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Describe eight ways that may be used in Mwea irrigation scheme to promote water savings for the farmers.

Describe eight ways that may be used in Mwea irrigation scheme to promote water savings for the farmers.

Answers

Jim
1.Efficiency: If we can reduce conveyance and distribution losses through improved maintenance of canals. We can also reduce the amount of water drained.
2.Seepage losses: these can be reduced by avoid the disturbance of the hard pan. The hard pan is a layer of soil just below the root zone which when properly compacted can reduce water loss through deep percolation. The lowest infiltration occurs in clay soils.
3.Saturation and rotavation water needs: This period require the highest water needs. If we can reduce these needs we can plant more land with the same amount of water.
4.Weed control: A lot of water is used (flooding) in the first three weeks for nursery establishment. This is reduced by having one nursery for each four plots instead of four different nurseries since this will require flooding all four plots. However we must flood even the other plots for at least two weeks in order to kill weed seeds. If we can use herbicides to control weeds we might save on two weeks of water. Also if we can have communal nurseries we might save even more water.
5.Early drainage: If we shift the last drainage to about six weeks before harvesting we will save water. However this might suppress yields.
Other possibilities for water saving
6.The possibility of re-scheduling the whole growth period in order to capture more natural waters (rain) can be considered. This has to consider other negative issues.
7.Early maturing varieties can be tried provided yield is not compromised.
8.Water drained from one field can be re-used in other field down the scheme although this might introduce contamination from one field to the other.

jim items answered the question on October 5, 2018 at 07:52

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