature: T mean

Step 2: Determination of the mean daily

percentage of annual daytime hours: p

Step 3: Calculate ETo, using the formula:

ETo = p (0.46 T mean + 8)
Example 1:
Given
Latitude - 35° North
Mean T max in April = 29.5°C
Mean T min in April = 19.4°C
Question
Determine for the month April the mean ETo in
mm/day using the Blaney-Criddle method
Answer
Formula: ETo = p (0.46 T mean + 8)
Step 1: determine T mean: Tmax-Tmin = 29.5+19.4 = 24.5°C
2 2
Step 2: determine p: Latitude: 35° North
Month: April
From Table : p = 0.29
Step 3: calculate ETo: ETo = 0.29 (0.46 × 24.5 + 8) = 5.6 mm/day

 Thus the mean reference crop evapotranspiration ETo

=5.6 mm/day during the whole month of April.
Example 3: Monthly average max and min tem of Wonji
(8°16'N) are 35.5 and 19.6C respectively; medium RH,
sunshine hr and wind speed.

Description Calculation/Condition Result

Tmean (35.5+19.6)/2 27.6

p for 8°16'N 0.28

Factor (f) 0.28 x (0.46 x 27.6+8) 5.8 mm/day

Adjusted ETo Cf from fig 1, II, 2 7 mm/day

DATA SHEET Determination ETo: Blaney-Criddle Method
 Modified Blaney-Criddle Method
 Simple, easy to use
 Minimal data requirements—mean monthly air
temperature
 its simplicity and its use of readily available data.

Precautions/Limitations
 Should not be used to compute ET on less than a monthly
time step
 Under predicts in arid climates, and under windy or high
advection conditions
 Penman-Montieth Equation
(ASCE Standardized)
Cn
0.408  ( Rn  G )   u2 (e s  e a )
T  273
ET 
   (1  Cd u 2 )

ET for hypothetical standardized reference crop

ETos, short reference crop, like 12 cm tall grass with
bulk surface resistance of 70 s/m
ETrs, tall reference crop, like 50 cm tall alfalfa with
bulk surface resistance of 45 s/m
 Modified Penman-Montieth Equation

(ASCE Standardized)
 19 estimating methods evaluated

 Carefully screened lysimeter data from 11 worldwide locations

representing a range of climatic (arid to humid) conditions

 Penman-Monteith found to be most accurate and consistent

across all climates on both monthly and daily basis

 for estimating Eto, best results with minimum possible error in

relation to a living grass reference.
 Modified Penman-Montieth Equation

(ASCE Standardized)

0.408   Rn  G   
900 
 u2  es  ea
ETo 
 T  273 
    1  0.34 u2
.
where
ETo = Reference evapotranspiration (mm/day)
Rn = Net radiation at the crop surface (MJ/m2 per day)
G= Soil heat flux density (MJ/m2 per day)
T= Mean daily air temperature at 2 m height (°C)
u2 = Wind speed at 2 m height (m/sec)
es = Saturation vapour pressure (kPa) There are 21 equations
ea = Actual vapour pressure (kPa)
es - ea = Saturation vapour pressure deficit (kPa) need to be calculated for
Δ= slope vapour pressure curve [kPa °C-1] estimation of ETo
Δ slope vapour pressure curve [kPa °C-1],
γ= psychrometric constant [kPa °C-1].
 Modified Penman-Montieth Equation
(ASCE Standardized)
 overcomes shortcomings of all other previous empirical and
the methods provides ETo values more consistent.

 But it requires relatively more data than others.

 Not only required many data but is also complicated for

manual calculation.

 To solve this problem, FAO developed software known as

CROPWAT which runs with windows.
 The software estimates ETo, net and irrigation
requirements as well as determines irrigation scheduling.
How to determine crop water requirement?
Crop water Requirement depends on
Climate
Crop growth stage
Crop type
LGP: Longer period
peak daily water need
Estimating crop water requirement
Crop Evapotranspiration /Etc/
 Reference evapotranspiration, ETo
 obtained directly computed through empirical methods
 „„Reference ET is converted to crop ET with a seasonal crop coefficient.
 The relationship between the reference grass crop and the crop actually
grown is given by the crop factor, Kc, as shown in the formula:
• ETcr  K c ETo ET cr = crop evapotranspiration or crop water need (mm/day),
ETo = reference evapotranspiration (mm/day)
Kc = crop factor, and

• the type of crop

• the growth stage of the crop
• the climate
Crop Evapotranspiration (ETc)

Kc

Ks
the crop specific coefficient, Kc is the effect of the crop
characteristic on crop water requirement that depends
on crop type, varieties, planting date, LGP…etc.
 What is Crop Factor, Kc?
 In essence, Kc is a coefficient expressing the difference in
evapotranspiration between the cropped and reference grass
surface.

