Performance of Cost-effective Mini Pan Evaporimeter for Scientific Irrigation Scheduling

N. MANIKANDAN; P.  PANIGRAHI; SANATAN PRADHAN; S.K.  RAUTARAY; G.  KAR; S.K.  AMBAST

doi:10.54894/JISCAR.43.1.2025.164509

Authors

N. MANIKANDAN ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santoshnagar, Hyderabad - 500 059, Telangana, India
P. PANIGRAHI ICAR-Indian Institute of Water Management, Bhubaneswar - 751 023, Odisha, India
SANATAN PRADHAN ICAR-Indian Institute of Water Management, Bhubaneswar - 751 023, Odisha, India
S.K. RAUTARAY ICAR-Indian Institute of Water Management, Bhubaneswar - 751 023, Odisha, India
G. KAR ICAR-Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibers, Barrackpore, Kolkata - 700 120, West Bengal, India
S.K. AMBAST Central Ground Water Board, Faridabad - 121 001, Haryana, India

https://doi.org/10.54894/JISCAR.43.1.2025.164509

Keywords:

Irrigation scheduling, Maize, Mini pan evaporimeter, Rice, Tomato, USWB class A pan, Yield

Abstract

Extensive research has been done to standardise the United States Weather Bureau (USWB) class A pan evaporation based irrigation scheduling in different crops worldwide. However, using the Class A pan evaporimeter for on-farm irrigation scheduling has certain drawbacks, such as its big size, high cost, and maintenance challenges. Additionally, the scarcity of Class A pan evaporation data jeopardises the adoption of this irrigation scheduling technique in farmers’ fields. Keeping this in mind, a low cost, handy and simple mini evaporimeter was developed and tested for irrigation scheduling in different crops at ICAR-Indian Institute Water Management, Bhubaneswar. Evaporation data from mini pan evaporimeters developed using galvanized iron (GI) sheet and PVC pipes with diameters of 10 cm, 20 cm, and 30 cm, and a height of 25 cm, were compared with Class A pan evaporation data. It was observed that the 30 cm GI mini pan had the highest coefficient of determination (R²: 0.86-0.89) with the Class A pan, followed by the 20 cm GI mini pan evaporimeter (R²: 0.80-0.87). Consequently, the performance of mini pan evaporimeters (30 cm and 20 cm GI mini pans) was evaluated for irrigation scheduling in summer (maize), Kharif (rice), and Rabi (tomato) seasons at Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The results revealed that the yield and yield attributes of the crops (maize, rice, and tomato) were not significantly (P>0.05) different under irrigation scheduling using mini pan and Class A pan. Mini pan evaporimeter with a diameter of 30 cm and a height of 25 cm may be recommended for on-farm irrigation scheduling in place of the USWB Class A pan evaporimeter.

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Author Biography

SANATAN PRADHAN, ICAR-Indian Institute of Water Management, Bhubaneswar - 751 023, Odisha, India

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