Spatial prediction of crop water requirement under evapotranspiration-based irrigation management: a case study in the Tropic of Cancer zone of India

Abstract

Advances in information and communication technology facilitate the application of complex models for optimising agricultural water management. This study uses meteorological parameters to estimate the volume of water required to grow crops in the Bhilai region of the state of Chhattisgarh in India. Using the dual crop coefficient approach and remote sensing imagery, this study provides an easy-to-use method that can be employed to determine the water demand for crops. This research aims to estimate the ET of rice crops in the Bhilai region using the decision support software package and geographical information system techniques. Landsat8 satellite images acquired at different seasons were used to determine the normalised difference vegetation index, and ET was calculated to analyse the crop water requirements for each month during different crop seasons. Preliminary results have shown that the demand for water varies between cultivated rice fields with different soil types and land use capabilities.