Canal Command Research Articles

Feasibility of Controlled Drainage in Saline Vertisols of TBP Command Area of Karnataka, India

AbstractSubsurface drainage (SSD) improves crop productivity in canal command areas suffering from waterlogging and salinity problems. However, excessive drainage of paddy fields under conventional SSD is known to cause irrigation water shortage during critical growth stages of rice and also results in excessive leaching of nitrogenous fertilizers particularly at the tail end of the irrigation command. To overcome these problems farmers of the Tungabhadra Project (TBP) irrigation command used to block the outlets of lateral drains of the SSD system. In order to provide a lasting solution to this problem through a controlled drainage approach, a comparative field study was conducted on clay loam soil at the Agricultural Research Station (ARS), Gangavathi, over four seasons. In general, there was a reduction in drain discharge depth of 64% in the case of controlled drainage over conventional SSD, with an average irrigation water saving of about 17%. Average nitrogen loss was also reduced by 50.4% compared to conventional drainage. Paddy grain yield improvement was slightly higher (from 3.84 to 5.14 t ha−1) for conventional compared to controlled conditions (3.76–4.83 t ha−1). © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Analysis of impact of Canal Irrigation on Waterlogged areas and Environment using Geo-informatics Technology in Gujarat State

The present study was carried out in Mahi Canal Command area in Vadodara district for monitoring the environmental impact of water logging and salinity on agriculture using Multi-temporal Remote Sensing data of past 15-years. The Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (Resourcesat-1) LISS-III, LISS-IV and Landsat TM data of 2000, 2006, 2010 and 2016 covering study area was analyzed for mapping waterlogged and salt-affected areas. The data from open-well observations was also collected to monitor the impact of canal irrigation on water-table and in turn on water-logging in the study area. The point measurements of open-well data were used to generate spatial distribution maps using Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) Interpolation technique and these were superimposed on Satellite data. The waterlogged and salt-affected areas delineated using Remote sensing data was validated by carrying out detailed field survey as well as spatial IDW layers of water-table in the study area. The results of analysis of agricultural area indicate that agricultural area has substantially increased due to introduction of canal irrigation which has helped to improve socio-economic condition of the farmers in the Vaghodia taluka. Agricultural area of medium and dense categories has increased during 2000 to 2016 accounting an increase from 12% to 26% in case of medium and 6.9% to 20% in dense agriculture, respectively. The water table in some of the villages in the study area has slightly come up during the period of last 15-years and at most predominantly after introduction of canal irrigation but it is much below to cause any water logging problem. However, it was also observed that waterlogged and salt-affected areas have decreased over the period of one decade due to augmentation of drainage system in the study area.

Dynamic trend of land degradation/restoration along Indira Gandhi Canal command area in Jaisalmer District, Rajasthan, India: a case study

Land cover is a crucial component in assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services. In arid regions, land cover is mostly composed of aeolian structures which exhibit fragile environmental scenario. The major challenge in this highly dynamic landscape was conversion of desertic land to intensive land use such as agricultural farmlands. To overcome this challenge Indira Gandhi Canal (IGC) and its branches were extended over this district. The main interest of this research was to investigate net primary productivity (NPP) changes using multi-temporal satellite imagery and meteorological datasets within the timeframe of 30 years from 1982 to 2012 over this region. This study was taken up to assess the impact of canal in and around IGC command area in Jaisalmer District to understand the consequence on desertic environment. Analysis of three decades terrestrial NPP over IGC command area in Jaisalmer District, India, shows significant increase in NPP. The satellite data-based analysis of NPP as well as validation with the optical data in the study region revealed that this increasing trend in NPP is basically associated to increase in canal networks. The water supply from the canal gradually led to expansion of irrigation in the agricultural fields leading to change in dynamics of the area. This systematic and long-term NPP analysis will be useful to strengthen our understanding for the role of regional land cover types and impact of their change in the national and global carbon cycle for understanding land degradation and desertification scenario in the study area.

IMPACT OF CANAL RESTRUCTURING ON AGRICULTURAL LAND USE IN 23 DOWN HAIDERGARH CANAL COMMAND SYSTEM, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA

Abstract. The 23 Down Haidergarh Canal command system of Uttar Pradesh is situated in Indo-Gangetic Plain of India. It has huge potential of crop productivity. The canal system was unlined; due to which a huge amount of water waste as seepage, which results, waterlogging and sodic land development. This leads reduction in the productivity of crop land. To overcome with this problem government started the restructuring/lining of canal in 23 Down Haidergarh canal command system.The present study was an attempt to find out the changes in agricultural land of rabi season because during rabi season canal is important source of irrigation in 23 Down Haidergarh canal command system. Remote sensing and GIS techniques were used to monitor the changes after the restructuring of canal system. The LISS-III data (Linear Imaging Self-Scanner) of Rabi season for the year 2011–12 and 2017–18 was used for mapping of agricultural land use changes in rabi season for 23 Down Haidergarh canal command system. This study is useful to find out the change in agricultural land after the restructuring of canal command system.

