METHODS OF IRRIGATION 35 Water flows at a slow rate and seeps into the ground to maintain the water table at a height such that water from the capillary fringe is available to the crops, Proper drainage of excess water is permitted, either naturally or with the other drainage works to prevent water logging of the fields. Sometimes the upward capillary water flow from shallow water table may produce saline and alkali conditions and may make the land less productive, Under such circumstances, the sub-surface irrigation method has to be discontinued and irrigation has to be resorted by sprinkling method. Artificial sub-irrigation ‘This method consists of supplying water directly to the reot zone of crops through a net work of buried perforated pipes. Water is made to pass under pressure, through these underground perforated pipes. This method is suitable only for those soils formations which have high horizontal permeability to permit free lateral movement though the root zone of the crops and low vertical permeability so that deep percolation losses are minmised. The pipe are buried 0.3 to 0.4 m deep, so that cultivation operations are not hindered, and are spaced 0.4 to 0.5 m horizontally, for uniform distribution of water. 2.12, SPRINKLER IRRIGATION The sprinkler method consists of applying the water in the form of a spray, somewhat a5 in ordinary rain, as is done in the garden lawn sprinkling. The greatest advantage of sprinkler irrigation is its adaptabilities to use under conditions where surface irrigation methods are not efficient. This method is more useful where : (i) The land cannot be prepared for surface methods (i) Slopes are excessive (ii) Topography is irregular (iv) Soil is erosive (v) Soil is excessively permeable or impermeable (vi) Depth of soil is shallow over gravel or sand. In this system, the cost of land preparation and permanent water delivery system of channels or conduits is less. However, there is 1a.ge initial investment in the purchase ‘of the pumping and sprinking equipment. Sprinkler system can be classified under three heads : (i) Permanent system, (ii) Semi-permanent system, and (iii) Portable system. Earlier, stationary over-head perforated pipe installations were used. However, with the introduction of light weight steel pipes and quick couplers, portable sprinkler system were devloped. In the permanent system, pipes are permanently buried in such a way that they do not interfere with tillage operations. In the semi-permanent system, the main lines are buried while the laterals are portable. Portable system have both portable mains lines and laterals. These systems are designed to be moved from around the farm from field to field. A pump usually lifts the water from the souree, pushes it through the distribution system and through the sprinkler nozzel on the sprinkler heads mounted on rising pipes attached to the laterals. Turbine and horizontal centrifugalWATER REQUIREMENTS OF CROPS. a1 Wa = net amount of water depleted from root zone of soil. The efficiency, therefore, evaluates the loss of water by deep percolation and by excessive surface evaporation following an irriagtion. (C) DETERMINATION OF IRRIGATION REQUIREMENTS OF CROPS In order to determine the irrigation requirements of certain crop, during its base period, the following terms are required : @ Effective Rainfall (R,) Effective rainfall is that part of the precipitation falling during the growing period of a crop that is available to mect the evapo-transpiration needs of the crop. (ii) Consumptive Irrigation Requirement (CIR) Consumptive irrigation requirement is defined as the amount of irrigation water that is required to meet the evapo-transpiration needs of the crop during its full growth. Therefore, CIR =Cy-Re v8.28) where C, is the consumptive use of water. (iii), Net Irrigation Requirement (NIR) Net irrigation requirement is defined as the amount of irrigation water required at the plot to meet the evapo-transpiration needs of water as well as other needs such as leaching etc. Thus NIR = C,-R, + water lost in deep percolation for the purpose of leaching etc. ...(3.29) (iv) Field Irrigation Requirement (FIR) Field irrigation requirement is the amount of water required. to meet ‘net irrigation requirements’ plus the water lost in percolation in the field water courses, field channels and in field applications of water. If 1, is water application efficiency, we have FIR= NR : (8.80) in (©) Gross Irrigation Requirement (GIR) Gross irrigation requirement is the sum of water required to satisfy the field irrigation requirement and the water lost as conveyance losses in distributaries upto the field. If n, is the water conveyance efficiency, we have or-= HE (3.30) Determination of FIR and GIR using Hargreaves method : In order to determine the field irrigation requirement (FIR) or gross irrigation requirement (GIR) of a certain crop, it is essential to have the knowledge of monthly or periodical pan evaporation data as well as the knowledge of pan evaporation cofficient K. Table 3.15 shows sample calculations for wheat at a certain location. Following is the procedure for calculations :128 IRRIGATION AND WATER POWER ENGINEERING @® Check whether the data at station X is consistent. (ii) In which year a change in regime is indicated ? (iii) Compute the adjusted annual rainfalls at X for the affected period. Solution Computations for cumulative rainfalls at X and at average of 10 surrounding stations are arranged in tabular form as under, starting from data of most recent year. Year Annual rainfall | Cumulatice Av. of annual Cumulative atX (em) — | rainfallatX(om) | at 10 base rainfall of base statlons (em) statlons (com) 1985 69 69 tt 7 1984 55 124 62 139, 1983 62 188 a 206 1982 67 253 | 68 4 1981 87 340 86 360 1960 10 410 | 20 450 1979 685 415 | 85 515 1972 90. 1100 70 1010 1971 8 1175 55 1065 1970 95, 1270 5 140 The data are plotted as shown in Fig. 4.21 From Fig. 4.21, we observe that the graph is not having uniform slope. There is break at point B. Hence record at X is not consistent. Thus change in the regime is indicated in 1978 corresponding to point B. From Fig. 4.21, we observe that 2=0.7051 3 Hence data beyond point B are to be corrected in the ratio a/b . Adjusted cumulative in 1970, at station X = 1060 cm. Poo= Pe. $= 0.1051. Ps The corrected rainfall data at X are tabulated as under :Observed rainfall Adjusted rainfall at X atX (=P) Poo 0.7051 Ps a7 EY 63 60. 4,13, PROBABLE MAXIMUM PRECIPITATION (PMP) (a) Probable maximum precipitation For the safe design of a hydraulic structure, even’a 50 year or 100 year precipitation may be inadequate due to unusual meteorological combinations resulting in a very high precipitation. The probable maximum precipitation, commonly known as PMP, for a region is the precipitation resulting from the most critical meteorological combinations that are considered probable of occurrence. It can be defined as that rainfall over a basin which would produce the flood flow with virtually no risk of being exceeded. _ For the determination or estimation of PMP, the knowledge of an experienced hydro- meteorologist is required. Over the past 40 years, there has been an increasing use of the science of hydro-meteorology (ie. science of meteorology in combination with hydrology), by engineers concerned with water resources and flood control. Hydrometeorology, has been largely developed in USA. The PMP can be estimated by maximising the different parameters like humidity, temperature, wind velocity and other connected me- teorological factors of an observed severe storm over the basin. There are two approaches for determining PMP : (@ Meteorological approach (i) Statistical approach As has been pointed out in § 4.12, World’s greatest observed point rainfall lie on or just under a straight line whose equation is R=166D%% where R is the rainfall in inches and D is the duration in hours. Extreme point reinfalls recorded in the British Isles, extracted from more than half a million station years of data, lie close to a line of equation R=106D°* (G24) where # is in mm and D in hours, ‘From the statistical studies, PMP can also be estimated from the following equation PMP= P+Ko o4.25) 18) P=mean of annual maximum rainfall series g=standard deviation of the series K=frequency factor, which is usually in the neighbourhood of 15