Introduction to

Irrigation
Engineering
IRRIGATION ENGINEERING

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Introduction to Irrigation Engineering

Introduction

Irrigation is artificial application of water to the agriculture field for the purpose of cultivation. That is in
accordance with crop requirements throughout the crop period for optimum growth of crops.

Necessity of Irrigation
 Inadequate rainfall.

 Uneven distribution of rainfall.

 Increase in yield of crop.

 Growing more than one crop in a year.

 Growing perennial crop like sugarcane.

 Prevention from drought and famine conditions.

Advantages of Irrigation:
Direct Advantages:
 Increasing food production

 Prevention from drought and famine condition

 Elimination of Mixed Cropping

Indirect Advantages:
 Power generation

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 Flood control

 Transportation (in-land navigation) roads and in-land navigation

 Groundwater recharge

 Industrial and domestic water supply

 Employment generation

Disadvantages of Irrigation
 Seepage of fertilisers into ground.

 Colder and damper climate resulting in marshy lands.

 Over Irrigation may lead to water logging.

 Sometimes, subsidised water is provided by the government which reduces revenue.

 Intense irrigation results in cold and damp climate which may cause spreading of diseases like Dengue,
malaria etc.

Points to Remember
Types of Irrigation Projects -
 Major- Area >10,000 ha

 Medium- Area 2000-10,000 ha

 Small- Area < 2000 ha

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Types of Irrigation

Surface Irrigation
 It is a method in which water is directly applied to the soil surface either by gravity or pumping.

 It is best suitable for soil with low to moderate infiltration capacities.

 It is suitable in the area with rolling terrain.

 Surface irrigation can be further classified as

1. Flow irrigation:

If water is available at higher elevation and it is supplied to the lower elevation under the action of gravity it
is called flow irrigation.

Flow irrigation can be classified as

 Perennial irrigation:

If a constant and continuous water is supplied to the agriculture field as per the requirement of crop
throughout the crop period, it is called perennial irrigation.

 Direct irrigation: By diverting river run off into a canal with help of river or barrage. Ex- Ganga
canal system.

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 Storage irrigation: System of dams and channels. Ex- Ram ganga dam project.

 Flood irrigation/inundation:

It is a system of irrigation where a large quantity of water flowing in a river during the flood is allowed to
flood or inundate the area which is to be cultivated which causes saturation of the area.

2. Lift irrigation:

If water is lifted up by some mechanical means or manual means and supplied to the agriculture field it is
called lift irrigation. Lift irrigation is ‘costlier’ than flow irrigation.

Sub-surface irrigation

 In this type of irrigation system water does not wet the soil surface rather it is directly supplied to the
root zone of the plants.

 It is classified into two types:

1. Natural subsurface irrigation:

In this system water seeping through channels and water bodies may irrigate crops grown on lower areas by
capillarity.

2. Artificial sub-surface irrigation:

In this system water is directly supplied to the root zone of plants by a network of percolated pipes which are
laid below the soil surface.

Techniques of water distribution

1. Free flooding/ordinary flooding/wild flooding

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 Used from ancient times - There is no check or guidance to flow - Suitable when land is steep, can also be
used in irregular topography (rolling terrain).

 In this method ditches are excavated in the field and water from these ditches flows across the field.

 After water leaves the ditches no attempt is made to control the flow hence it is called wild flooding.

 Water application efficiency is low.

 Subsidiary ditch/lateral ditch are spaced 20-50 m apart depending on slop type of soil, crop etc.

2. Border Flooding

 Area is divided into number of strips separated by low levees called border.

 The farm is divided into a number of strips (width 10 ~ 20 m and length 100 ~ 400 m) separated by low
levees or borders.

 It is suitable to soils having moderately low to moderately high infiltration rates and to all closely growing
crops.

 It involves a high initial cost.

Points to Remember
 Relation between discharge through supply channel (Q) rate of infiltration of soil (f) average depth of how
(y) area of irrigation (A) and time required to irrigate the area (t).

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3.Check flooding/Method of irrigation by plots

 In this method area to be irrigated is divided into small plots of area 0.2 – 0.8 ha with low flat levees.

 Each plot has a nearly fair level surface.

 Irrigation water is applied by filling the plots with water up to desired depth without over toppling the
levees and water is retained there to allow it to infiltrate into the soil.

4. Basin flooding/Ring basin method

 This method is a special form of check basin method which is used for irrigation of orchards (enclosure of
fruit trees).

 A separate circular basin is provided for each tree.

5. Furrow irrigation
In this method water applied to the field to be irrigated by a series of long narrow field channels which are
called as furrows are excavated at regular intervals.
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 Water entering in these furrows infiltrates into the soil and spreads laterally to irrigate the area between
the furrows.

