Mumbai, July 23: Farmers can potentially save up to 30 per cent of water through a smart irrigation plan, IIT Bombay claimed while citing a joint research with the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune.
Forecast-driven model links rainfall predictions with soil moisture data
Researchers fed weather forecast and soil moisture data into a computer model that checks the possible amount of rain, the soil water capacity, and the water requirements of each crop, IIT Bombay stated.
This computer model can predict the amount of irrigation water needed up to three weeks on a district and sub-district scale, which will help farmers determine the amount of water they can expect through rainfall in the coming weeks and plan their irrigation accordingly. This will aid in crop growth and conserve groundwater, it said.
Pilot in Nashik shows overwatering can be curbed without hurting yields
During a pilot study in Nashik, researchers found that some grape growers used local soil moisture sensors. They irrigated their grape farms if the sensor detected soil dryness; however, it is also observed that if these irrigated farms received rainfall, the water got wasted.
To avoid water wastage in already shrinking groundwater locations, the researchers suggested incorporating weather forecasts.
"During our pilot study in Nashik, we included local weather forecasts in the soil moisture data and showed farmers that groundwater can be conserved up to 30 per cent. We initially predicted up to one week (short-range) ahead," IIT Bombay's Prof Subimal Ghosh said.
Researchers fed weather forecast and soil moisture data into a computer model that checked the possible amount of rainfall, the soil water capacity, and water requirements of crops during this pilot study.
"If the model predicts no rainfall in the coming days, it will suggest irrigating crops now. On the other hand, if the model predicts rainfall that can increase soil moisture, it may suggest avoiding irrigating crops. The findings showed that the grape farms could consume 10 to 30 per cent less water without compromising the yield. This approach prevents over-watering the crops and saves water," he added.
Approach extended to five crops across drought-prone Bankura, Bengal
Later, the researchers extended their experiment to five crop varieties including maize, wheat, sunflower, groundnut, and sugarcane, a combination of cereals, oil seeds, and cash crops, with varied growth patterns and water requirements in 12 sub-districts of Bankura, a drought-prone district in West Bengal.
"Our computer model depicts the natural process by which plants draw water from the soil, their adaptation during water stress, and the response during a water balance after irrigation or rainfall," Ghosh said.
He said that as researchers did not want to make the model very crop-specific, they developed more generalised equations.
Model offers scalable advisory using ecohydrological simulations
"We used a very simple ecohydrological model that employed weather forecasts and soil moisture data, which can be adjusted based on the region and crops," he said, adding that the extended range weather forecasts can help in forecasting district-level water requirements and can assist water management.
To expand this effort to other districts, researchers are planning to discuss with farmers in villages to install a few sensors and develop an advisory system.
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