UNIT 2

1. 2. 3. 4. CANAL NETWORK IRRIGATION SCHEDULING IRRIGATION METHODS MICRO IRRIGATION

1. CANAL NETWORK
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:
Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:
Those connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans. Included are inter-basin canals, such as the Suez Canal and Panama Canal. Those connected in a city network: Venice Italy

Aqueducts: water supply canals that are used for the conveyance and delivery of potable water for human consumption, municipal uses, and agriculture and irrigation.

 Canal irrigation in India is one of the principal methods used for improving the growth of the crops. Canal irrigation is the 2nd most important irrigation source. Areas that are large level plains of deep fertile soil and are drained by well distributed perennial rivers. Plain areas of northern India, valleys of Indian peninsular plateau, coastal lowlands etc.

OPEN CANALS
An open canal, channel, or ditch, is an open waterway whose purpose is to carry water from one place to another. Channels and canals refer to main waterways supplying water to one or more farms. Field ditches have smaller dimensions and convey water from the farm entrance to the irrigated fields.

CANAL TYPES
1. According to the shape of their cross-section, canals are called rectangular, triangular, trapezoidal, circular, parabolic and irregular/natural . 2. Earthen canals are simply dug in the ground and the bank is made up from the removed earth. 3. Lined Canals: Earthen canals can be lined with impermeable materials to prevent excessive seepage and growth of weeds

CANAL NETWORK

2. IRRIGATION SCHEDULING
Irrigation scheduling is the decision of when and how much water to apply to a field. Its purpose is to maximize irrigation efficiencies by applying the exact amount of water needed to replenish the soil moisture to the desired level. Irrigation scheduling saves water and energy. All irrigation scheduling procedures consist of monitoring indicators that determine the need for irrigation.

Irrigation Criteria
Irrigation criteria are the indicators used to determine the need for irrigation. The most common irrigation criteria are soil moisture content and soil moisture tension. Less common criteria are to maximize yield and net return.

Contd
1. To illustrate irrigation scheduling, consider a farmer whose goal is to maximize yield. 2. Soil moisture content is the irrigation criterion. 3. Different levels of soil moisture trigger irrigation.
For example, when soil water content drops below 70 percent of the total available soil moisture, irrigation should start.

Advantages of Irrigation Scheduling

1) It enables the farmer to schedule water rotation among the various fields to minimize crop water stress and maximize yields. 2) It reduces the farmer's cost of water and labor through fewer irrigations, thereby making maximum use of soil moisture storage. 3) It lowers fertilizer costs by holding surface runoff and deep percolation (leaching) to a minimum. 4) It increases net returns by increasing crop yields and crop quality. 5) It minimizes water-logging problems by reducing the drainage requirements. 6) It results in additional returns by using the "saved" water to irrigate non-cash crops that otherwise would not be irrigated during water-short periods.