Climate-Driven Irrigation Planning for Boro Rice: Case Study of Madaripur District

This research systematically investigates the climate variability and irrigation demand for Boro rice production in Madaripur District from 2003 to 2022. According to climate data analysis, in January 2013, the minimum temperature was 9.99°C, whereas the maximum was 36.24°C in April 2014. Rainfall showed considerable inter-annual variation, reaching a peak of 873 mm in 2004 and a lowest in 2010. Evapotranspiration (ETo) and net irrigation requirements were calculated using CROPWAT 8.0 for different soil types, which indicated irrigation requirements of 9,867 to 26,171 cubic meters per hectare per decade. The results reveal an overall reduction in irrigation water use over the years that can be explained by changes in crop coefficients associated with fluctuations in climatic variables. 2008 had the highest peak (maximum) net water requirement, and 2017 had the lowest. These results contribute significantly to optimizing irrigation practices and hydrological infrastructure development of Boro rice production in a changing climate.