Reuse of canal & drainage water in irrigation for wheat crop by using hydrus 2D software - A case study

Reuse of sub surface drainage water in conventional agriculture for growing salt resistant crops is considered a promising option to enhance the availability of water for irrigation, to expand the cultivated area and to reduce the overall problems of water pollution. In arid and semi arid regions areas where irrigation water is in limited quantity and sufficient rainfall is not occurring, the usage of drainage water is an important strategy for supplementing water resources. A finite element model HYDRUS-2D has been applied to simulate salt accumulation and drainage in irrigated croplands in wheat crop at Sampla site in Rohtak district. Efforts have been made to test the possibility of conjunctive use of agricultural sub surface drainage effluent for watering and understand the effect of blending& recycling of fresh water with saline water in different proportionsespecially for wheat crop. The yield of wheat has also been calculated with blended and cyclic use of canal water & drainage water has been estimated and compared. The outcome of the study indicated that the relative yield of wheat crop was obtained as about 80% when blended or cyclic water was applied with canal water. Furthermore, it is expected that the results of case study will be quite useful for other sites having similar conditions in the field.