Ingénierie des systèmes d’irrigation et de drainage

Performance Evaluation of Field Water Application at Tendaho Sugar Estate, Ethiopia

Abstract

Tadesse Gobena Shonka and Guchie Gullie

Sugarcane is fully irrigated crop in Ethiopia. Open canals are the main systems for supplying irrigation water in sugar farms. However, most of the schemes were frequently criticized for their low conveyance and field water application efficiencies. So far in Tendaho sugar estate; there was no previously done research on the performance evaluation of field water application of the surface irrigation system of furrow irrigation method. As a result, the actual performance of field water application of furrow irrigation of the study area and the level of achievement of the factory not known. This study has done with a purpose of identifying and understanding the current level of field water application efficiencies of Tendaho sugarcane farm using appropriate on-field irrigation performance indicators. Direct field data collection and some secondary data used to answer the planned objectives. Canal conveyance evaluation was done for tertiary canals based on priority of dominant conveyance defects observed in the sugar estate. Field water application evaluations were done during the normal irrigation practice of the sugar estate Tertiary conveyance was evaluated by using volume flow measuring method using Parshall flumes set at inlet and outlet of representative canals. From results, the mean conveyance efficiency of tertiary canal was 59.6% with high amount of water losses and the overall mean on-field water application efficiency of 56.57%, 70.30% storage efficiency and 91.93% distribution uniformity at target application depth