KENYATTA UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY

CAT 1

A TEST PAPER PRESENTED AS A PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE DEGREE OF MSC.

HYDROLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES

STUDENT'S NAME:
STUDENT NUMBER:
UNIT NAME AND CODE:
LECTURER'S NAME:
DATE OF SUBMISSION:

MWANDOGO MOSES TSUMA

I56/31467/2015
AGE 851: AGRICULTURAL HYDROLOGY
PROFESSOR JOY A. OBANDO
7/03/2016

1. Differentiate between crop water productivity (CWP) and crop water requirement (CWR)
Crop water productivity is a measure of the market value or amount of produce in relation
the amount of water needed to produce that output. The output could be livestock like meat, hide,
eggs or products such as crop, grain or fodder. While the amount of water is expressed in terms of
cubic meters, the output is expressed in terms of yield, nutritional value or economic return
(Ernest L, 2001). Water productivity can be quantified at different scales, and for a mixture of
goods and services.
Crop water requirement is the depth (in mm) of water needed to meet the water loss
through evapotranspiration during a plants growth time. In other words it is the amount of water
needed by a plant from the germination stage through to maturity considering all losses through
evaporation and transpiration. Crop water requirement depends on the climate, the crop type and
the growth stage of the crop.
2. Explain how climate, irrigation and soil management affect the variability of CWP
a). Climate
The first aspect of climate that affects crop water productivity is temperature. Most plant
growth processed depend highly on temperature. Temperature controls the evaporative demand of
the atmosphere which is driven by vapor pressure deficit and radiation (Sadras, et al, 2007).
Different crop species will respond differently to temperature increase. Some plants will grow
faster and yield more due to temperature increase while some particularly cereals and feed grains
may reduce yield. Temperature increase will favor crops that require short period of seed
formation, drought resistant and livestock that is tolerant to high rates of respiration (Ernest L,
2001).
Another climatic aspect affecting crop water productivity is precipitation. The amount,
duration and timing of precipitation will affect crop productivity (Sadras et al., 2007).
Precipitation being the principle water supply source for agriculture, determines the soil moisture

content which is an important parameter for crop water need. Where precipitation is not sufficient,
irrigation demand will rise. This will result to increased competition between the water use for
agriculture and other uses. This competition is likely to result a deficit water supply resulting to
reduced yield hence affecting crop water productivity.
Other climatic aspects that directly affect crop water productivity include humidity and
wind speed. Crop water needs are higher when its dry than when its humid and
crops grown in windy climates use more water than those in calm climate. This is
because windy climatic characteristics are associated with high rates of
evapotranspiration hence increasing water loss. Humidity also affects the
atmospheric water deficit thus affecting evapotranspiration demands.

Climate also affects soils, and the climatic variations at a region is also responsible for the
varieties of soils in that region. Climate influences processes of soil formation such as
weathering, leaching and decomposition of organic matter. Climate also determines the types of
vegetation cover and animal life which in turn affect soil types by impacting on presence of
organic matter. The fertility of the soils present in a particular field will then greatly impact on the
productivity of that field.
b). Irrigation
Irrigation affects crop water productivity because it regulates the water availability
component. Where rainfall is not sufficient, crops are likely to wither due to insufficient available
water. Water stress can have major impact on productivity and yield depending on timing,
severity, and duration (Steduto et al, 2009). Insufficient rainfall for agricultural uses is referred to
as agricultural drought. An increased incidence of agricultural drought will increase crop water
stress where irrigation will be the likely solution (Lobell & Gourdji, 2012). Irrigation plays the

