AGE 506 IRRIGATION ENGINEERING

Course Lecturer: Dr J.K. Adewumi Dept. of Agricultural Engineering UNAAB. Nigeria

Office Location: Postgraduate Building Email: jkadewumi@yahoo.com

Course Outline

Irrigation principles. Land preparation and farming for irrigation. Surface, sprinkler, trickle, and sub-surface irrigation systems. Design of irrigation systems hydrologic design of small dams. Pumps hydraulic characteristic and selection for varying duties. Irrigation scheduling. Salt problems in irrigated agriculture, leaching and reclamation of saline and alkaline soils.

Course Requirement
A compulsory course for all student in the Department of Agriculture Engineering . Students are expected to participate in all the course activities and have minimum of 75% attendance to be able to write the final examination. They should also participate fully in all practicals.

Reading list
Principles of Irrigation Engineering by

Methods of Irrigation
A.

Surface Irrigation
Wild flooding Border strip Check Basin Furrow

B.

Sub- Irrigation
Natural sub-irrigation (Advantages & disadvantages) Artificial sub-irrigation (Advantages & disadvantages)

C.

Overhead Irrigation
Rotating head systems Perforated pipe system Furrow irrigation

D.

Border Irrigation
Level Border Graded Border

Water Measurement in Open channel

Water measurement in pipes Volume Velocity Orifices Basin Flow Equations A R Hydraulic Radius P Continuity Equation A1V1 A2V2 Q

Darcy-Weibach Equation

hL

flv 2 2 gd

Bernoullis Equation

V1 P V P 1 Y1 2 2 Y1 h 2g W 2g W

Measurement of Irrigation Water

Bucket and watch method Float method Flow from a vertical pipe Flow from a horizontal pipe Discharge from siphon tubes

Frequency and Amount of Irrigation

Methods of Frequency
Meteorological Method for determining CU or ETp for the plant Blaney Criddle method Plant Index method (i) Crop itself (ii) indicator Plant (iii) change in leave colour (iv) Physiological Index Soil Index method (i) Moisture content (ii) Soil potential by tensiometer

(1) (2) (3)

Methods of determining amount of irrigation Tensiometer C.U. Available water moisture

Irrigation Efficiencies
Reservoir Storage Efficiency
Ws = amount of water directed, Wso = amount of water stored

Er = Ws/Wso X 100%,

Water conveyance Efficiency

Ec= Wf/Wr X 100%, Wf = amount of water delivered into farm, Wr = water diverted from reservoir

Water application Efficiency

Ea = Wst/Wf X 100% Where Wst = water stored in root zone ,

Overall Irrigation Efficiency

Ei = Er X Ec X Ea (100%) or Ei = Er/Wd where Wd = water stored or diverted for irrigation

Water distribution Efficiency

Ed = 1 y where d = ave. depth of water stored along run during irrigation, y= ave. numerical deviation from d

Design of Sprinkler system

The following should be considered for design: Area of land Consumptive use of crop Water holding capacity Root zone depth Effective rainfall Water application efficiency Antecedent moisture content Net irrigation requirement Gross irrigation requirement Irrigation frequency Maximum time needed to apply dg (hrs)

Quality of irrigation water

Depends on amount and kind of salt present Total salt concentration Relative proportion Bicarbonate and boron contents Where Q= quality of irrigation water S = soil type P = salt tolerance characteristics of the plant C = climate D= drainage characteristics of the soil

Suitability of irrigation water can be expressed as SIW = f(QSPCD)

Drainage of Agricultural land

Effects of poor drainage on plants and soil Reduces aeration in soil Water-logging Anaerobic decomposition Temperature fluctuation in soil

Factors affecting rate of flow into drains Soil permeability Depth of soil Drain spacing Drain opening Drain diameter Distribution of potential at a flow boundary

Factors affecting erosion by water

Climatic factors Soil characteristics Topography Vegetation Phases of erosion Detachment Transportation Deposition Types of soil movement by wind Suspension Saltation Surface creep

Gully Erosion
Aim of Gully Erosion Control To reduce peak flow rate To provide stable channel Runoff reduction Vegetative control Structures Stages of Gully Development Channel erosion by downward scour of topsoil Upstream movement of gully head Healing stage Stabilization of gully

Terraces
Terracing: An erosion control method Types are: Bench terrace Broad based terrace Functions of terraces To decrease length of hill-side slope To remove or retain runoff rate in area of inadequate rainfall Terrace Design involves: Proper spacing Location of terraces Design of channel with suitable capacity Development of farmable cross-section Terrace Spacing Location Land slope Soil condition Proposed land use Farm roads Fences and outlet

Drainage and Reclamation

Process and practice involved in bringing saline and alkali soils into productive condition
Essentials of reclamation procedures: Determine nature of the soil Degree of salinity or alkalinity Drainage Characteristics Topography of the land Presence of hardpan

Reclamation Procedure
Permanent reclamation Lowering water table (if high) Improving infiltration rate of soil Leaching of salts in saline soils Replacing excessive exchangeable Na by ca salts Suitable management practice Temporary reclamation Removing the salts crust from surface of soil (Biological) Ploughing salt surface-crust (Physical) Neutralizing effects of salts (Chemical) Synergic effects

Class projects
1. Design a channel of rectangular cross-section to carry water at the rate of 0.3m3/s a distance of 5 km if the width is restricted to 1.5 m and the head loss along the length limited to 1 m. Consider lining to be of rough concrete (n= 0.015) Determine the system capacity for a sprinkler irrigation system to irrigate 16ha of maize crop. Design moisture use rate is 5 mm/day. Moisture replaced in soil at each irrigation is 6 cm. Irrigation efficiency is 70%. Irrigation period is 10 days in a 12-day interval. The system is to be operated for 20 hours per day.

2.