 In this method 20 - 50% area is wetted which results in less evaporation.

 It is suitable for row crops such as cotton potato, ground nut etc.

6. Sprinkler irrigation
In sprinkler irrigation method water is applied to the land in the form of spray through the network of pipes
and pumps.

Advantages:
 It is similar to rain hence uniform application of water is possible.

 It can be used for a wide range of topography soil and crops i.e. irrigation topography, steep slope and
area in which soil is easily erodible.

 No field preparation is required.

 Surface runoff and percolation losses are eliminated.

 Field application efficiency increases close to 80%.

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 Fertiliser insecticide pesticide can be mixed with water and supplied.

 It can be used even when the infiltration capacity of soil is high or low.

 It can be used even when the water table is high.

 About 15 – 20% crop area is increased because no area is lost in ditches or furrows.

Disadvantages:
 Evaporation loss is high.

 It causes interference in farming operations due to network systems.

 Wind may disturb sprinkler patterns which results in non-uniform application of water.

 High initial cost

 Requires large electrical power and constant water supply.

 Cannot be used for crops requiring large and frequent depth of water. Ex. Paddy.

 Water shall be cleaned from sand & silt because it may cause choking of the system.

7. Drip irrigation
In this method water is directly and slowly applied to the root zones of the plants by using small diameter
plastic pipes with drip nozzles commonly called as emitters or dripper’s.

 Water is applied at very low rate 2 - 10 l/hr to keep the soil moisture within the desired range of plant
growth.

 Irrigation application efficiency = 90%

 Fertilizer can be mixed with water and supplied.

Cost of the whole system is very high, but it is useful in the areas where availability of water is less.

Quality of irrigation
1. Sediment:
 Effect of sediment on the quality of irrigation water depends on nature of sediment and characteristic of
soil receiving that water.

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 If sediment contains large content of plant nutrient and it comes from fertile area, then it is quite
beneficial particularly for the soil which has low content of plant nutrient and very low water holding
capacity.

 If sediment is not rich in plant nutrient and it is deposited on the surface of fertile area, then it will make
area infertile.

2. Concentration of soluble salts:

 When salts present in irrigation water are in excess quantity they increase osmotic pressure of soil
solution which causes high soil-moisture stress in the root zone and it affects growth of plants and yield
of the crops.

 Bad effect of salts on the plants depends on concentration of salts left in the soil.

 Concentration of salts in the water may not appear to be harmful in the beginning but with the passage
of time the sail concentration in the soil may increase to harmful level as soil solution gets concentrated
by evaporation.

 Salinity concentration of soil solution (Cs) after consumptive use (Cu) is given by

PPM or mg/l

Where

Cs → salinity concentration of soil solution.

C → concentration of salts in applied water.

Q → Quantity of water applied.

Cu → Consumptive use of water is the total quantity of water used by crop for its growth.

Reff → effective rainfall that is stored in the root zone.

Points to Remember
If Cs > 700 ppm harmful to some crops.
Cs > 2000 ppm harmful to all crops.

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 Salt concentration is easily measured by determination of electrical conductivity (E c) which is expressed

in milliohms/cm, or micromhos/cm

Classification Ec @ 25°C μmho/cm Uses

1. Low saline water (C1) Less than 250 For all crops on all soil.
Normal salt tolerant plants can be grown after
2. Medium saline water (C2) 250 – 750
leaching.
3. High saline water (C3) 750 -2250 High salt tolerant plants with special measures.
4. Very high saline water (C4) >2250 Not suitable.

3. Proportion of sodium ion with respect to other ions:

 When % of Na ions in total exchangeable cations exceed 10% aggregation of soil grains breaks down and
hence soil becomes less permeable.

 The proportion of sodium ions present in the soil is generally measured by a factor called as sodium
absorption ratio (SAR).

Expressed in EPM (equivalence per million)

Classification SAR USES

1. Low sodium water (S1) 0 - 10 For all crops on all soil
2. Medium sodium water (S2) 10 - 18 Can be used in cause grained soil
3. High sodium water (S3) 18 - 26 Can be used after leaching and requires good drainage
4. Very high sodium water (S4) >26 Not suitable.

4. Bicarbonate Concentration:
High concentration of HCO3- results in precipitation of calcium and magnesium ion, thereby reducing their
concentration in water. Which causes an increase in SAR value.

5. Concentration of toxic element:

BORON: 0.3 PPM → Essential for plant growth

 >2 PPM → Harmful for certain crops

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 >3 PPM → Harmful for all crops.

Selenium: Presence of selenium in water is harmful for plants.

6. Bacterial Contamination:
When crops irrigated with highly contaminated water are consumed without being cooked then it may cause
health problems.

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