Study on irrigation water quality in some minor lift irrigation schemes and its impact on soil characteristics

The quality parameters of irrigation water in some minor lift irrigation schemes on Bhor nallah, Chatha farm at Gidergalion were evaluated and their impacts on soil characteristics in the fringe areas of Ranvir canal and non command were studied. Irrigation water samples at monthly intervals were collected and analyzed for pH, Electrical conductivity (EC), Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), Magnesium Hazards (MH) and Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC) by following standard methods. The soil samples from the concern command and adjoining areas (non command) were also collected and analyzed for important physico chemical properties and available nutrients as per standard procedures. Results revealed that majority of water samples collected from minor lift irrigation schemes on Bhor and Balal nallahs containing municipal/industrial waste was under high salinity-low SAR category, whereas water samples of Ranbir Canal at Gidergalian falls under medium salinity-low SAR. The soil characteristics viz. pH, EC, OC and available N, P and K were higher in command soils of Bhor and Chatha as compared to non command soils of Gidergalian and Dharap.

Soil salinity and land use-land cover interactions with soil carbon in a salt-affected irrigation canal command of Indo-Gangetic plain

Soil salinity poses a threat to the sustainable management of agricultural landscapes and has an effect on soil carbon storage. This study investigated land use-land cover (LULC) relations with soil organic carbon (C) in a salinity-infested landscape with inter-spun vegetated and non-vegetated land area. A sodicity infested command area (~100 ha) along Sharda Sahayak canal in Uttar Pradesh, India was selected for studying LULC effects on soil organic carbon (C) and soil properties to 60 cm soil depth. The area was divided in a grid of 100 m × 100 m, and soils were sampled and analyzed at 140 geo-referenced points representing five LULC classes. The LULC dominant in the representative area were barren-coverless (BC), barren-grass cover (BG), rice-fallow (RF), rice-wheat (RW), and rice-okra-mentha (ROM). Soil organic C decreased with depth, decreased with increase in soil pH, and decreased with an increase in exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP). The effects were highly significant in surface layers (0–0.3 m). Similarly with electrical conductivity (EC) too, soil organic C had a negative correlation. Soil organic C varied significantly with LULC. The soil organic C content decreased in the order: ROM > RW > RF > BG > BC. As the intensity of crop/plant cover increased, the soil salinity (ESP, pH and EC) decreased. The average soil ESP was maximum in BC (44%) followed by BG (30%), RF (15%), RW (8.5%), and ROM (7.0%). The cumulative probability trends indicated the probability of lesser ESP with increased vegetative cover/primary productivity. A strong (p < 0.001), a negative relationship was observed between soil organic C and pH in rice-based systems. Analysis of soil organic C stock with depth for the studied LULCs indicated 4–70% (grass cover to rice-wheat cropping sequence) increase in total soil organic C stock just by supporting vegetative cover on barren sodic land. The study was indicative of scope for soil C sequestration and reclamative effects in salt-affected areas of Indo-Gangetic region by adopting appropriate land use strategies, which may include the adoption of rice-based and grass-based cropping systems, to check the development of sodicity in soils.

To Develop a Crop Water Allocation Model for Optimal Water Allocation in the Warabandi Irrigation System

The water allowance for canal systems of Pakistan was designed considering the average values of cropping intensity and irrigation area. However, water allowances would be different if estimated on the basis of real cropping intensities, cropping pattern and actual evapotranspiration. This inequity of water allocation results in decreased agricultural production. Hence, optimal water allowances for given canal commands need to be developed to maximize the efficiency of the existing irrigation system. Therefore, present study aims to assess the difference between the available water supplies and those required on the basis of real field conditions. Crop Water Allocation Model has been used for this purpose. Discharge at the head of each watercourse was predicted on the basis of the actual evapotranspiration, cropping patterns, cropping intensity, the number of days of canal flows in a year and the irrigation efficiency. The predicted optimal water requirements and the design flow rate were also compared for Kasur minor and found that 59 watercourses out of 61 require less water for optimal operation than the designed flow rate. Only two watercourses require more water for optimal conditions than the designed flow rate. Sensitivity and scenario analysis were also performed to evaluate the impact of different agricultural and climatological parameters on the reference crop evapotranspiration and design discharges.

