Crop Production

Level-III

Module Title: - Perform

Irrigation Schedule and crop
water requirement
May, 2023 Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia
LO #1 Monitor Crop Environment
Monitoring crop environment and
interpreting results
There are many different factors that affect the timing and
amount of irrigation water needed for crop growth and
maximizing the economic yield of crops.
Failure to know and understand the various factors, then
to monitor these factors and respond when the factors start
to have a negative effect on crop performance will
potentially lead to serious loss of yield. Farmers need to:
 Identify what factors are to be monitored and
specify the target range for satisfactory
performance for the different factors and different
crops, then
 Develop Enterprise Procedures for monitoring

key factors which include:

Who is responsible for monitoring, recording,

and reporting?
How the various factors are to be monitored?

When and how often the various parameters are

to be monitored?
Who is responsible for decision making, action

planning and follow up?

Factors that affect the irrigation water
requirements of crops and provision of
irrigation can be divided into two groups,
environmental factors, and external
factors.
 Frequent monitoring of these factors will
help to identify trends and changes, and to
plan and take correction measures.
Environmental factors
Aerial Environment factors include
temperature, sunshine, humidity, wind, and
rainfall.
Soil factors include soil moisture content,
waterlogging, and soil conductivity.
Simple equipment designed for on-
farm use includes:
Rain gauge
Max Min Thermometer

pH and Conductivity meters to

measure soil and water pH and

conductivity
Soil tensiometers or a soil moisture

meter to measure changes in soil

moisture
External factors
Important External factors that can have an impact on
crop irrigation include crop establishment and occurrence
of crop pests, water supply, irrigation infrastructure,
availability of inputs, and target market date
Low crop plant population and loss of
crop yield potential due to pest attack
may reduce the economic viability of
investment in irrigation
Problems with low water supply will limit
the availability of water for irrigation
Check, the level of the water in the river,
reservoir, well or bore hole according to the
supply type used.
 Crop inspection on signs of stress
Due to the multiple roles of water in
plants, there are many different visual
signs of stress due to water related issues
in crops.
These include wilting, stunting, changes
in leaf size and shape or orientation,
nutrient disorders, bud and flower
abortion, increased incidence of some
pests and diseases.
Signs of stress due to low soil moisture include:
Wilting (Loss of Turgor / leaves become flaccid):
If the soil is dry, the plant will lose water faster
than the roots can extract water from the soil and the
leaves will wilt.
As the plant wilts, the stomata in the leaves will
close, and growth is reduced. If the dryness of the
soil is corrected promptly, the plant will recover, and
the loss of growth or yield will be small. If water is
not applied, the plant will eventually reach
‘Permanent Wilting Point’. After reaching this stage
of wilting the plant cannot respond to water
application and will die.
Figure 1.1. Sign of moisture stress
Changes in leaf position, color, and size
Plants are adapted to respond to water stress by trying to
reduce evaporation (Water loss). Typically, stomata will
close, leaves may roll, and or Leaves may hang
downwards
Stomata close to reduce water loss and transpiration
Leaf rolling in Maize Also occurs in tomato
Leaves hang down e.g. Apple
Bud or flower abortion and failure to pollinate and set
fruit are other common symptoms of water stress that
will lead to a loss of yield.
This is a common problem in fruit and seed crops.
Nutrient deficiency may also occur because soil
conductivity will increase, roots may not be able to take
up nutrients or nutrients are not transported effectively
within the plant.
Blossom End Rot in Tomatoes is a common problem due
to irregular watering and periods of dryness.
 Fruit skin will also harden, and the fruit may crack when
irrigation is applied.
Incidence of Pest and diseases, e.g. Red Spider Mite and
Powdery Mildew may also increase when plants are under
water stress
All these responses to water stress combine to cause
reduced crop growth and yield. Note: Where the whole
crop is affected by drought, yield loss is only measurable
by comparison with other farms and crops planted in
previous years.
Signs of stress due to too much water caused
by poor drainage or over irrigating
 Recommending changes to irrigation shifts
Over irrigating is a waste of water which may lead to
shortages later in the season and will cause leaching of
nutrients resulting in potential nutrient deficiency, wastage
of fertilizer and making changes to the irrigation shift.
Irrigation Shift defines the frequency of irrigation and the
amount of irrigation water to be applied at each
application or the frequency and the length of each
irrigation cycle or irrigation interval.
 This information may also be referred to as the Irrigation
Schedule for the crop.
Table 1.1. Sensitive growth period of vegetable for water shortage
Crop Growth periods sensitive to water deficit

