IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE

Specific objective;

By the end of this topic, the trainee should be able to:

a) Explain plant water relationship in regard to irrigation water requirement.

b) Explain the aims and methods of measuring irrigation water.
c) Explain the principles of operation and factors to consider in choosing irrigation pumps
d) Explain the factors influencing choice of irrigation methods
e) Explain the reasons for drainage and the types of drainage systems

Course outline

1. Introduction.
 Definitions.
 Importance of irrigations.
2. Planning for a small scale farm irrigation system
 Identification of potential area.
 Objectives.
 Survey and data collection etc.
3. Plaint-soil-water relationship
 Need for irrigation
 Terminology used in soil moisture
 Available moisture,
 Unavailable moisture,
 Effective root zone and
 Permanent wilting point
 Readily available moisture
 Readily available factor and
 Influence of different soil type.
 Term used in crop water requirements:
 Evaporation
 Transpiration
 Potential evapotranspiration
 Actual evapotranspiration
 Reference evaporation
 Estimating irrigation water:
 Metrological factors
 Crop factors
 Effective rainfall
  Ground water contribution
 Soil storage
 Leaching fraction
 Irrigation efficiency
 Irrigation requirements:
 Use of tables and charts
 Net irrigation requirement
 Gross irrigation requirement
 Irrigation intervals
4. Measurement of irrigation water:
 Reasons for measuring water
 Methods of measuring irrigation water by:
 Weirs
 Parshal flumes
 Orifices
 Meter gates
5. Irrigation pumps
 Irrigation principles of pumps:
 Piston pumps
 Diaphragm types
 Submersible
 Hydram
 Rotary pump
 Selection requirement of the pumps:
 Power requirements
 Pump efficiency
 Area to be irrigated
 Quality of water
6. Water application methods
 Factors affecting choice of irrigation
 Type of soil
 Topography
 Quality and quantity of water
 Crop type
 Farming practices
 The government policy
 Economics
 Irrigation methods:
 Border irrigation
 Check basins
  Furrow irrigation
 Sprinkler irrigation
 Drip irrigation
 Irrigation problems:
 Salt problems
 Alkalinity
 Salinity
 Siltation and
 water table
7. Drainage
 Reasons for drainage
 Control of salts
 High water table
 Unfavorable slopes
 Drainage systems
 Open drainage.
 Covered drainage.
 Sub-surface drainage.
Learning outcomes

i. Definition of irrigation.
ii. Water sources for plant.
iii. Basic water needs for plants.
iv. Describe plant, soil and water relationship.
v. State factors for selection of pumps, channels and pipes.
vi. Describe different irrigation methods and techniques.
vii. State factors to consider in planning a small scale farm irrigation system.
viii. State different types of drainage systems.
ix. Explain a given technique of land reclamation.
 Introduction

Irrigation is the artificial application of water, with good economic return and no damage to
land and soil, to supplement the natural sources of water to meet the water requirement of crops.

 Crop receives water from natural sources in forms of precipitation, other atmospheric
water, ground water and flood water.
 Irrigation should however be profitable and applied in times of crop need and in proper
amount. The excess or under irrigation may damage lands and crops. Irrigation applied
earlier to the actual time of crop need results in ineffective irrigation and waste of water,
while delayed irrigation may cause water stress to the crops and reduce the yield.
 The application is supplementary to the rainfall when it is deficient, irregular or it comes
at unreasonable times.
 For an irrigation engineer, they deal with making water available to the cultivators with
respect to location, time and quantity as per the crop requirement
 These engineers are also associated with investigation, planning, design, construct,
operate and maintain dams and other related works, canal system, hydraulic structures,
rivers training, flood control, drains, tube wells, watershed management, sedimentation
measurement, soil conservation e.t.c
 Therefore, irrigation engineering is an multidisciplinary science dealing with agriculture,
forestry, hydrology, water engineering, agronomy, river soil mechanization, ground water
etc.

Reason for irrigation

The necessity for irrigation is simply conditions under which irrigation is carried out.

1) Deficient Rainfall- when rainfall is less than 100cm, irrigation water is essentially
required.

The table below shows rainfall efficiency in relation to irrigation requirement by the crop.

Rainfall (Cm) Irrigation requirement

100 Rainfall need to be supplemented by irrigation
100-50 Rainfall is insufficient, irrigation is essential
50-25 Irrigation is essentially required
Less 25 No crop can be grown without irrigation
2) Non-uniformity of rainfall-if rainfall is not uniform or sufficient but is not uniform or
uniformly concentrated, then there is an acute requirement of irrigation.
3) Argumentation of crop yield –new high yielding varieties of crops have higher water
requirement for raising yield
 4) Exacting water requirement –the high yielding varieties of carrot are more exacting
requirement of water e.g pady rice growing period requirems flooded conditions apart
from the last two weeks before harvesting and thus requires irrigation.
5) Cash crop cultivation – some cash crops require high and assured supply of water with
frequent watering for maturity of crop. This makes irrigation necessary
6) Assured water supply – for successful farming, availability of water in needed quantity
and at right times is very essential
7) Irrigation provides enough water and at the right time
8) Orchards and gardens- fruit trees grown in orchards and gardens have a very high water
requirement
9) In arid conditions and semi-arid conditions- it is necessary
10) When growing crops off season in order to time better market prices then irrigation is
necessary

Drainage-

 Drainage refers to disposal of water in excess of the quantity required for growth and
development of crop by artificial means.
 Waterlogged and high water table areas have water in excess, which requires to be
drained out for proper crop growing in the area.

