Efficient Irrigation Water Management in Rice-Wheat Cropping System

Abstract

The future of the farming is at stake owing to continuous depletion of aquifers and rising pressure on both above and belowground water resources. In this chapter different approach for management and scheduling of irrigation in rice-wheat cropping system is discussed. The impact of adopting the latest irrigation technologies on water saving and water productivity (WP) in the context of both rain-fed and irrigated ecosystems have been reviewed. As a single approach is not sufficient to address this complex issue, integration of irrigation techniques with better irrigation scheduling approaches and agronomic techniques viz, laser land leveling, selection of water use efficient varieties, seed priming, direct-seeded rice, bed planting, zero tillage, crop residue management, etc. are necessary to realize the “more crop per drop”. Integrated water management options are required to extract maximum benefits of available irrigation water towards higher productivity and profitability in dominant cereal-based systems across various soil and climate conditions.KeywordsBed plantingCrop residue managementEvapotranspirationIntegrated water managementIrrigation technologiesMicro Irrigation systemSeed primingWater productivityZero tillage