Cabbage During head enlargement and ripening

Carrot Throughout the growth period

Onion Bulb enlargement, particularly during rapid bulb growth for ware crops and
for seed production, flowering is very sensitive to water stress

Pepper Throughout but particularly just prior to and at start of flowering

Potato Period of stolonization and tuber initiation, also tuber swelling

Tomato Flowering, yield formation and the vegetative period, particularly during and
just after transplanting

Avocado Flowering and fruiting

Banana Throughout but particularly during first part of the vegetative period,
flowering, and yield formation

Citrus Flowering and fruit set is very sensitive and water stress at fruit
LO #2 Checking Water Supply and Availability
Crop Water Requirement
Crop water requirement is the total quantity of
water required by the crop in a given growing
season or from the time it is sown to the time it
is harvested.
 This water is required for compensating the
evapotranspiration loss plus water used for
metabolic processes, photosynthesis,
transportation of minerals and foods, growth,
and structural support.
Irrigation water requirement
The irrigation water requirement for a
crop is the water required for plant growth
plus the water lost from the cropped area
by evapotranspiration plus water losses
due to irrigation system inefficiencies.
Table 2.1. Effect of major climate factors on crop water need (FAO,
2020)
Crop water need
Climate

High Low

Sunshine Sunny (no clouds) Cloud (no sun)

Temperature Hot Cool

Humidity Low (dry) High (humid)

Wind speed windy Little wind

It is important to know the amount of water required
for irrigation to be able to:
 Determine the area of crop that can be grown with the water that
is available
 The capacity of water storage that is needed for planned

production
 Order water to meet daily, weekly, seasonal and annual irrigation

needs.
For established farms, the farmer will know how much
water was used on previous occasions and this can be used
as guide to future requirements.
 in a Water Users Association or Water Cooperative, Water use
based on planned cropping will be calculated using standard data by
an Irrigation engineer or Irrigation specialist.
Calculation is based on the following processes:
Evapotranspiration (ETo) has been measured for a reference crop
(Grass) grown in different conditions to create standard reference
data
Results for the reference crop are adjusted for different crops and
different growth stages by multiplying the evapotranspiration of
the reference crop, ETo, by Crop coefficient, Kc, for the chosen
crop to give the Evapotranspiration for the crop (ETc).
 ETo x Kc = ETc
Then the irrigation requirements is calculated by subtracting the
Rainfall from the Evapotranspiration of the crop

Table 2.2. Crop coefficient (Kc) and number of growth days of crops
at each growth stages
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

Lettuce 0.45 (20) 0.60 (30) 1.00 (15) 0.90 (10) 30-50 0.30

Onion 0.50 (20) 0.75 (50) 1.05 (20) 0.85 (15) 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

Tomato 0.45 (25) 0.75 (40) 1.15 (40) 0.80 (25) 70-150 0.40
Figure 2.2. Kc value of representative crop at different growth
stage
Procedures to determine crop water requirement
(ETc)
1. Select the type of crop grown
2. Establish planting dates
3. Identify the crop growth stage and determine their
growth length
4. Select the crop coefficient (Kc) value from a given
Table
5. Construct the crop coefficient table (allowing one to
determine kc value for any period during the growing
period)
6. Calculate ETc as the product of ETo and Kc (each
growth stage
The evapotranspiration for the reference
crop (ETo), in each agro-ecological one is
available from reference data and Rainfall
can be measured in the farm.
 In Ethiopia, this data will also be
available at the MoA, Regional
Agriculture Office.
Sample data is shown in table 4, below
 Table 2.3. Average ETo and RF of sample area
collected from nearby meteorological station


Month J F M A M J J A S O N D

ETo 3.3 4.1 5. 5.5 6.2 6.3 5.6 5.0 4.9 4.7 4 4.7
(mm/day) 2

Rainfall 15 75 49 126. 29.3 16.2 249 0 110 21.3 15.6 0

(mm) 4
Example: Calculation of
Evapotranspiration for a named crop.
To determine crop water requirement of
Onion, planting date September 15.
Use the Crop growth stage in Table 3 and the
Average rainfall and Evapotranspiration for
the sample area are shown in Table 4
Calculate the ETo for each stage of growth using the
formula: ETo = No of days x ETo per day
ETo for onion during initial stage will be:
 Sep 15 x 4.9 + Oct 5 x 4.7 = 97mm
(since number of days during initial stage is 20 days)
ETo for onion during development stage Oct 25 x 4.7 +
Nov 25 x 4 = 217.5mm
Mid-season stage
ETo Nov 5 x 4 + 15 x 4.7 = 91.2mm
Late season stage
ETo Dec 15 x 4.7 = 70mm
Therefore, the total ETo = 97 + 217.5 + 91.2 + 70 =
475.7mm for whole growing season
Then calculate crop water requirement (ETc) using the
formula
ETc = ETo x Kc.
Table 2.3. Calculated ETc at each stage of crop growth in the sample growing season

