| Biography | |
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 Prof. T. B. S. Rajput ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, India |
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| Title: Development of a Decision Support System for Designing Micro Irrigation Systems | |
| Abstract:
Micro irrigation is one of the latest innovations in irrigation which provides for precise water application in agriculture. It allows an efficient watering by supplying required quantity of water at small rates and near the plant roots. Although, computer technology has revolutionized in many fields but its use in agriculture has been limited. Different sectors in agriculture offer good scope for application of computer technology. For example, in the field of irrigation, there is a need of user friendly and interactive software for designing efficient micro irrigation systems taking into account the local soil, crop, water and climatic conditions. A Decision Support System- for designing efficient Micro Irrigation Systems namely DSS-DOMIS was developed to fill the gap and a step to support the digital India initiative and per drop more crop goals of the Government of India.
DSS-DOMIS is capable of designing drip Irrigation, Sprinkler Irrigation and Micro Sprinkler irrigation systems .As a part of the decision support mechanism, the DSS provides expert opinion and necessary data on crops, soil, water and climate as default options with a provision of change if the user so desires. DSS-DOMIS suggests most optimal lay out plans for main, sub-main and lateral pipes. It determines the appropriate sizes of different components including main, sub main and lateral pipes, pumping system, filters and fertilizer application systems, In the DSS standard procedures are adopted for estimation of water requirements of plants based on the agro climatic data, possible shifts per day and available total time of irrigation. DSS also provides an estimate of the costs of the designed system. The developed DSS has been seamlessly integrated into a user-friendly interface implemented in the open source programming languages i.e PHP, MySQL. It runs in Apache server uses rich database with information on crops, soil climatic data, Micro irrigation equipment’s as well as, source and quality of water.
The web based system, developed on scientifically accepted software algorithms with richness of information and expert opinions, flexibility and simplicity of use make the DSS DOMIS a superior tool for designing micro irrigation systems with a view to enhance water productivity in agriculture. The developed DSS was tested by 22 Precision Farming Development Centres in the country for their local soil-crop-water-climate conditions. The decision support system will be useful for farmers, researchers and policy makers. The DSS - DOMIS is a copyright software and very soon it will be available on web for all the users within the country. Outside the country the DSS can be used with a set of specific inputs, default options will however not be available.
Besides the design of micro irrigation systems, the DSS provides complete list of concerned State and district officials, approved micro irrigation system suppliers and the general information about the district, different Government schemes,, their implementing agencies as a ready reference for the user.
KEYWORDS: Micro Irrigation System Design, Decision Support System, Precision Farming, DOMIS
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| Biography:
Dr. T.B.S. Rajput earned a Doctorate degree in Soil and Water Conservation Engineering (Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-1985) after Graduation in Agricultural Engineering from GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology Pantnagar- 1973 and Post Graduation in Soil and water Conservation Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur-1976 and has over 40 years of experience of Research, Post Graduate teaching and Training of professionals at different levels in the field of agricultural water management. Dr. Rajput joined Water Technology Centre as a Scientist through the first batch of Agricultural Research Service in 1976 and continued till his superannuation on December 2013 at the Centre in different capacities, including that of its Project Director. Currently he is working as an Emeritus Scientist at the Centre.
Dr T. B. S. Rajput has contributed significantly in the field of agricultural water management in general and pressurized irrigation systems in particular. Dr T. B. S. Rajput has made outstanding contributions in both, hardware as well as software aspects of irrigation water management. His major contributions include development of canal operation policies, canal water distribution policies for achieving different levels of equity, development of procedures for optimal layout of fields and watercourses, development of flow meters and irrischeduler. Contributions of Dr. Rajput in the field of micro irrigation include development of design criteria for drip, fertigation, automation and software development, hydraulics and dynamics of nutrient movement under different types of micro irrigation systems. Dr. Rajput introduced systematic studies on several new research topics during his career including, surge flow irrigation, Principal Component Analysis and laser leveling, which were later followed by many other researchers in the country.
Dr. Rajput has published more than 200 articles in research journals, proceedings of national and international events and in popular magazines. Besides research articles, he has authored eleven Books, ten Technical bulletins, fourteen Extension bulletins and sixteen Book Chapters on different aspects of agricultural water management with special emphasis on micro irrigation and precision farming. He has presented more than 100 research articles in various National and International Conferences. Dr Rajput is Fellow of five National Academy/ Societies namely, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Confedration of Horticulture Associations in India, Institution of Engineers (India), Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers, and Indian Water Resources Socisty.
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