Probability analysis of annual rainfall and identification of deficit rainfall in left bank canal command of upper Bhima basin of Maharashtra

Probability analysis of annual rainfall and identification of deficit rainfall in left bank canal command of upper Bhima basin of Maharashtra

EVAPOTRANSPIRATION ESTIMATION USING SSEBop METHOD WITH SENTINEL -2 AND LANDSAT-8 DATA SET

Abstract. Estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) parameters is essential for understanding crop water requirements and to find out the ground water recharge. In situ data collection procedures are generally adopted to measure the parameters required to find ET. Latest remote sensing technologies accompanied by newly launched satellite datasets can supplement the field data collection and analysis by finding out some of the parameters such as land surface temperature, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), albedo, emissivity, etc. The Upper Ganga Canal Command Area (UGC) lying between two rivers Ganga and Yamuna situated between two states, namely Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh in North India is selected as the study area for this research work. Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop) method is used to derive high resolution (10m) ET map for the Upper Ganga Canal Command Area. Sentinel-2 multi spectral images were used to derive land use, land cover (LU/LC) maps, NDVI, albedo, etc. Downscaled Landsat 8 images were used to derive land surface temperature of the command area. Meteorological data retrieved from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) was used to calculate reference evapotranspiration. ET map of the study area was generated using the above estimated parameters. Further, validation of the obtained ET values was accomplished by gridded ET data obtained from IMD.

Analysis of trends in rainfall and dry/wet years over a century in the Eastern Ganga Canal command

In the present study, an attempt has been made to analyse the variability and trends in annual and seasonal rainfall over the Eastern Ganga Canal command area, India. To determine the trend in annual/seasonal rainfall and rainy days, the non‐parametric Mann−Kendall test and Sen's slope method were used over daily gridded rainfall for the time period 1901–2012. The results of the trend analysis revealed a decreasing trend in annual and monsoon rainfall in the range 18.5−61.7 and 19.4−56.7 mm/decade, respectively. For annual and monsoon rainy days, the results demonstrated a decreasing trend which varied from 1.8 to 2.9 and 1.4 to 2.2 days/decade, respectively, and an increasing trend in the range 0.2−1.4 and 1.0 days/decade, respectively. A variability analysis was performed to highlight the need for selecting an appropriate confidence level in trend analysis. It was observed that the grids showing a statistically non‐significant trend at the 95% confidence level exhibit a statistically significant trend at lower confidence levels. An analysis of dry and wet years on an annual scale revealed that the chances of occurrence of a wet year are more in comparison with the chances of occurrence of a dry year in the command area by a ratio of 14:13. However, data from the last one and a half decades has a contradictory trend with higher chances of occurrence of a dry year to very minimal chances of occurrence of a wet year. Dependable rainfall at various probability levels was estimated using a gamma distribution function. It was observed that the 75% dependable weighted annual and seasonal rainfall over the command area (985.48 and 727.54 mm) was significantly different with respect to the climatic mean weighted annual and seasonal rainfall against the weighted mean annual and seasonal rainfall (1,165.93 and 901.95 mm).

Canal Commands and Rising Inequity

Public sector irrigation is rapidly changing in India, and the state of Maharashtra is no exception to this. Public sector irrigation projects that were designed independently of groundwater are increasingly being used to harness ground- water. This has been a gradual ongoing process which has shifted benefits from public to private. Increasing use of groundwater in canal commands has huge implications for equity, both in terms of direct access to water and decision-making in its use and allocation, and also indirectly, in terms of changing land and labour relations. Changing discourse in the water policy, prioritising the private over public interests is contributing substantially to these inequities. Without wanting to suggest that water inequities are an outcome of the present neoliberal framework alone, this article reflects the concern that the neo-liberal language has become dominant in steering water policies and programmes that hold implications for water access, allocations and decision-making. This article uses examples from canal irrigation projects in Maharashtra and the emerging policies around its governance to highlight the increasing privatisation of a public resource.

SaltMod estimation of root-zone salinity Varadarajan and Purandara Application of SaltMod to estimate root-zone salinity in a command area

Abstract Waterlogging and salinity are the common features associated with many of the irrigation commands of surface water projects. This study aims to estimate the root zone salinity of the left and right bank canal commands of Ghataprabha irrigation command, Karnataka, India. The hydro-salinity model SaltMod was applied to selected agriculture plots at Gokak, Mudhol, Biligi and Bagalkot taluks for the prediction of root-zone salinity and leaching efficiency. The model simulated the soil-profile salinity for 20 years with and without subsurface drainage. The salinity level shows a decline with an increase of leaching efficiency. The leaching efficiency of 0.2 shows the best match with the actual efficiency under adequate drainage conditions. The model shows a steady increase, reaching the levels up to 8.0 decisiemens/metre (dS/m) to 10.6 dS/m at the end of the 20-year period under no drainage. If suitable drainage system is not provided, the area will further get salinised, thus making the land uncultivable. We conclude from the present study that it is necessary to provide proper drainage facilities to control the salinity levels in the study area.

