Abstract
The current rapid increase in irrigation water consumption is considered unsustainable and threatens the world food production. Therefore, it is mandatory to promote modern techniques and to manage existing conventional irrigation methods. The present study was attempted to determine the effects of different irrigation frequencies and rice straw incorporation rates on yield and water productivity of the wheat crop. The experiment was arranged with randomize complete block design involving nine treatments (RS0I7, RS0I15, RS0I22, RS1I7, RS1I15, RS1I22, RS2I7, RS2I15 and RS2I22) under three replications. Results exposed that the incorporation of rice straw with different irrigation frequencies significantly improved physico-chemical properties of soil. Moreover, soil bulk density, infiltration rate, pH, electrical conductivity significantly decreased and soil porosity significantly increased under all treatments. Furthermore, maximum crop yield and crop water productivity of 7706.4 kg/hm2 and 1.92 kg/m3 respectively were found under RS1I15 treatment. Based on experimental results it can be concluded that irrigation frequency and incorporation of rice straw had significant effects on the physico-chemical properties of soil, total grain yield and water productivity of the wheat crop. However, this study suggested that the wheat crop yield and water productivity could be increased by incorporating 1 t/hm2 rice straw with 15 d of irrigation frequency. Keywords: physico-chemical, irrigation frequency, rice straw, wheat, crop water productivity DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20201301.4790 Citation: Tunio M H, Gao J M, Talpur M A, Lakhiar I A, Chandio F A, Shaikh S A, et al. Effects of different irrigation frequencies and incorporation of rice straw on yield and water productivity of wheat crop. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2020; 13(1): 138–145.
Highlights
Pakistan is the sixth most heavily populated country in the world, with a current population of 202.086 million and an annual growth rate of 1.93%
The present research was conceded to determine the effects of different rice straw mulching rates and different irrigation frequencies on yield and water productivity of the wheat crop
The results of this study indicated that rice straw incorporation with different irrigation frequencies had positive effects on soil physico-chemical characteristics, soil yields and water productivity of the wheat crop
Summary
Pakistan is the sixth most heavily populated country in the world, with a current population of 202.086 million and an annual growth rate of 1.93%. The population has increased from 32.4 million in mid of 1948 to 144.5 million in 2003, and exceeded 168 million in 2010. The estimated population for the year 2025 would be 226.76 million[1]. Agriculture in Pakistan is considered as a central pillar of the country. The importance of agriculture to Pakistan’s economy is explained by the fact that agricultural outputs contribute to 24.7% of the gross domestic production (GDP) and employs 47.3% of the employment strength of Pakistan. Cotton, rice and maize are the major crops[2]
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