 Effects of weather conditions are captured in the ETo estimate.

 Kc combines differences in soil evaporation and crop transpiration

rate b/n the crop and the grass reference surface

 Kc = f(crop type, climate, soil evaporation, growth stage,)

To determine the crop factor Kc, it is necessary, for
each crop, to know the total length of the growing
season and the lengths of the various growth
stages.

The determination of the Kc values for the various

growth stages of the crops involves several steps:

Step 1 - Determination of the total growing period of

each crop
Step 2 - Determination of the various growth stages of
each crop
Step 3 - Determination of the Kc values for each crop
for each of the growth stages
 INDICATIVE VALUES OF THE TOTAL GROWING PERIOD
Crop Total growing period (days) Crop Total growing period (days)
Alfalfa 100-365 Millet 105-140
Banana 300-365 Onion green 70-95
Barley/Oats/Wheat 120-150 Onion dry 150-210
Bean green 75-90 Peanut 130-140
Bean dry 95-110 Pea 90-100
Cabbage 120-140 Pepper 120-210
Carrot 100-150 Potato 105-145
Citrus 240-365 Radish 35-45
Cotton 180-195 Rice 90-150
Cucumber 105-130 Sorghum 120-130
Eggplant 130-140 Soybean 135-150
Flax 150-220 Spinach 60-100
Grain/small 150-165 Squash 95-120
Lentil 150-170 Sugarbeet 160-230
Lettuce 75-140 Sugarcane 270-365
Maize sweet 80-110 Sunflower 125-130
Maize grain 125-180 Tobacco 130-160
Melon 120-160 Tomato 135-180
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.
Growth stages
APPROXIMATE DURATION OF GROWTH STAGES FOR
VARIOUS FIELD CROPS
Tot. Initial Crop Development Mid season Late season
stage stage stage stage

Barley/Oats/ 120 15 25 50 30
Wheat
150 15 30 65 40
Bean/green 75 15 25 25 10
90 20 30 30 10
Bean/dry 95 15 25 35 20
110 20 30 40 20
Cabbage 120 20 25 60 15
140 25 30 65 20
Carrot 100 20 30 30 20
150 25 35 70 20
Cotton/Flax 180 30 50 55 45
195 30 50 65 50
Cucumber 105 20 30 40 15
130 25 35 50 20
Per crop, four crop factors (Kc) have to be determined: one
crop factor for each of the four growth stages.
Crop Initial Crop dev. Mid-season Late season
stage stage stage stage
Barley/Oats/ 0.35 0.75 1.15 0.45
Wheat
Bean, green 0.35 0.70 1.10 0.90
Bean, dry 0.35 0.70 1.10 0.30
Cabbage/Carrot 0.45 0.75 1.05 0.90
Cotton/Flax 0.45 0.75 1.15 0.75
Cucumber/ 0.45 0.70 0.90 0.75
Squash
Eggplant/ 0.45 0.75 1.15 0.80
Tomato
Grain/small 0.35 0.75 1.10 0.65
Lentil/Pulses 0.45 0.75 1.10 0.50
Lettuce/Spinach 0.45 0.60 1.00 0.90
Maize, sweet 0.40 0.80 1.15 1.00
Maize, grain 0.40 0.80 1.15 0.70
Crop coefficient
Kc values for different types of full grown crop
Kc Curve
Kc Curve
Crops Initial Crop Mid- Late & Depth of Root Depletion
development season harvest system (cm) level (%)