Planning for a small scale farm irrigation system

Planning describes complex activities leading to formulation of optimum plan for an irrigation
development. Planning starts with an identification of potential irrigation area as specific site to
project proposal and implementation of the plan.
Ideally decisions on irrigation development should be based on resources and studies done on the
project and involves:
(i) Identification of potential area.
(ii) Definition of projects objective.
(iii) Surveys and data collection.
(iv) Selection of design criteria.
(v) Evaluation of alternative proposal.
(vi) Selection of optimum plan.
(vii) Detail design.
(viii) Preparation for tender documents.
All these stages may merge into what is called feasibility study.

Identification of potential sight - For detailed planning topographic maps of scales 1:2500 with
0.5 m contour intervals are required
Project objective -There should be a clear statement of objective such as:
i. Maximum production of food/cash crop per unit.
 ii. Integration of livestock as fish farming in irrigation.
iii. Preventing salination in an irrigated area.
iv. Maximum generation of each income.
v. Establishment of a viable farmer’s cooperative in irrigation.
vi. Prevention of waterborne diseases in an irrigate land etc.

Surveys and data collection -Important information and data’s are important before the start of
actual planning and design. This may include:
(a) Topographical survey
(b) Farm mapping
(c) Soil survey
(d) Rainfall and flow data
Farm mapping -Farm and other boundaries are plotted on the same maps as content line.
Soil surveys -A detailed soil survey of the potential irrigation area is very important so as:
i. Select the most suitable soils for irrigation
ii. Determine physical and chemical properties of soils from which irrigation,
iii. Drainage and crop husbandry criteria are derived.
iv. Soil data includes:
 Chemical properties of soil
 Soil fertility
 Soil texture
 Bulk density
 Hydraulic conductivity
 Moisture characteristics
 Pressure bearing capacities etc.

Soil-Water and Plant Relationships

Soil consists of mineral and organic materials that cover much of the earth’s surface. It contains
living matter, air and water and can support vegetation. The soil functions as a storehouse for
plant nutrients, as habitat for soil organisms and plant roots and as a reservoir for water to meet
the evapotranspiration demands of plants. It contains and supplies water, oxygen, nutrients and
mechanical support for plant growth.

The soil determines how irrigation water should be managed. The amount of water the soil can
hold for plant use is determined by its physical and chemical properties. This amount determines
the length of time that a plant can be sustained adequately between irrigation and/or rainfall
events, the frequency of irrigation and the amount and rate to be applied. Along with plant
evapotranspiration, it also determines the irrigation system capacity needed for desired crop
yield.
Irrigation planners have to obtain accurate on-site soil information in order to be able to make
recommendations.

Terminologies
 Available Moisture or Readily available water.
It is the water that is held by the soil between Field capacity (FC) and permanent wilting point
(PWP) and the tension of between 0.1-0.33 and 15 atmosphere which is available to the plants. It
comprises the greater part of capillary water. This Available water to plant is more in the upper
range of the available water at field capacity and it decreases sharply as the water content
approaches the Wilting point.
 Unavailable water
There are two situations at which soil water is not available to most plants.
 When the soil water content fall below the PWP and is held at a tension of 15
Atmosphere and above.
 When the soil water is above the field capacity and if is held tenaciously by the soil
such that it moves downwards under gravity. This water in both situations is termed
as unavailable water.
 Permanent wilting point (PWP)
Refers to the water content of soil at which plants do not get enough water to meet the
transpiration demand and wilting permanently. The amount of water available in this range is
important in the soil-water –plant relationship as it is very much concerned for survival of plants.
Permanent wilting points is considered as the lowest limit of available water range as most plants
do not get enough soil water for survival beyond this point. Two stages of wilting point are
recognized
 Temporary wilting point- this denotes the water content at which plants wilt
during the day time but recovers during the night when it is kept in a humid
chamber under saturated air.
 Permanent Wilting point – is the soil water content at which the plant wilt-
permanently and fail to recover when kept under humid chamber
 Wilting range- is the soil water content between Temporary wilting point and Permanent
wilting point.
PWP is considered as the lowest limit of available water range of most plants. At this point, the
plants do not get water for survival. Sunflower plant is used as the indicator to determine PWP
 Field capacity (FC)
Field capacity denotes the water content retained by an initially saturated soil against the force of
gravity. This stage is reached when the excess water from a saturated soil after irrigation or
rainfall has fully percolated down. The field capacity presupposes the conditions that:
evaporation and transpiration are not active, downward movement of water has practically
ceased and all the hydrostatic forces acting on soil water are in equilibrium. Other terms used to
describe field capacity are; normal moisture capacity, field carrying capacity and capillary
capacity
 Saturation capacity/ maximum water holding capacity
It is the percentage water content of a soil fully saturated with all its pores completely filled with
water under restricted damage. It is also referred as maximum water holding capacity. The water
between field capacity and saturation capacity is not available to plants as it moves downwards
under gravity when free drainage is provided.
 Infiltration
Infiltration is the process of entry of water downwards from the air medium (the soil surface)
into the soil medium. It occurs when the field is irrigated or when there is rain. The actual rate at
which water enters the soil at any given time is called infiltration velocity

