Abstract:
Application of hydrology to agriculture is found in irrigation, drainage and soil
conservation. The development of irrigation and agricultural water management
technology holds significant potential to improve water productivity. Improper on-farm
irrigation management practices lead to poor water distribution, non-uniform crop growth,
excessive leaching in some areas (leading to waterlogging) and insufficient leaching in
others (leading to salinity buildup), all of which decrease the yield per unit of land area and
also per unit of water applied. Hence, the objective of the study was to improve water and
crop productivity of wheat through the use of the wetting front detector and Chameleon
sensor at the farm level in the Koga irrigation scheme. The research was conducted to
evaluate water saving, yield and water productivity of wheat by using Wetting Front
Detector (WFD) and Chameleon sensor at Chihona, Adibera and Teleta blocks during
2018/2019 irrigation season. For control treatment, 7.5 ha of land, for WFD 6.63ha of land
and for a Chameleon sensor, 8.13 ha of land were managed by 18 farmers six from each
block. The study shows that the Wetting front detector and Chameleon sensor irrigation
water management system can save 6% and 25% water respectively at significant level
p<0.05. The average Water Productivity (WP) of the scheme was 0.64 kg/m3, 0.85 kg/m3
and 0.87kg/m3 for Control group (i.e. traditional irrigation scheduling, based on
experience), WFD and soil moisture sensor (Chameleon) respectively which was
significant at a significant level of p<0.05. Likewise, the average yield of the scheme was
2788 kg/ha, 3220 kg/ha and 3490kg/ha for the Control group (i.e. traditional irrigation
scheduling, based on experience), WFD and soil moisture sensor (Chameleon)
respectively. If all fields in the scheme were guided by WFD, additional land to be irrigated
could be 2080 ha. Similarly, if all fields in the scheme were guided by Chameleon sensor
691 ha of additional land can be irrigated.