Abstract
Crop water requirements of crops in agro-ecological units (AEUs) of Palakkad district of humid tropical Kerala computed with CROPWAT 8.0 using the meteorological parameters.The major cultivated crops are rice, coconut, banana, arecanut, vegetables, pulses, rubber, tea, coffee, cotton etc. The total water requirement for these crops in various agro-ecological zones has been computed. Using the evapotranspiration (ET0) and effective rainfall in each agro-ecological unit (AEU), a climatic water balance has been worked out. The net irrigation demand, the gross irrigation demand and irrigation interval for the various crops grown in different AEUs have been computed. The gross irrigation demand for the district is 1146 Mm3, in which 981 Mm3 is from surface water and 165 Mm3 from groundwater sources. Water balance analysis was done for the current scenario and future demand for agriculture, domestic and industrial demand. The projected future total water demands for irrigation, drinking and industrial purpose will be 3841 Mm3. However, the secondary data showed that utilizable water resources of Palakkad district is less and will create a deficit scenario. This deficit indicates that if the total area is brought under irrigation there will be deficit years and during such periods deficit irrigation or reduction in command area may have to be adopted. A wide spectrum of scenarios has been discussed in the paper along with the guidelines for future management of water resources.
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