Spatial estimation of water requirement in greengram under changing climates of North Interior Karnataka

Abstract

Greengram is one of the major protein rich grain legumes predominately cultivated in North Interior Karnataka (NIK). The study aimed at determining the water requirement of greengram variety DGGV- 2 using CROPWAT model that helps the farmers of NIK consisting of 12 districts in tapping the potential yields of this crop through proper irrigation management. The decadal analysis for 60 years was done under past (1991-2020) and projected climate (2021-2050) as per the recommended practices of UAS, Dharwad across four dates of sowing from 07th June to 28th June at weekly interval. The average crop evapotranspiration (ETc), effective rainfall (ER) and irrigation requirement (IR) under past climates (1991-2020) for NIK were 246, 269.3 and 37.4 mm, respectively. An increase of 26.8 mm in ETc, 21.6 mm in ER and decrease of 0.3 mm in IR were simulated under projected climates. Sowing late i.e., on 28th June under projected climate (2021-2050) simulated the lowest water requirement and irrigation requirement for all the 12 districts of NIK. The spatial distribution of ETc, ER and IR for all the 12 districts of NIK were interpreted under both past and projected climates using ArcGIS software.