Question Bank • QB_IDE_ADV_042 NAT • 2 Marks

Section 5: Irrigation and Drainage Engineering

Soil-Water-Plant Relationship

Subtopic: Water requirement of crops

Question Statement:

An agricultural crop with an effective root zone depth of $D = 90.0\text{ cm}$ is cultivated in a sandy clay loam soil. The soil has a field capacity of $FC = 26.0\%$ and a permanent wilting point of $PWP = 12.0\%$ on a dry-weight basis. The dry bulk density of the soil is $\rho_b = 1.45\text{ g/cm}^3$ and density of water is $\rho_w = 1.00\text{ g/cm}^3$. If readily available water ($RAW$) is defined as $60.0\%$ of the total available water capacity ($AWC$), the readily available water depth in millimeters ($\text{mm}$) is ________ (round off to one decimal place).

Answer Key:

109.6

Step-by-Step Solution & Explanation

**Method 1: Volumetric Available Moisture Formulation** 1. Available water capacity ($AWC$) depth in root zone: $AWC = \frac{\rho_b}{\rho_w} \cdot D \cdot (FC - PWP)$ Where: - $\frac{\rho_b}{\rho_w} = 1.45$ - Root zone depth $D = 90.0\text{ cm} = 900.0\text{ mm}$ - $FC - PWP = 0.260 - 0.120 = 0.140$ $AWC = 1.45 \times 900.0\text{ mm} \times 0.140 = 1305.0 \times 0.140 = 182.70\text{ mm}$ 2. Readily available water ($RAW$) at $60.0\%$ allowable depletion: $RAW = 0.60 \times AWC = 0.60 \times 182.70\text{ mm} = 109.62\text{ mm} \approx 109.6\text{ mm}$ **Method 2: Fractional Volumetric Moisture Content** $\theta_{FC} = 1.45 \times 0.26 = 0.377, \quad \theta_{PWP} = 1.45 \times 0.12 = 0.174$ $\Delta \theta = 0.377 - 0.174 = 0.203$ $AWC = 0.203 \times 900.0\text{ mm} = 182.7\text{ mm}$ $RAW = 0.60 \times 182.7 = 109.62\text{ mm} \approx 109.6\text{ mm}$
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