Crops to be Irrigated

Factors for consideration

Rooting depth of crop ( Irr. Guide pp.. 3-8,3-9)
1
2

Are there any soil barriers rock, hard pan, etc.

establishment and shallow root depths require more
frequent irrigations

Crop Height
1
2

wheel or riser height

above canopy or within canopy application

Water tolerance
1

water sensitive crops develop diseases (beans)

What is Management
Allowable Depletion (MAD)?

Mad is defined as the percentage of the

available soil water that can be depleted
between irrigations without serious plant
moisture stress. MAD is expressed as:
a percentage of the total Available Water
Content (AWC) the soil will hold in the root
zone
a soil-water deficit (SWD) in inches, or
an allowable soil-water tension level

More information Irrigation Guide pg.. 3-7

Example
Given: Silt Loam soil (AWC= 2.1/ft),
growing potatoes with rooting depth of
2.5and a MAD of 35%.
Find : The maximum amount of water
depletion before irrigation is necessary?
2.1*2.5*.35 = 1.84

Evapotranspiration Overview
Recently

with more weather station and a greater

demand for the available water there has been a
great push to update ET values. The new ET
values are needed to provide a more accurate
picture of what is actually happening in the field.

What is
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION?

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

What are some methods for

determining ET?

Estimated crop evapotranspiration ET c

Blaney-Criddle, etc.

Direct measurement
aerodynamic method
detailed soil moisture monitoring
lysimetry
plant porometers
regional inflow-outflow measurements

What influences the method

you would select?
Type, accuracy, and duration of available
climatic data
Natural pattern of evapotranspiration
Intended use of the evapotranspiration
estimates

Climatic Data

Type
Temperature, radiation, wind, humidity

Quality
Length of Record

Natural Pattern of Crop Water Use

Crop ET varies from day to day

Fluctuating climatic
Plant growth

Daily average Vs. average for a period

1 day Vs 5 day

Frequency Distributions

ET for an Averaging Period

Intended Use
Irrigation Scheduling
System Design
Reservoir operation

Various Methods

NRCS endorses four methods

Penman-Monteith
Radiation method
Temperature Method
Class A evaporation pan

Penman-Montieth Method
0
(
e
1

K1 z ez )
ET0 ( )[(
)(Rn G ) (
)(.622
)
]
*
*
BP
ra

More reliable for any length period

daily, monthly, or seasonal
If adequate data available

ET0 = The evapotranspiration for grass

reference crop
= heat of vaporization
Rn = net radiation
G = soil heat flux
= slope of the vapor pressure curve
= psychrometric constant
= density of air
BP = mean barometric pressure
e0z = average saturated vapor pressure
ez = actual vapor pressure
*
= (1+rc/ra)
rc = surface resistance to vapor transport
ra = aerodynamic resistance to sensible heat and
vapor transport
K1 = the dimension coefficient

Radiation Method

Rs
ET0 0.012 (
)br

ET0 = The evapotranspiration for grass

reference crop
= heat of vaporization
= slope of the vapor pressure curve
= psychrometric constant
= density of air
br = adjustment factor for wind and humidity
Rs = incoming solar radiation

Not for daily ET, but for average daily ET over a

period of days ~ 5day period
Good for monthly and Seasonal

Temperature Method

ET0 Ce ( a t bt pT )
ET0 = evapotranspiration for grass reference crop
Ce = elevation adjustment factor
at = climate adjustment factor
bt = climate adjustment factor
p = mean daily percent of annual daytime hours
T = mean air temperature

Not for daily ET, but for average daily ET over a

period of days ~ 5day period
Good for monthly and Seasonal

Evaporation Pan Method

ET0=kpEpan
ET0 = evapotranspiration for grass reference crop
kp = pan coefficient
Epan = evaporation from pan

Good for monthly and Seasonal

Things to Consider before

changing ET Values
Legal ramifications
Quantity of water supply
System efficiency

SCS TR21
Where does TR21 fit in?
Water Rights of many States Based on TR21
Less Accurate

What is the difference between

ET0 and Consumptive Use?

CU = Crop coefficient*ET0

Use reference ET for specific Crop

Crop Curves
NRCS has switched from an Alfalfa based
crop reference to a Grass crop reference
To convert use a multiplier factor , usually
1.15
New ones and procedures found in NEH
part 623 chapter 2

Consumptive Use
Calculations

Field by field
CU = crop coefficient * ET

Farm CU - multiple fields, multiple crops

weighted CU based on percentage of crops

Project CU
gpm/acre weighted by percent

Weighted Consumptive Use

CROP

ACRES

CU

alfalfa

80

.31

35

wheat

100

.21

43

beets

50

.25

22

Total

230

.25

100

CUw= 80/230*.31+100/230*.21+50/230*.25

Net Irrigation Requirements

Fn

= ETc + Aw - Pe - GW - DSW

Fn = net irrigation requirement for season

ETc = crop evapotranspiration
Aw = auxiliary water - leaching, temperature
modification, crop quality
Pe = effective precipitation
GW = ground water contribution
DSW= soil water depleted during season

Effective precipitation
The part of rainfall that can be used to meet
the evapotranspiration of growing crops.
Does not include surface runoff or
percolation below the crop root zone

P r e c ip it a t io n P a t h w a y s
P r e c ip ita tio n
fr o m c lo u d s
E v a p o r a te d in
a tm o s p h e re

S tr ik e s s o il
s u rfa c e

In te rc e p te d b y
v e g e ta tio n

In filtr a te s

R e t a i n e d b y s o il
in r o o t z o n e
U s e le s s o r
h a r m fu l fo r
c ro p g ro w th

R e m a in s
unused

R e ta in e d a n d
e v a p o r a te d

E v a p o ra te s o n
s o il s u r fa c e

D e e p p e r c o la ti o n
b e lo w r o o t z o n e
U tiliz e d fo r
c r o p g r o w th

E s s e n tia l
fo r le a c h in g

R e tu r n flo w to
g ro u n d w a te r o r
s tr e a m s

D r a in e d to
s o il s u r fa c e

S u rfa c e ru n o ff

N ot needed
fo r le a c h in g

N o t re u s e d
a t s ite

R eused
e ls e w h e r e

R e tu r n flo w
t o s tr e a m s o r
g r o u n d w a te r

R eused
a t s ite

System Sizing

Simply put
Q = Fg*A/t

Q = to system flowrate
Fg = Gross irrigation requirement
A = irrigated area
t = time to irrigate the field

What is the difference

between Net and Gross?
Cg =

Cn
Ea(1-Dt )
100

Cg = gross system capacity

Cn = net system capacity
Ea = application efficiency
Dt = system downtime

Many efficiencies come in to play

Field efficiency
Farm efficiency
Conveyance efficiency
Project efficiency etc.
Things influencing Field efficiency
Deep percolation
Surface runoff
Spray, drift losses

Where to get more information

NRCS NEH 623 Chapter 2 Irrigation

Water Requirements