WATER-USE MANAGEMENT ON CULTIVATOR'S FIELD- (A STUDY OF KANGRA FARMS OF HIMACHAL PRADESH)

The study takes into account three important sources of irrigation viz. Kuhl, lift irrigation and tube-well irrigation. The Blaney Criddle procedure was followed to estimate evapotranspiration to work out month-wise requirements of water for different crops. The analysis showed that crop growth coefficients for paddy and maize were highest during July while for rabi crops it was highest during March and April. The results further indicated that with lift and tube-well irrigation, the water use pattern had become more homogeneous round the year as compared to Kuhl irrigation. During June, May and November the water requirements were higher than water availability on Kuh/ irrigated farms. While on lift irrigation and tube-well irrigated farms, the deficit was highest in June and May respectively. This deficit in water availability was synchronous with critical periods like sowing, transplanting, etc. The study suggests that creation of storage facilities on kuhl irrigated farms, is likely to help in water management practices to a greater extent. Similarly the storage facilities for lift irrigation areas is also required since the ground water availability during summer is greatly restricted