Study of the Hydraulic Parameters of Existing Water Storage Structures in Bhakra Main Canal Command Area of Sirsa District, Haryana

Balancing reservoirs are extensive kind of water storage structures. They ensure the adequate quantity of water availability to fulfill the demand and maintain water quality. The major hydraulic parameters of the tank are length, width, depth, side slope, surface area and storage capacity. In this study, information about hydraulic parameters of 109 existing balancing reservoirs was collected from various sources. The storage capacity of the balancing reservoir is important for the efficient operation of the water supply system. The balancing reservoir should be large enough to store sufficient water to meet both average and peak daily demands of the crop. In the present study, balancing reservoirs of different sizes and shapes were found existing in the farmers’ fields. Trapezoidal shaped tanks having a geometrical advantage over other shaped tanks can be constructed. Mostly, the B-category tanks (size between 50-100 m2) existed in research areas and these were based on the size of landholding. Water storage through the tank is considered as an efficient tool because it improves crop productivity and minimizes risk uncertainties.

ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACT OF CAPACITY BUILDING, INDIA

AbstractClimate change adversely affects the determinants of agriculture. Adaptation serves as an important strategy to reduce the adverse effects of climate change (variability) and vulnerability of the people. Adaptation through an innovation programme was implemented for 4 years during 2012–2016 to improve the adaptive capacity in agriculture and the water sectors through capacity building and implementation in the Krishna River Basin, India. Primary data were collected from 178 farm households of the Nagarjuna Sagar Project command area covering both adopters and non‐adopters of water‐saving interventions from the study area. The double difference method was used to analyse the impact of adaptation through capacity building and implementation. The water‐saving interventions include alternate wetting and drying (AWD) in rice, a modified system of rice intensification (MSRI) and direct seeding of rice (DSR). The capacity building and water saving increased crop yields by 0.96, 0.93 and 0.77 t ha−1 through AWD, MSRI and DSR respectively. The three practices have increased farmers’ income and decreased the cost of cultivation in DSR by Rs.11 000 (US$169) ha−1. The methods can be more focused in canal commands on a larger scale for equal distribution of water to all the head, middle and tail‐end regions. © 2018 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Socio-hydrological assessment of water security in canal irrigation systems: A conjoint quantitative analysis of equity and reliability

This paper offers a socio-hydrological assessment of water security that compares canal irrigation entitlements with water deliveries using a conjoint analysis of system reliability and equity. We develop a set of definitions and metrics to quantitatively characterize reliability and equity using newly available datasets of 10-daily canal deliveries from 2007–2017 in the Punjab canal command areas in the Indus Basin Irrigation System of Pakistan, where emphasis has shifted from distributing historically-defined volumetric supplies to improving irrigation efficiencies and crop yields in order to achieve greater aggregate water and food security. Our analysis reveals stagnation and oscillation over time in system-level equity and reliability. We reflect on the potential to positively affect canal irrigation performance and water security through a socio-hydrological approach.

Impact of Climate Shift on Rainfall and Temperature Trend in Eastern Ganga Canal Command

Impact of Climate Shift on Rainfall and Temperature Trend in Eastern Ganga Canal Command

Evaluation of the Impact of Water Management Technologies on Water Savings in the Lower Chenab Canal Command Area, Indus River Basin

Traditional irrigation practices, low crop productivity, unlevelled fields, water losses taking place during conveyance and application phases, as well as low irrigation efficiencies are the main problems of the common farmers in Pakistan. These problems are more noticeable in the command area of Lower Chenab Canal (LCC), which is the main portion of the Indus Basin Project in Pakistan. To overcome these problems, different water management technologies such as precision land levelling (PLL), bed planting, drip irrigation systems, and watercourse improvement were introduced to farmers to increase water savings and crop yields in the area of five distributaries—Khurrianwala, Shahkot, Mungi, Khikhi, Killianwala and Dijkot—during the cropping seasons of 2008 to 2015. The use of drip irrigation resulted in savings of water and fertilizer and increased the crop yields by 30–40%. Three watercourses, one on each site of 1200 m in length, were lined, which resulted in improved conveyance efficiency of 15–20%. If wheat, rice and cotton in the command area of LCC are sown on precisely levelled fields and on beds, then about 2768.1 million m3 and 3699.3 million m3 of irrigation water can be saved. These results show the potential of water-efficient technologies for saving water as well as increasing crop yields.