Seasonal
Cabbage 0.45 (20) 0.75 (25) 1.05 (60) 0.90 (15) 40-50 0.45
Carrot 0.45 (20) 0.75 (30) 1.05 (30) 0.90 (20) 50-100 0.35
Cotton 0.45 (30) 0.75 (50) 1.15 (55) 0.75(45) 100-170 0.65
Maize 0.40 (20) 0.75 (35) 1.15 (40) 0.75 (30) 100-200 0.60
Onion 0.50 (20) 0.75 (45) 1.05 920) 0.85 (10) 30-50 0.25
Pepper 0.35 (30) 0.75 (35) 1.05 (40) 0.90 (20) 50-100 0.25
Potato 0.45 (25) 0.75 (30) 1.15 (30) 0.75 (20) 40-60 0.25
Rice 1.05 (30) 1.2 (30) 1.2 (80) 0.9 (40) 1
Sorghum 0.35 (20) 0.75 (30) 1.11 (40) 0.65 (30) 100-200 0.55
Sesame 1.1(20) 1,1 (30) 1.1 (40) 0.35 (20) 2 0.6
Tomato 0.45 (25) 0.75 (40) 1.15 (40) 0.80 (25) 70-150 0.40
Wheat 0.35 (15) 0.75 (30) 1.15 (65) 0.70 (40) 100-150 0.55
SUGARCANE 0.35 0.85 100-200
Banana 0.50 1.1 50-90
Citrus 0.30 0.65 120-150
 Water Requirements
Growth and Development of a Maize crop
Development –change in phenological stage

3
4 Most
Water Requirement
Growth-change in

2 critical
2
stages of
1 maize
size;

Est Veg Tass Silk Yld Rip

Days 15-25 25-40 15-25 35-40 10-15

15-25
40-65
55-85
90-130

100-145
Determination of Crop Water Requirements (ETc)

Select the type of crops to be grown

Establish planting dates
Determine lengths of crop growth stages
Determine Kc values for each growth stage
Calculate ETc from

• ETc = Kc x ETo
QUESTION:

Determine the crop water need of tomatoes

GIVEN:

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July

ET (mm/d) 4.0 5.0 5.8 6.3 6.8 7.1 6.5

Duration of growing period (from sowing): 150 days

Planting date: 1 February (direct sowing)
Step 1: Estimate the duration of the various growth stages.
Crop Total growing (days) Initial stage Crop dev. Stage Mid-season stage Late season stage
Tom. 150 35 40 50 25

Step 2: Indicate the ET values and the duration of the

growth stages.

Note: When calculating the crop water needs, all

months are assumed to have 30 days.
Planting date 1 Feb
Initial stage, 35 days 1 Feb-5 Mar
Crop development stage, 40 days 6 Mar-15 Apr
Mid season stage, 50 days 16 Apr-5 Jun
Late season stage, 25 days 6 Jun-30 Jun
Last day of the harvest 30 Jun
Step 3: Estimate 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

It can be seen from the table above that the months and growth stages do not
correspond. As a consequence the ETo and the Kc values do not correspond.
Yet the ET crop (= ET × Kc) has to be determined on a monthly basis. It is thus
necessary to determine the Kc on a monthly basis, which is done as follows:
February: Kc Feb = 0.45
March: 5 days: Kc = 0.45
25 days: Kc = 0.75

NOTE: The Kc values are rounded to the nearest 0.05 or 0.00.

Thus Kc, March = 0.70

April: 15 days: Kc = 0.75

15 days: Kc = 1.15

Thus Kc, April =0.95

Step 4: Calculate, on a monthly basis, the crop water
need, using the formula:
ET crop = ET × 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 5: 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.
 Crop water requirements of major crop

Crops CWR, cm Crops CWR, cm

Alfalfa 150-160 Wheat (winter) 30-40
Bean 30-40 Wheat (spring) 40-55
Corn 50-70 Rice 110-160
Cotton 70-100 Sorghum/millet 40-50
Lentil 15-25 Soybean 30-50
Maize 40-60 Sugarcane 150-200
Groundnut 30-40 Sugar beet 75-90
Onion 30-40 sunflower 40-55
 CWR & IWR

Crop water requirement Irrigation water requirement

It involves additional factors other than the
It is a function of weather and crop
weather and crop

Normally it is less than the irrigation Normally it is higher than the crop water
water requirement requirement

It is not a function of soil and irrigation

It depends on soil type and irrigation method
method

It does not depend on rainfall (but on Irrigation water requirement decreases if

temperature and humidity) there is any rainfall

It is not a function of depth to water It decreases with the contribution of upward

table or saturated layer flow from the water-table or saturated layer
 Summary

ET is key component to determining irrigation water

requirements
Most direct methods have limited practical
application
Climate based ET estimation
Penman-based ET methods:
carefully screened, good quality weather data,
collected under irrigated reference conditions,
spatially representative of the area of interest
Crop coefficients