Crop Growth Initial Crop Mid- Late Tot

stage stage develop Season Season al
ment stage stage
stage

No. 20 50 20 15 105
Days
Months 15sep-5 6 Oct-25 26Nov- 16-30

Onion Oct Nov 15Dec Dec

Kc value 0.5 0.75 1.05 0.85

Determination of Irrigation Water Requirement
The total amount of water that must be applied by
irrigation during the crop growth period is termed as
irrigation water requirement (net, IRn).
The irrigation water requirement of a certain crop is, the
difference between the crop water need and that part of the
rainfall which can be used by the crop (the effective
rainfall).
If irrigation is the sole source of water supply for the
plant, then the irrigation requirement will be at least equal
to the crop water
In area where there is not enough rain for
crops, some time we will provide irrigation as
supplementary and this is called
supplementary irrigation.
Net irrigation requirement will
mathematically be expressed as:
IRn (mm) = ETcrop (mm) – Effective
rainfall (Pe) (mm)
IRn = Net irrigation requirement (mm) ETc =
Crop evapotranspiration (mm)
Pe = Effective dependable rainfall (mm
Irrigation system efficiency
While transporting and applying water to
the irrigated field, some water wastage is
almost inevitable.
Water losses occur even in best irrigation
water management.
 Therefore, when computing the actual
irrigation requirement, (the gross
irrigation requirement), an efficiency
factor needs to be applied to account for
 Gross irrigation amount = Net amount (mm) for whole growing season
 Irrigation efficiency

