Size of Fields
Cultivation
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Pest Control
Topographic Limitations.
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Furrow method
Basin method
Orchard trees
4. Wild flooding
Water is applied all over the field especially, before plowing for soil that can't be
plowed when dry.
Under closed conduit- there are two types of irrigation
1. Sprinkler
2. Drip irrigation
1. Sprinkler irrigation:
It is mostly used for young growth, to humid the atmosphere, for soil
compaction( specially for sandy loam soils before planting, for land having up and
down slope and used to wash out plant leaves especially in dusty area.
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Sprinkler irrigation offers a means of irrigating areas which are so irregular that they
prevent use of any surface irrigation methods. By using a low supply rate, deep
percolation or surface runoff and erosion can be minimized. Offsetting these
advantages is the relatively high cost of the sprinkling equipment and the
permanent installations necessary to supply water to the sprinkler lines.
Very low delivery rates may also result in fairly high evaporation from the spray and
the wetted vegetation. It is impossible to get completely uniform distribution of
water around a sprinkler head and spacing of the heads must be planned to overlap
spray areas so that distribution is essentially uniform
Advantages
Economical to labor & uniform distribution.
2. Drip irrigation
This is used especially where there is shortage of water and salt problem. The drip
method of irrigation, also called trickle irrigation. The method is one of the most
recent developments in irrigation. It involves slow and frequent application of water
to the plant root zone and enables the application of water and fertilizer at optimum
rates to the root system. It minimizes the loss of water by deep percolation below
the root zone or by evaporation from the soil surface. Drip irrigation is not only
economical in water use but also gives higher yields with poor quality water.
Advantages
Definition:
It is the quantity of water used by the vegetation growth of a given area. It is the
amount of water required by a crop for its vegetated growth to evapotranspiration
and building of plant tissues plus evaporation from soils and intercepted
precipitation. It is expressed in terms of depth of water. Consumptive use varies
with temperature, humidity, wind speed, topography, sunlight hours, method of
irrigation, moisture availability.
Mathematically,
Consumptive Use = Evapotranspiration = Evaporation + transpiration It is
expressed in terms of depth of water.
Factors Affecting the Consumptive Use of Water
Consumptive use of water varies with:
both perennials and annuals. Most drought-tolerant plants only have to be handwatered when they are planted and while they are establishing themselves. After
that, they can be left to the natural cycle of the elements. Popular drought tolerant
trees include the red cedar. live oak, crape myrtle, and the windmill and saw
palmetto palm trees. All citrus trees are also drought tolerant. Many homeowners in
areas prone to drought, such as parts of the southern United States, use shrubs and
ground covering vines as part of their landscaping. These include Texas sage,
orange jasmine and Chinese fountain grass. There are not many perennial droughttolerant plants, but amaryllis is one that is very popular, along with the African iris.
Popular drought-olerant annuals include marigold, cosmos and the Dahlberg daisy
Rice
900-2500
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Wheat
450-650
Sorghum
450-650
Maize
500-800
Sugarcane
1500-2500
Groundnut
500-700
Cotton
700-1300
Soybean
450-700
Tobacco
400-600
Tomato
600-800
Potato
500-700
Onion
350-550
Chilies
500
Sunflower
350-500
Castor
500
Bean
300-500
Cabbage
380-500
Pea
350-500
Banana
1200-2200
Citrus
900-1200
Pineapple
700-1000
Gingelly
350-400
Ragi
400-450
Grape
500-1200
The command area is divided in irrigation blocks. First, these irrigation blocks
are crossed with the soil texture map to determine the area of each soil texture
class in each block. Percolation losses differ per soil texture class so a table with the
following percolation data is created:
Percolation
(mm/day)
Clay
4
Loam
12
Sandy clay 14
Clay loam 7
Texture
loss
The percolation table is joined with the cross table to get the percolation for each
soil texture class in each block. The amount of water loss for each soil texture class
per block is calculated with a tabcalc statement. In order to get the total percolation
loss per block the results of the previous operation are aggregated.
Evaluation of Conveyance loss (S)
Conveyance losses are calculated in about the same way as the percolation losses.
First, the map with the irrigation blocks is crossed with the channel distribution map.
The conveyance loss per meter channel length differs per channel type and is 0.2
m per day for clay channels and 0.01 m per day for concrete channels. A new
table indicating water loss per channel type is created and joined to the cross table.
The amount of water loss for each type of channel per block is calculated with a
simple tabcalc formula. Finally the results are aggregated to evaluate the total
conveyance loss per irrigation block.
