No crop can be grown without being adequately supplied with the requisite amount of water at the proper time. A thorough knowledge of the hydrological cycle, amount and distribution of rainfall, water resources and irrigation projects in India facilitates efficient utilization of water for crop production. Inadequate supply of water to crops in semi-arid and arid regions adversely affects agricultural production. Properties of water, the mode of its entry into the soil and its absorption by roots of crops are important for irrigation. This necessitates accurate determination of the soil moisture content, the plants and available water which is essential for growth and yield of crops. Its deficiency adversely affects their growth and yield. Irrigation must be extended to unirrigated areas in order to increase the production of food, fibre and fodder for which we must know the source of irrigation water, units and methods of measurement of water, methods of irrigating crop fields, factors affecting the choice of irrigation methods, the degree of the suitability of the available water for irrigating crops and the factors affecting the suitability of water for irrigation. As water is a relatively scarce commodity, we must know whether water of a little inferior quality can be utilized to irrigate crops. In addition, we must be familiar with the precautions which need to be taken in this regard. The accumulation of excess water in the soils of the crop fields affects the growth of crops adversely enough to reduce their yields. Choice of the method of land drainage varies with the variation in the topography of the land. It is also necessary to rectify the causes of waterlogging to bring the waterlogged land back under the plough to increase agricultural production. This necessitates drainage investigation and laying out of the proper drainage system. Water requirement of crops depends on the climate and the crop. More water is required to produce crops in the arid region than in the humid region. Crops like paddy and sugar cane require much larger amount of water than finger millet and pearl millet. The book extensively deals with all these aspects related to soil and crop production and suggests measures to enhance productivity through water conservation and proper management of water resources. It will be highly useful for the students, teachers and researchers working in this field. Besides, agriculturists and general readers will also find it useful and informative.

Table of Contents:
1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 General Information about the Water Demand 1.2 History of Irrigation 1.3 Hydrological Cycle 1.4 Rainfall in India 1.5 Water Resource of India and its Irrigation Projects 1.6 Place of Water in World Agriculture 1.7 Place of Water in Indian Agriculture 2. SOIL-WATER SYSTEM 2.1 Role of Water in Plant Growth and Yield of Crops 2.2 Water Molecules—Their Structure and Dissociation 2.3 Surface Tension and Capillarity 2.4 Energy Concept of Soil Water 2.5 Tensiometer Method of Measuring Soil-Moisture Tension 2.6 Movement of Water in the Saturated Soil 2.7 Movement of Water in the Unsaturated Soil 2.8 Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum (SPCA) 2.9 Water Balance 2.10 Permeability (Hydraulic Conductivity) 2.11 Determination of Soil Moisture Content 2.12 Infiltration 2.13 Field Capacity 2.14 Moisture Equivalent 2.15 Wilting Coefficient 2.16 Plant Available Water 2.17 Soil-Moisture Stress and Plant Growth 3. LAND IRRIGABILITY ASSESSMENT 3.1 Necessity of Land Irrigability Survey 3.2 Irrigation Soil Survey 3.3 Soil Irrigability Classes 3.4 Land Irrigability Classes 3.5 Mapping Units for Land Irrigability Survey 4. IRRIGATION 4.1 Sources of Irrigation Water 4.2 Categorization of Irrigation Schemes 4.3 Units of Measurement of Water 4.4 Irrigation Water Measurement Methods 4.5 Duty of Water 4.6 Types of Irrigation 4.7 Uncontrolled vs Controlled Flooding 4.8 Border Strip Irrigation 4.9 Check Basin Irrigation 4.10 Furrow Irrigation 4.11 Sub-Irrigation 4.12 Sprinkler Irrigation 4.13 Drip or Trickle Irrigation 4.14 Alignment of Field Channels 4.15 Irrigation Efficiency 4.16 Suitability of Water for Irrigation 4.17 Use of Saline Water for Crop Production 5. DRAINAGE 5.1 Adverse Effect of Excess Water on Soil and Crop Growth 5.2 Irrigation-Drainage Interrelationship 5.3 Water Logging Problems in India 5.4 Causes of Water Logging in India 5.5 Action Taken to Prevent Water Logging in India 5.6 Drainage Investigation 5.7 Beneficial Effects of Drainage 5.8 Adverse Effects of Excessive Drainage of Fields 5.9 Surface Drainage System 5.10 Sub-surface Drainage System 5.11 Tile Drainage System 5.12 Other Drainage Systems 6. WATER REQUIREMENT OF CROPS 6.1 A Few Terms Relevant to Water Requirement 6.2 Estimation of Potential Evapotranspiration from Climatological Data 6.3 Use of Evaporation Data to Estimate Evapotranspiration/Consumptive Use of Water by Crops 6.4 Measurement of Evapotranspiration/Consumptive Use 6.5 Factors Affecting Water Requirement of Crops 6.6 Irrigation Scheduling 6.7 Growth Stages of Crops 6.8 Irrigation Schedule for Paddy 6.9 Irrigation Schedule for Wheat 6.10 Irrigation Schedule for Sorghum 6.11 Irigation Schedule for Maize 6.12 Irrigation Schedule for Barley 6.13 Irrigation Schedule for Pearl Millet 6.14 Irrigation Schedule for Finger Millet 6.15 Irrigation Schedule for Gram (Chick Pea) 6.16 Irrigation Schedule for Pigeon Pea 6.17 Irrigation Schedule for Green Gram 6.18 Irrigation Schedule for Sugarcane 6.19 Irrigation Schedule for Groundnut (Peanut) 6.20 Irrigation Schedule for Mustard 6.21 Irrigation Schedule for Cotton 6.22 Irrigation Schedule for Potato 6.23 Irrigation Schedule for Onion 6.24 Irrigation Schedule for Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) 6.25 Irrigation Schedule for Cauliflower 6.26 Irrigation Schedule for Cabbage 6.27 Cropping Pattern in Relation to Supply of Water 7. DRYLAND AGRONOMY 7.1 History of Research on Dryland Agronomy (India) 7.2 Problems of Dryland Agronomy 7.3 Concept of Dryland Agronomy 7.4 Climate of Dryfarming Districts of India and Crops Grown there 7.5 Dryland Agronomic Practices 7.6 Moisture Conservation 7.7 Water Harvesting 7.8 Tailoring New Varieties to Dry Regions 7.9 Execution of Dryland Farming Schemes Author Index Subject Index