Abstract
In this study, irrigation scheduling efficiency of two field crops; paddy rice and berseem fodder, grown in unpuddled sandy loam soil for a typical existing and imposed irrigations has been evaluated using the WINISAREG water balance and irrigation scheduling model that was calibrated and validated using data collected at field experimental plot in Roorkee, India. During the 1st season of each crop, typical irrigation schedules as practiced in the farmers’ field was followed while in the 2nd crop season, a reduced irrigation schedule was imposed aiming for water saving. Water balance components were monitored daily during the crop growth periods. Deep percolation was measured using drainage type lysimeters. Soil moisture content in the root zone was observed using soil moisture profile probe (PR2/6). The crops were provided with all the necessary inputs including fertilizer, pesticide and weeding operations following agronomic practices of the area. The results show that nearly 82-87% of the input water goes to deep percolation during paddy season-1 (continuous irrigation period) while 64%-70% of input water was lost through deep percolation during berseem season-1. Due to the imposed irrigation, the deep percolation has been reduced to nearly 78-80% of input water during paddy season-2 and 42-52% of input water during berseem season-2 besides large input water saving in the crop seasons. The large input water saving was due to alternative irrigation scheduling strategy whose efficiency has been significantly improved. Irrigation scheduling efficiency has been increased from 9.65% to 30.5% for paddy and 23% to 92% for berseem. In particular, comparative irrigation water saving of 64-74% in paddy season and 82-88% in berseem season was achieved with nominal yield penalty. This study shows the possibility of large volume of water saving in water intensive crops such as paddy rice and berseem fields under un-puddled sandy loam soils by considering a reduced irrigation scheduling option.
Highlights
Rice (Oryza Sativa L.) is the most important staple food crop in Asia, providing 35-80% of the total calorie intake [1]
Due to the inherent nature of water application, lowland rice is often seen as an inefficient water user [3]. This is due to the fact that large proportion of the applied water is lost through deep percolation and seepage [2,4,5,6]
Berseem fodder (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) is a forage crop widely cultivated in northern India and the other parts of the world [13]
Summary
Rice (Oryza Sativa L.) is the most important staple food crop in Asia, providing 35-80% of the total calorie intake [1]. Due to the inherent nature of water application, lowland rice is often seen as an inefficient water user [3]. This is due to the fact that large proportion of the applied water is lost through deep percolation and seepage [2,4,5,6]. The water requirement and irrigation scheduling of berseem fodder is almost similar to that of alfalfa forage crop. Berseem is preferred to alfalfa since it provides the possibility of rotation with other crops, improves soil structure, relished by all kinds of stock and poultry, more succulent, supper in fattening stock and milk production [14]
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