The water demand of some agricultural crops grown in Assam was assessed in this research. To estimate the crop water requirements of potato, chili, and brinjal, the FAO-CROPWAT model was used. The climatic parameters like rainfall, solar radiation, wind speed, sun hours, relative humidity, minimum and maximum temperature were collected for 30 years from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) to estimate the crop water requirement (CWR). The reference evapotranspiration (ETo) was computed by using the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)-recommended Penman-Monteith method and was found to vary from 1.84 mm/day to 4.49 mm/day. The calculated ETo was further used to compute the CWR, the net irrigation requirement (NIR), and the gross irrigation requirement (GIR) to plan for irrigation application during the growing stages of the selected crops. The total CWR of potato, chili, and brinjal was estimated to be 260.6 mm, 262.1 mm, and 274.2 mm, respectively, and the total NIR of potato, chili, and brinjal sowed on the 1st of October was found to be 162.8 mm, 149.0 mm, and 167.2 mm, respectively, with an irrigation efficiency of 70%. In December, the CWR and NIR of potato and brinjal were found to be the highest. The month with the least effective rainfall (8.5 mm) was December. The findings of the study showed that efficient irrigation water management and irrigation scheduling can be achieved by using the CROPWAT model to maximize crop yield and minimize crop water stress.
Keywords: crop water requirement; evapotranspiration; irrigation scheduling; North-East India
*Corresponding author: E-mail: panmeflorence@gmail.com
