Influence of canal water distribution system on water productivity of selected kharif crops in distributaries of Eastern Yamuna Canal (EYC) command area (original) (raw)

Water productivity of selected kharif season crops in the three distributaries of the Eastern Yamuna Canal Command depended on the conjunctive use of canal and ground water. Present investigations were carried out to assess the effect of water distribution on the productivity of the selected crops as well as the conjunctive use practices being followed in absence of the water in Kharif Season. It was found that in the kharif season water availability was insufficient for transplanting and irrigating paddy in the middle and tail reaches of EYC. As a result, farmers switched over from paddy to sorghum crop, thereby loosing Rs. 3075 and Rs. 3715 per ha in the middle and tail distributaries of EYC, respectively. However, the high conveyance losses resulted into lowering of the conveyance efficiencies of the three distributaries in the range of 43-44 per cent. This indicated that there lies ample scope of increasing the water availability by properly checking the seepage and evaporation ...