Estimation of Irrigation Requirement Using Cropwat: Amit Yalwar Sushma M
Estimation of Irrigation Requirement Using Cropwat: Amit Yalwar Sushma M
Estimation of Irrigation Requirement Using Cropwat: Amit Yalwar Sushma M
irrigation
requirement using
CROPWAT
Amit Yalwar
Sushma M
December 17
2013
1.
(a) Differentiate between Reference Evapotranspiration and Actual Crop Evapotranspiration
Reference Evapotranspiration
Weather parameters such as radiation, air temperature, humidity and wind speed
Crop factors such as crop type, crop height, crop roughness, reflection, ground cover and crop rooting
Management and environmental conditions such as cultivation practices, application of fertilizers, availability
of water and the type of irrigation method employed
i)
Where
ii)
Crop evaporation is calculated by multiplying the reference crop evapotranspiration, ETo, by a crop coefficient, Kc:
ETc = Kc ETo
Where,
ETc crop evapotranspiration [mm d-1],
Kc crop coefficient [dimensionless],
ETo reference crop evapotranspiration [mm d-1]
The reference ETo is defined and calculated using the FAO Penman-Monteith equation.
There are two approaches to determine crop coefficients
i.
ii.
Kc = Kcb + Ke
Where,
decade and daily calculation of crop water requirements based on updated calculation algorithms including
adjustment of crop-coefficient values
calculation of crop water requirements and irrigation schedulingfor paddy & upland rice, using a newly
developed procedure to calculate water requirements including the land preparation period
graphical presentations of input data, crop water requirements and irrigation schedules
easy import/export of data and graphics through clipboard or ASCII text files
Multilingual interface and help system: English, Spanish, French and Russian
Organization behind its development/maintenance: CROPWAT is a decision support tool developed by the Land
and Water Development Division of FAO. The Land and Water Division aims at enhancing the agricultural
productivity and advancing the sustainable use of land and water resources through their improved tenure,
management, development and conservation. It addresses the challenges member countries face in ensuring
productive and efficient use of land and water resources in order to meet present and future demands for agricultural
products, while ensuring the long-term sustainability of the land and water quantity and quality.
FAO is engaged in a programmatic approach to agricultural water management that addresses water use efficiency
and productivity, and deploys best practices for water use and conservation. The Division further develops and
maintains various information systems, including its continually updated water information system, AQUASTAT, and
tools for analysis such as CROPWAT, AQUACROP and MASSCOTE, thereby contributing to the formulation of
national and regional water management strategies and perspective studies.
(b)
List various modules available in CROPWAT and briefly mention the functions of each of the
modules.
The modules available in CROPWAT are as follows:
Climate/ETo
The Climate module can be selected by clicking on the Climate/ETo icon in the module bar located on the of
the main CROPWAT window. The module is primary for data input, requiring information on the meteorological
station (country, name, altitude, latitude and longitude) together with climatic data.
Rain
The Rain module also include calculations, producing Effective rainfall data using one of the approaches available,
which can be selected by clicking on Options on the toolbar while the Rain module is the active window.
Crop
The Crop module requires crop data over the different development stages, defined
as follows:
i. Initial stage: it starts from planting date to approximately 10% ground cover.
ii. Development stage: it runs from 10% ground cover to effective full cover.
iii. Effective full cover for many crops occurs at the initiation of flowering.
iv. Mid-season stage: it runs from effective full cover to the start of maturity. The start of maturity is often
indicated by the beginning of the ageing, yellowing or senescence of leaves, leaf drop, or the browning of fruit to
the degree that the crop evapotranspiration is reduced relative to the ETo.
v. Late season stage: it runs from the start of maturity to harvest or full senescence.
Soil
The module includes calculations, providing the initial available soil moisture and, in case of rice, the maximum
percolation rate after puddling.
The Soil module is essentially data input, requiring the following general soil data:
i. Total Available Water (TAW)
ii. Maximum infiltration rate
iii. Maximum rooting depth
iv. Initial soil moisture depletion
The CWR module includes calculations, producing the irrigation water requirement of the crop on a decadal basis
and over the total growing season, as the difference between the crop evapotranspiration under standard
conditions (ETc) and the Effective rainfall.
Schedule
i. The schedule module essentially includes calculations, producing a soil water balance on a daily step. The
following parameters are used:
ii. Effective rainfall, over dry, normal and/or wet years
iii. Water stress coefficient (Ks)
iv. Crop evapotranspiration under non-standard conditions (ETc adj)
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
Crop Pattern
The cropping pattern module is primary data input, requiring information on the crops (Up to 20) being part of
the scheme. With reference to each crop, the following data should be provided:
i. Crop file
ii. Planting date
iii. Area: extension of the area dedicated to each crop, as a percentage of the total cropped area. Care
should be taken that at any given moment the sum of the individual crops does not exceed 100 % of total
scheme area.
Scheme
The scheme module includes calculations, producing:
i. Irrigation requirement for each crop of the scheme
ii. Net scheme irrigation requirement
iii. Irrigated area as a percentage of the total area
iv. Irrigation requirement for the actual area
(c)
Get the latitude/longitude and altitude of Kurnool from any other sources
a. Annual average Maximum temperature from 1901 to 2002
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Temp oC
30.30075
33.26194
36.84572
39.02913
38.80286
34.63322
31.95679
31.49069
31.76408
31.32451
29.70408
28.89462
Temp oC
17.12696
19.11847
22.00961
25.04699
25.5075
24.33742
23.35353
23.05736
22.61122
21.71819
19.16203
16.98119
mm
1.092598
1.279314
3.59452
17.79497
46.0072
50.45806
60.67507
71.283
132.8518
108.6945
40.31686
8.175127
d. Latitude: 15o50N
Longitude: 78o05E
Altitude: 274-281m above MSL (Various sources quote values in between 274m and 281m)
(d)
Estimate the irrigation requirement for a selected crop and soil. Calculate the total irrigation
requirement during different growth periods of the crop (initial stage, crop development stage etc.)
Crop chosen: Rice
Soil type chosen: Black Clay Soil
Total Irrigation requirement: 917.1 mm/dec
Stage-wise Irrigation requirement:
Month
Nov
Nov
Nov
Dec
Dec
Dec
Jan
Jan
Jan
Feb
Feb
Feb
Mar
Mar
Mar
Apr
Total
Decade
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
Stage
Nursery
Nurs/LPr
Nurs/LPr
Initial
Initial
Development
Development
Development
Mid
Mid
Mid
Mid
Late
Late
Late
Late
Kc
ETc
ETc
Eff rain
Irr. Req.
coeff mm/day mm/dec mm/dec mm/dec
1.2
0.46
0.5
1.8
0.5
1.19
0.79
7.9
11.5
90.4
1.06
3.85
38.5
8.6
30
1.07
3.81
38.1
5.3
178.6
1.1
3.86
38.6
1.6
37
1.1
3.98
43.8
1.2
42.6
1.13
4.19
41.9
0.9
41
1.16
4.44
44.4
0.1
44.4
1.2
4.89
53.8
0.2
53.6
1.21
5.24
52.4
0.4
52
1.21
5.56
55.6
0.4
55.2
1.21
5.96
47.7
0.7
47
1.2
6.36
63.6
0.6
63
1.17
6.59
65.9
0.7
65.2
1.12
6.5
71.5
2.4
69.1
1.07
6.43
51.4
3.1
47.5
715.6
39.4
917.1