Recognition of external factors affecting

irrigation requirements
External factors can have a profound impact on irrigation
requirements, especially in horticulture.
One of the most significant factors is weather conditions.
Hot and dry weather can cause plants to lose water faster,
requiring more frequent irrigation. Conversely, cool and
wet weather can lead to waterlogging, which can affect
root health and growth.
Another important factor is soil type and structure.
Sandy soils have a low water holding capacity, meaning
that water will drain quickly and require more frequent
irrigation.
 On the other hand, clay soils have a higher water holding
capacity, but also have poorer drainage, which can cause
waterlogging and root damage.
Some factors affecting irrigation requirement of crops
are described as follows:
Climate
Climate is responsible for causing variations in
consumptive use rate and frequency of irrigation.
 High temperature, low humidity, high wind velocity
and greater solar radiation in a place emphasize the
need to irrigate crops more frequently as
evapotranspiration takes place at a higher rate due to
greater evaporative demand of the atmosphere.
This is particularly evident in arid regions and during
summer season. On the other hand, higher rainfall
and greater relative humidity during the rainy season
reduce the irrigation requirement of crops and
irrigations may be applied at longer interval, if it
becomes necessary.
Soil characteristics
Water retentive capacity of soil is considered
as the most important soil factor deciding the
frequency and interval of irrigation.
A soil with greater water retentive capacity
serves as a bigger water reservoir for crops and
can supply water for longer duration.
 Consequently, frequency of irrigation is lower
and interval of irrigation is longer.
On the other hand, the frequency is higher in
porous sandy soils with coarse texture, poor
structure and low organic matter content
Crop characteristics
Crops vary in their consumptive use of water,
sensitivity to water stress, water extraction capacity
and optimum water regime. Frequency of irrigation
thus varies with crops.
 Crops like vegetables, onion and sugar beet that
require a higher level of water to be maintained in the
soil need frequent irrigations than other field crops.
Many crops have varieties that are either sensitive or
tolerant to drought conditions.
 Varieties sensitive to drought conditions require
frequent irrigations compared to tolerant varieties.
Rooting characteristics of crops such as shallow or
deep, fibrous or tapering, vertically or laterally
extensive root systems decide the frequency of
irrigation.
When the root system is shallow and fibrous, crops
are not able to utilize water from deeper soil layers
and are frequently irrigated with smaller depth of
water to wet only the upper soil layers.
 Crops with deeper and extensive root system
command a greater depth of soil and water reserve
and require irrigations at longer interval
Management practices
Soil water conservation practices such as
artificial or soil mulching and crop cultural
practices like weeding and hoeing help to
reduce the evaporation loss and conserve more
soil water for crops use.
 Thus, there is a reduction in irrigation
requirement of crops.
Method of irrigation, depth of water applied
each time and the water distribution efficiency
influence the frequency of irrigation.
Irrigation period
Irrigation period is the time, usually expressed in
days, that can be allowed for applying one
irrigation to a given design crop area during the
peak consumptive use period of the crop.
It is a function of the peak-period consumptive
use rate.
 It is considered for designing the irrigation
system capacity and equipment.
The irrigation system must be so designed that the
irrigation period is not greater than the irrigation
interval.
 Ordering water according to water
management authority standards and
procedures
Proper irrigation management demands application of
water at the time of actual need of the crop with just
enough water to wet the effective root zone soil.
 The principal aim is to obtain maximum crop yield
by making the most efficient and economic use of
water. Time of irrigation is usually governed by two
major conditions namely,
1. Water need of crops and
2. Availability of irrigation water
Water need of crops
Water need of crops is, however the prime consideration to
decide the time of irrigation.
Availability of Irrigation Water
Irrigation water is often in short supply in most locations and
therefore demands a careful and economic use.
Economy of water helps to bring more areas under protective
irrigation and leads to greater crop production in areas of
limited water supply.
In areas where water is scarce, farmers are not able to apply
normal irrigation to crops and are forced to skip some
irrigation
 Criteria for scheduling irrigation
The optimum scheduling of irrigation should be based
on crop needs to avoid both over and under-irrigation
and to ensure high water use efficiency.
A thorough understanding of the soil-water -
atmosphere relationship is essential for proper
scheduling of irrigation, since irrigation needs of crops
are decided by the evaporative demand of the
atmosphere, soil water status and plant characteristics.
The criteria for scheduling irrigation, as attempted from
time to time, may be grouped into three categories,
namely,
1. Plant criteria,
2. Criteria based on soil water status
and
3. Meteorological criteria.
Plants show up certain characteristic
changes in their constitution,
appearance and growth behavior with
changes in available soil water and
atmospheric conditions.
Plant criteria
Different plant criteria considered to schedule
irrigation are presented below:-
Plant appearance
With water stress, some characteristic changes
usually occur in the general appearances of plants.
There may be changes in the normal colour of
plant or distortions of plants such as wilting or
drooping of plants and curling or rolling of leaves.
Plant water potential and water content
Some crops show strong correlation between the water content of
leaf or leaf sheath and the available soil water.
The relative leaf water content (RLWC) and leaf water potential
change with variations in soil water availability or owing to lag
between water absorption by plants and evaporative demand of the
atmosphere.
Adverse physiological and growth phenomena specific to plant
species have been reported with fall in the RLWC and water
potential below certain critical limits.
As mentioned in the 3rd schedule a drop of 8-10% moisture( -5 to -
6 bars of leaf water potential)causes a mild stress and crop is to be
irrigated before the critical RLWC is reached.
Plant growth
Cell elongation is considered as the growth process that
suffers first with water stress in plant.
Subsequently, retardation in growth of height or
internodal length occurs.
Timing of irrigation can be set as and when the normal
growth rate is observed to decline.
This is, however, possible in places where a continuous
measurement of plant growth is maintained.
This technique offers many difficulties owing to
unavailability and high costs of equipment and so on.
The serious objection to this approach of scheduling
irrigation is that the plants suffer before they show any
retardation in growth processes.
Critical crop stages of water need
Irrigation scheduling may be decided based on
stages of growth more conveniently in crops in
which the physiological stages are distinct to
locate the critical periods of water need.
Scheduling of irrigation based on these critical
stages is most convenient for ordinary Indian
farmers who may need, at the most, some
guidance or education initially.
However, it may be a little difficult in crops
where stages are not so well defined.
 Giving adequate notice of water
required
In a Commercial Farm, the Irrigation
Manager and Supervisor will meet weekly
to review the annual plan, discuss the
findings from crop monitoring and plan the
irrigation schedule for the next week.
LO #3 Coordinating irrigation shifts and performing irrigation system
Briefing and coordinating irrigation personnel
 Personnel employed to operate the irrigation system and irrigate crops
on the farm need:
 Training and work instructions for how to operate the system, e.g.
 For Drip irrigation, how to operate the pump, what order to open and
close valves and how to open and close valves, how and how often to
clean filters, how and when to unclogging emitters
 For Furrow irrigation, how to manage the flow of water into the
furrows and throughout the cropped area
 Clear instruction about the irrigation schedule: Date, field/block,
crop, method of irrigation to be used
 Clear instruction about how much water to apply to each block
e.g. how much water to apply, irrigation interval, depth of soil wetting
required, duration per irrigation etc.
 Coordinating resources
Irrigation has a high investment cost
for construction, tools and equipment,
so it is essential that these resources
are managed effectively to maximize
the working life and ensure that the
tools and equipment are available and
in good working order when required.
The range of structures, tools and
equipment involved will depend on the
type and scale of irrigation used but
may include any or all the following:
Irrigation structures: Such as canal, pond,
Reservoir, geomembrane, pipes, stand,
Tanker, shallow/deep well structure etc.
Energy source: Fuel, electric, wind, solar
energy etc.
Water lifting devices: Pump, solar pump,
treadle pump, hip pump etc.
Water deliveries: Pipelines, valves,
sprinkler or drip lines, fittings, filters, gates,
etc.
Tools: spade, hoe, rake, shovel,
Measuring and monitoring equipment:
Water meter, tensiometer, water measuring
devices, flumes, weirs etc
 Implementing agreed irrigation schedule
Irrigation scheduling is defined as
the process of determining when to
irrigate and how much water to apply.
The objective of irrigation is to
replace the water used by the plant and
lost by evapotranspiration and
drainage.
 • .

