First published on October 20, 2018

The agrarian economy of Odisha is dependent on Climate and soil. Employing more than 60% of the population agricultural sector of Odisha is the demographically the broadest sector of the state which contributes about 30% of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). Only 20% of the agriculture area in the state is irrigated rest are rainfed¹.

Evapotranspiration is cumulative of water lost from the capillary fringe of the groundwater table and the water lost by the plants whose roots meet the capillary fringe. On a barren land or land at the time of sowing, water is predominantly lost due to evaporation, as the crop grows the fraction of evaporation decreases and transpiration increases since the crop canopy covers the ground beneath it. At sowing, nearly 100% of ET comes from evaporation, while at full crop cover more than 90% of ET comes from transpiration. ET is an important component of water and energy balance of climate-soil-vegetation interactions and hence is regarded as vital in water resources management. Evapotranspiration is one of the main parameters that influence crop health, monitoring which in near real-time is beneficial for farmers to adopt different agricultural practices for the betterment of yield.

1. http://creativeodisha.com/GeneralInformation/Agriculture-in-Odisha