role of adding on to the soil moisture what is required of that crop. This increases crop water
productivity.
Unlike rainfall, irrigation is reliable in ensuring water is supplied in the correct amount, at
the required time and for the required duration. This results to optimal use of water by plants and
therefore increasing crop water productivity. However, too much irrigation may result to low
produce. This is encountered where water logs and there is too much for the crop to uptake.
Therefore, although irrigation may affect positively the crop productivity, it should be well
regulated to ensure only required water is applied to fields.
c). Soil Management
Soil management is very essential in ensuring economical crop water productivity. When
soils are not managed, they lose their fertility (Saxton, et al, 1985). Unfertile soil will not result to
high productivity even if a million gallons of water are added to it. Hence, where soils are well
managed, water use will be economical and productivity will be high. Soil management prevents
erosion, Salination and defertilization. Soil erosion may result from poor farm practices like
farming on slopes without terraces. Erosion causes loss of top soil which is usually fertile leaving
unfertile soils above the ground. Salination may be caused by using salt water for irrigation, this
eventually causes soils to be unfertile and unproductive. Another form of defertilization may be
caused by mono cropping or over farming on one field which results to nutrient depletion.
3. Explain the importance of evapotranspiration as a component for the design, operation and
management of irrigation systems.
The process of plant growth and development involves water use by the plant drawn from
the soil through the roots. During growth, the plants lose some water from the pores of its leaves
through its tissue to the atmosphere. This process is known as transpiration. Some water gets lost
directly to the atmosphere from the soil surface. This water loss is known as evaporation. The

combined total loss of water from the soil and the plant to the atmosphere is known as
evapotranspiration. Potential evapotranspiration is the amount of water a plant could be using
according to its growth stage (Ernest L, 2001).
Irrigation systems are designed to give the irrigation water requirement for a field. The
irrigation water requirement basically represents the difference between the crop water
requirement and effective precipitation. It also includes additional water for leaching of salts and
compensation for non-uniformity of water application (Ernest L, 2001). Irrigation designing
therefore depends on evapotranspiration data in order to ascertain the irrigation water requirement
of any crop.
The competition for crop water demand and atmospheric water demand makes
evapotranspiration a key consideration for irrigation designs. Plants take the available soil
moisture by their roots depending on the water demand into the atmosphere. Agronomists and
agricultural engineers use evapotranspiration to determine the irrigation water requirements. The
irrigation water requirements is given by
Crop water Requirement (

ET Crop

- Effective Precipitation (

Pe

Where the crop water requirement is given by

ET Crop =K c ET 0
Where

ET Crop

is the crop evapotranspiration, given as a measure of the

evapotranspiration from a crop with healthy conditions and growing with optimum moisture
content in a well-fertilized soil environment. This shows that evapotranspiration is a very
important component of irrigation design.

Besides irrigation design, evapotranspiration is required in operation and management of

irrigation systems which involve frequent assessment of crop water productivity (CWP) The great
challenge for irrigation system managers is to produce more food from less water, which can be
achieved by increasing Crop Water Productivity (Zwart & Bastiaanssen, 2004). Crop water
productivity is also a function of evapotranspiration. From its definition, it can also be referred to
as the "water use efficiency" and is given by the marketable crop yield over the actual
evapotranspiration.
Y act
CWP=
That is
ET ac t

Where

Y act

given in

Kgm3

is the actual marketable crop yield in

Kgha

and

ET act is the actual seasonal crop water consumption by evapotranspiration in

m3 ha1
From the above expression, there is no doubt that evapotranspiration is a non avoidable
component in irrigation management and operation (Zwart & Bastiaanssen, 2004).

REFERENCES
Ernest L. Molua, Cornelius M. Lambi. (2001). ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE ON
CROP WATER USE AND CROP WATER PRODUCTIVITY:
Lobell, D. B., & Gourdji, S. M. (2012). The Influence of Climate Change on Global Crop
Productivity 1, 160(December), 16861697. http://doi.org/10.1104/pp.112.208298
Sadras, V. O., Grassini, P., & Steduto, P. (2007). SOLAW TR07.
Saxton, K. E., Rawls, W. J., Romberger, J. S., & Papendick, R. I. (1985). Estimating Generalized
Soil-water Characteristics from Texture 1, 115.
Steduto, P., Hsiao, T. C., Raes, D., & Fereres, E. (2009). AquaCropThe FAO Crop Model to
Simulate Yield Response to Water: I. Concepts and Underlying Principles.
http://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2008.0139s
Zwart, S. J., & Bastiaanssen, W. G. M. (2004). Review of measured crop water productivity
values for irrigated wheat , rice , cotton and maize, 69, 115133.
http://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2004.04.007