The purpose of irrigation scheduling is to determine and

document when to apply water and how much water to
apply to maintain crop growth and realize the crop
economic yield potential.
Irrigation scheduling methods
Irrigations can be scheduled using varies methods from
simple soil moisture monitoring using the feel and
appearance method to sophisticated computer assisted
programs that predict plant growth.
Scheduling involves continual updating of field
information and forecasting future irrigation dates and
amounts
Fixed irrigation interval
Irrigation turns are mutually agreed and fixed among
the growers and it is applied according to fixed pre-
determined schedule. It is based on the available
quantity of water and size of the land.
 In water shortage area the irrigation interval is wider,
and the time give for one irrigation interval is also short.
This means it does not give due consideration to crop
water requirements.
The crops are either under irrigated or over irrigated. It
is the dominant irrigation scheduling methods applied in
most of Ethiopian small holder farmers.
Plant observation method
The plant observation method is based on observing
changes in the plant characteristics, such as changing in
color of the plants, curling of the leaves and wilting of
plant. In this method crops are irrigated after they enter
to stress due to moisture shortage.
The soil moisture monitoring method
For the small-scale farmer and field irrigation
technicians feeling the soil is the most practical and
reliable method of determining soil moisture and
irrigation need is recommended based on the dryness of
the soil. This method is easy to use and results in a
lower risk of yield loss than waiting for the plant to
show symptoms of stress.
The soil moisture monitoringmethod
Forthesmall-
scalefarmerandfieldirrigationtechniciansfeelingthesoi
listhemostpractical and reliable method of
determining soil moisture and irrigation need is
recommended based on the dryness of the soil. This
method is easy to use and results in a lower risk of
yield loss than waiting for the plant to show
symptoms ofstress.
Computational (calculation)method
Typically, the data that will be required to compute
an irrigation schedule for a crop is:
 The type of crop, the growth stage and the rootingdepth
 Available water holding capacity of the soiland
 Daily evapotranspiration rate (ETc) of thecrop
The maximum allowable moisture deficit(MAD
Calculate irrigation duration to irrigate 0.25ha if the
gross irrigation depth is 35mm and the Scheme
discharge rate is 5 lit/sec.
Solution:
1litre/sec = 3.6 m3/h.
Scheme discharge = 5 lit/sec = 18 m3/h
1 sec=1lit
3600sec=? with 1hrs=3600lit =3.6m3/hr

Area = 0.25ha = 2500m2
Irrigation depth of 35mm = 0.035m QT = Ad
T = Area x Depth
Discharge
T = 2500m2 x 0.35m = 4.8hrs
18m3/h
To calculate the Irrigation frequency
For example, if the growing season of one
crop is 110 days and if irrigation is stopped
10 days before harvesting, the total days that
the crop irrigated is 100 days.
Let say the early growth stage of the crop is
28 days and the irrigation interval used was 4
days, and for the remaining growth period,
the irrigation interval was 6 days.
Then at early stage the frequency was 7
times and at remaining stage the frequency
was 12 times. Therefore, totally for the crop,
the irrigation frequency was 19 times.
 Recording frequency of irrigation
Definitions: Irrigation interval is the number of days
between irrigation applications where as Irrigation
frequency is a record of how often irrigation takes
place.
The procedure for keeping records should include:
What is to be recorded and how often should

records be kept
Who is responsible for keeping the records and who

is responsible for analysing the records to produce

useful information at the end of the crop?
How the records are to be kept (Proforma to use

and filing system)