FAO CROPWAT Model-Based Irrigation Requirements for Coconut to Improve Crop and Water Productivity in Kerala, India

U. Surendran, C. M. Sushanth, E. J. Joseph, Nadhir Al-Ansari and Zaher Mundher Yaseen
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U. Surendran: Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM), Kozhikode 673571, Kerala, India
C. M. Sushanth: Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM), Kozhikode 673571, Kerala, India
E. J. Joseph: Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM), Kozhikode 673571, Kerala, India
Nadhir Al-Ansari: Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Lulea University of Technology, 97187 Lulea, Sweden
Zaher Mundher Yaseen: Sustainable Developments in Civil Engineering Research Group, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 18, 1-15

Abstract: The irrigation requirements for coconut in Kerala are general in nature. This study determined the irrigation requirements for coconut, using CROPWAT based on agro-ecological zones (AEZs) for proposing the recommendations. The irrigation recommendations are generated based on the climatic, soil, and crop characteristics. The results showed that the irrigation requirements varied with the locations. Overall, for the state of Kerala, the irrigation requirements varied from 350 to 900 L of water per coconut palm, with the irrigation intervals ranging from three to nine days based on the AEZs. Moreover, this study also confirmed the variation of the water requirements observed within the districts. The quantity of water required per palm varied between 115 to 200 liters per day (LPD) per palm, which is lower than the existing recommendations of 175 to 300 LPD per palm. The proposed irrigation requirements appraised with the presently followed recommendations of the Kerala state, and its advantages discussed for improving the crop and water productivity. In nutshell, if the current recommendation is adopted, 30% of the water used for irrigation can be saved, as well as leading to an improvement in crop production.

Keywords: water requirement; irrigation scheduling; water saving; agro-ecological zone (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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