Evaluation of maximum evapotranspiration (ETm)
Crop water requirements are normally expressed by the rate of evapo-transpiration
(ET). The evaporative demand can be expressed as the reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo) which predicts the effect of climate on the level of crop evapotranspiration. In this case study the ETo is 8 mm/day. Empirically-determined crop
coefficients (kc) can be used to relate ETo to maximum crop evapotranspiration
(ETm) when water supply fully meets the water requirement of the crop. The value
of kc varies with crop and development stage. The kc values for each crop and
development stage are available in a table.
For a given climate, crop and crop development stage, the maximum evapotranspiration (ETm) in mm/day of the period considered is:
ETm = kc * ETo
Maximum evapotranspiration refers to conditions when water is adequate for
unrestricted growth and development under optimum agronomic and irrigation
management. Maximum evapotranspiration is calculated in this case study
by crossing the irrigation block map with the map that shows the different crop
types in the command area,joining the cross table with the kc table and by applying
the maximum evapotranspiration formula with a tabcalc statement.
Water balance calculation (S+I+ETm)
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The required irrigation gift for the entire command area is equal to the sum of water
losses due to infiltration through the soil (I), seepage through the channel (S) and
maximum evapotranspiration (ETm) for each block. The total amount of water
requirement in harvest period for each block is reclassified in irrigation classes
using the following table:
Upper boundary Irrigation class
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
Finally, you will create a script to automate the calculation procedure. With the
script, you can easily calculate the water requirements for other growing stages
Weirs - Types & Components
Definition:
A solid obstruction put across river to raise its water level and divert water into
canal (low head structure)
Vertical drop wall or crest wall
Upstream, downstream cut off wall at the ends of impervious floor
Launching apron for prevention of scour
Graduated inverted filter on downstream surface floor end to relieve the uplift
pressure.
Types of Weirs
The two main types of weirs are:
Gravity weir
Non Gravity weir
Gravity weirs:
Uplift pressure due to the seepage of water below the floor is resisted by the weight
of floor.
Its further types are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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Vertical drop weir or crest wall Upstream and downstream cut off wall at the end of
impervious floor.
Launching apron for scouring prevention
Graded inverted filter at downstream floor end to relieve the uplift pressure.
Masonry or concrete slope weir
Suitable for soft sandy foundation generally used where the difference in weir crest
and downstream river is limited to 3m.
Hydraulic jump is formed on sloping crest.
Dry stone slope weir
Body wall or weir wall Upstream and downstream rock fill laid in form of glacis, with
few intervening care walls.
Parabolic weir
Similar to spillway section of a dam
Body wall designed as low dam.
Cistern to dissipate energy
Location of Weirs
A weir should be located in a stable part of the river where the river is unlikely to
change its course.
The weir has to be built high enough to fulfill command requirements. During high
floods, the river could overtop its embankments and change its course. Therefore, a
location with firm, well defined banks should be selected for the construction of the
weir.
Where possible, the site should have good bed conditions, such as rock outcrops.
Alternatively, the weir should be kept as low as possible.
Causes of failure of Weirs & their Remedies
Types & Components of Weirs
Common causes of failure of weirs include:
Excessive and progressive downstream erosion, both from within the stream and
through lateral erosion of the banks
Erosion of inadequately protected abutments
Hydraulic removal of fines and other support material from downstream protection
(gabions and aprons) resulting in erosion of the apron protection
Deterioration of the cutoff and subsequent loss of containment
Additional aspects specific to concrete, rock fill or steel structures.
The main causes are:
1. Piping
Piping is caused by groundwater seeping out of the bank face. Grains are detached
and entrained by the seepage flow and may be transported away from the bank
face by surface runoff generated by the seepage, if there is sufficient volume of
flow.
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The exit gradient of water seeping under the base of the weir at the downstream
end may exceed a certain critical value of soil. As a result the surface soil starts
boiling and is washed away by percolating water. The progressive erosion backwash
at the upstream results in the formation of channel (pipe) underneath the floor of
weir.
Since there is always a differential head between upstream & downstream,
water is constantly moving form upstream to downstream from under the base of
weir. However, if the hydraulic gradient becomes big, greater than the critical value,
then at the point of existance of water at the downstream end, it begins to dislodge
the soil particles and carry them away.
In due course, when this erosion continues, a sort of pipe or channel is formed
within the floor through which more particles are transported downstream which
can bring about failure of weir.
Piping is especially likely in high banks backed by the valley side, a terrace, or some
other high ground. In these locations the high head of water can cause large
seepage pressures to occur. Evidence includes: Pronounced seep lines, especially
along sand layers or lenses in the bank; pipe shaped cavities in the bank; notches
in the bank associated with seepage zones and layers; run-out deposits of eroded
material on the lower bank.
Remedies:
Decrease Hydraulic gradient i.e. increase path of percolation by providing sufficient
length of impervious floor
Providing curtains or piles at both upstream and downstream
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