Optimal cropping pattern design for a major distributary of Hirakud canal command in India

Gravity flow on field to field flooding basis is prevalent in most of the canal command areas in India. Furthermore, the canals being mostly unlined and at many sections ill maintained, enormous conveyance loss of water occurs causing dwindling crop production. Hirakud canal command area located in India is no exception to this predicament. Thus, augmentation of irrigation infrastructures vis-a-vis prudent crop planning is of paramount importance for increasing the overall efficiency of the canal system. This paper describes development of optimal crop planning in the Hirakud command area by considering different objectives of planning (scenarios) so that improvement in irrigation efficiency, in terms of water productivity could be feasible. Among various scenarios, the cropping pattern obtained under Scenario—II, i.e. to utilize the maximum area for cultivation, under the constraint of limiting water availability for each outlet was found to be feasible for optimal land and water utilization and generation of requisite employment. However, keeping in view the affinity of the farmers towards paddy (a heavy duty crop), Scenario—III i.e. to utilize the maximum area for cultivation with the constraints of limited irrigation water availability, and providing irrigation to heavy duty crops for at least one-third of the culturable command area of each outlet, can be adopted.

Assessing the accuracy of GIS-based Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis approaches for mapping groundwater potential

Groundwater is the most important natural resource for reliable and sustainable water supplies throughout the world. However, the over-exploitation of groundwater has led to groundwater depletion over the world. Sustainable development and management of this vital resource under changing environmental conditions is the one of the major challenges of the 21st century. To this end, this study focuses on the evaluation of groundwater prospect following an integrated multi-criteria analysis and geospatial approach. GIS-based Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) techniques viz., Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Catastrophe theory were used for delineating groundwater potential zones in a Canal Command of Eastern India. Thematic layers (maps depicting features of the factors influencing groundwater) such as ‘runoff coefficient’, ‘drainage density’, ‘geology’, ‘slope’ and ‘proximity to surface water bodies’ were considered in this study. Weights were assigned to the themes and their features according to AHP and Catastrophe theories. Thereafter, the themes were integrated in GIS to yield groundwater potential maps based on AHP and Catastrophe techniques. The AHP-based groundwater potential map revealed four zones with varying areal coverage: (a) ‘very good’ (19% of the study area), (b) ‘good’ (49%), (c) ‘moderate’ (28%), and (d) ‘poor’ (4%). On the other hand, the Catastrophe-based map indicated spatial variation of groundwater potential as: (a) ‘very good’ (14% of the area), (b) ‘good’ (63%), (c) ‘moderate’ (19%), and (d) ‘poor’ (5%). Thus, both the techniques indicated good groundwater potential in the study area. The validation of the results of these GIS-based MCDA techniques indicated that although both the techniques are suitable for mapping groundwater potential with a reasonably high accuracy (82% for the AHP technique and 74% for the Catastrophe technique), the performance of the AHP technique is somewhat superior to the Catastrophe technique. The findings of this study are very useful to the water managers for cost-effective and efficient planning and development of scarce groundwater resources so as to ensure sustainable water supply in the future.

Influence of climate variables on FAO Penman–Monteith reference evapotranspiration in the Upper Chenab Canal command area of Pakistan

Examining the changing trends of climatic variables, along with their respective influences identified by conventional sensitivity analysis, could play a decisive role in distinguishing the prominent variables controlling evapotranspiration variations over time. The trends of climatic variables, their influences, and subsequent contributions to FAO Penman–Monteith reference evapotranspiration (ETo) were systematically analysed for the command area of the Upper Chenab Canal, Pakistan, from 1980 to 2012. The nonparametric Mann–Kendall test was employed for trend detection, and ETo sensitivity to climatic variables was quantified via sensitivity coefficients. A significant overall increase in maximum temperature (Tmax) and minimum temperature (Tmin), a significant decrease in sunshine hours (n) and net solar radiation (Rn), and a non-significant decrease in relative humidity (RH) and wind speed (u2) resulted in a slight decrease in ETo. ETo was highly sensitive to Rn, followed by Tmax, n, Tmin, RH, and u2. The highly influential Rn and the comparatively less influential n, Tmin, and u2 appeared to be the active factors controlling the ETo fluctuations. Rn and n contributed to downward trends in ETo in the study area, whereas u2 and Tmin contributed to upward trends. The contributions of Tmax, despite being the second-most influential variable, to ETo variations were not prominent. RH had negligible impact on ETo, as it was least influential and showed non-significant variations.