Water utilisation and crop production under lift irrigation scheme in Andhra Pradesh

An investigation was carried out to study the water utilisation pattern and its effect on crop production under Amarachinta Lift Irrigations Scheme (LIS) in Mahaboobnagar district of Andhra Pradesh. The study was based on the data collected from the Government Departments and farmers of the selected LIS. Daily water balance model was successfully used to determine the various components of water balance in rice fields. The results show that the daily water release from LIS was more during post- monsoon season (net delivered in field, 1054 mm) as compared to that of monsoon season (833 mm). In post- monsoon season, irrigation application ranged from 1054 mm in the year 2005 to 1141 mm in the year 2004. The study revealed that the command area has increased from 1359 ha (2002) to 1439 ha (2005) as a result, irrigation efficiency increased from 69 to 74 per cent. It was observed that water use efficiency (WUE) during monsoon season in 2005 was 3.854 kg ha-mm⁻¹ and for other years it is found to be between 5 and 5.15 kg (ha-mm)⁻¹. It is further observed that the WUE was 5.11 kg (ha-mm)⁻¹ in post- monsoon season of 2005 and is found to be close to previous years.