Factors influencing infiltration rate

 Condition and characteristics of a soil particularly, the soil
 Tillage and crop management practices
 Vegetative cover
 Depth of water passing over the soil surface
 The duration of irrigation or duration and intensity of rainfall

 Permeability
Permeability is the characteristic of porous medium of its readiness to transmit a liquid. Darcy’s
law according to the definition of permeability may be written as,

 =volume of flow, ⁄
 =intrinsic permeability, ⁄
 = cross sectional area , cm2
 H= loss of hydraulic head, cm
 = density of liquid
 = acceleration due to gravity
 =length of tube, cm
From the expression we find that the hydraulic conductivity K is,

Where,

Again,
Assignment
 State and explain briefly the forms of soil water and their occurrence

Classification/Forms of soil water and their occurrence

Soil water is classified mainly into three heads

i Hygroscopic/free water
ii Capillary water
iii Gravitational water
Hygroscopic water – is a form of soil water that is present not only in the pores but also on the
surface of the soil particles. It is tightly held in the soil and cannot be removed except by oven
drying at 105 degree Celsius.
It is the water that an oven dry soil absorbs when exposed to air saturated with water vapor.
Hygroscopic water represents the water held by soil.
Capillary water- the capillary water supplies the whole or largest part of the water needed by
plants. With increasing supply of water, the water film held around soil particles thickens. Water
then enters the pore system gradually filling the pores and wedge between adjacent soil particles
until stage is reached when the water tension is in equilibrium with gravity.
Gravitational water- This form of water is loosely held in soil and could be easily lost by
gravitational force. When sufficient water is added to soil, water gradually fills the pore system
expelling air completely from the soil, if drainage is impeded. A well-drained soil cannot reach
to this stage of complete saturation as water start moving downwards under gravity through soil
pores when gravity exceeds the soil water tension. Gravitational water is not available to plants
except a negligible part that may be absorbed by some crop plants such as rice by the time it
moves out of the root zone.

Hygroscopic water/non Wilting coefficient

available water

----------------------------- Field capacity

Available capillary
water

Gravitational water
Effective root zone depth
 In addition to crop water and irrigation requirements and soil, the root zone depth is the
third parameter to be considered when preparing irrigation schedules.
 Effective root zone- is the depth from which the roots of an average mature plants are
capable of reducing moisture to the extent that it should be replaced by irrigation
 Root development of any on crop varies widely with the type of soil and other factors
mentioned earlier
 The table below shows effective root zone depth of some common crops in deep well
drained soils
Shallow rooted Moderately rooted Deep rooted Very deep rooted
Depth 60 90 120 180
root
zone
(cm)
Plants  Rice  wheat  maize  sugarcane
 Potato  tobacco  cotton  citrus
 Sunflower  castor  sorghum  coffee
 Lettuce  carrots  millet  grapevine
 onions  tea  soya beans  sunflower
 beans  sugar beets  lucerne
 chilli

Moisture Extraction Pattern within the Root Zone

 This shows the relatives amount of moisture extracted from different depth within the
crop root zone
 This is the moisture extraction pattern of an average crop plants growing in deep uniform
soil.
 The first quarter extracts 40% of the total moisture used. The second quarter extracts 30%
of the moisture and the 3rd quarter extract 20% while the 4th quarter extract 10%
 This shows that there is need for making soil moisture measurements at different depths
at least two within the root zone, in order to have a fair estimate of the soil moisture
status
 Moisture measurement can be done by use of the instruments known as moistures
sensors. These instruments are placed in the soil to indicate the Moisture content within
the soil. They include tensiometer, gypsum blocks with a meter, neutral probe

Revision Question
1. (a) Describe the operation of the following soil measuring instrument (4 Marks)
a) Tensiometer
b) Electrical resistance instrument
c) Using a diagram, illustrate the moisture extraction pattern within the root zone of
the a plant (11 Marks)
2. Define the following terms
i. Soil moisture tension
ii. Field capacity
iii. Infiltration capacity
3. Using a soil moisture tension curve , explain the following terms
i. Field capacity
ii. Pwp
iii. Available water
iv. Hygroscopic water
4. Outline 6 factors that make irrigation necessary in Kenya (6 Mks)
5. Describe three types of soil water