Ha-1 Mm-1 Research Articles

Effect of irrigation levels, crop geometry and mulching on yield, economics and water use efficiency of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) grown under drip system in Western Rajasthan, India

A study was carried out at Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner, Rajasthan, during the rabi seasons of 2015–16 and 2016–17 to investigate the effects of irrigation levels, crop geometry, and mulch on yield parameters, yield, economics, and water use efficiency of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.). Findings showed that the irrigation level of 0.8 ETc considerably increased the yield parameters of fennel, including seed (1684 kg ha-1) and stover yield (3110 kg ha-1), net return (103149 ha-1) and benefit: cost ratio (2.58). At 0.6 ETc, a maximum water use efficiency of 5.48 kg ha-1 mm-1 was observed. 40 cm x 60 cm paired row planting produced significantly superior yield parameters, seed yield, and water use efficiency. Results further revealed that the application of plastic mulch considerably improved yield parameters, yield, net return, and benefit: cost ratio as compared to no mulch treatment. However, test weight and harvest index were not influenced by plastic mulch. Thus, in arid and semi-arid parts of Rajasthan, integrated use of drip irrigation at 0.8 ETc and plastic mulch under paired row sowing of 40 cm x 60 cm proved more viable for ensuring higher productivity of rabi fennel.

Validated simulation of a long-term cropping experiment reveals a pathway for improved productivity

Long-term farming system experiments with comprehensive soil, plant and meteorological data combined with well-validated dynamic farming system models are a powerful combination to evaluate the production and environmental implications of novel innovations in agriculture. A current deficiency is the lack of adequate comprehensive validations for long term crop sequences that capture the dynamics of soil and crop responses without resetting soil conditions, especially for soil mineral nitrogen (Min-N). This reduces confidence in the outcome of scenario analyses for proposed improvements in productivity and sustainability given the central role played by nitrogen (N) dynamics in both processes. We used data from a 30-year long-term experiment (LTE) to validate the APSIM model and achieved excellent predictions for soil and crop responses including the dynamics of Min-N without resetting. A critical step was to ensure that the parameters required for the pools of soil organic matter matched those measured at the site over the full rooting depth (1.6 m) rather than limiting measured values to surface layers and relying on default parameters in deeper layers. In subsequent scenario analyses of agronomic innovations including fallow weed control, earlier sowing and improved N fertiliser strategies, the validated model predicted potential increases in average annual productivity of 1.2 t ha-1 (30%), WUE of 2.0 kg ha-1 mm-1 (30%) and NUE of 13 kg kg-1 (21%) and reductions in average annual N leaching of 8 kg N ha-1 (-33%) and soil organic matter loss of 3.1 t ha-1 (31%) (0–10 cm) could be achieved with specific combinations of synergistic innovations previously investigated separately in shorter-term experiments. Our study represents a rare case of model validation capturing the dynamics of soil water, Min-N, biomass and grain yield in a long-term diverse crop sequence to provide confidence in scenario analyses of production and environmental consequences of agronomic innovations. LTEs provide a valuable resource for such validation, while conclusions drawn from simulation studies that lack comprehensive validation must be considered with caution.

Growth, Yield and water use efficiency of Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) as influenced by Phosphorus, Micronutrients and organics in new alluvial zone of West Bengal

A field experiment was conducted to study the crop growth, yield and WUE of grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) as influenced by phosphorus, micronutrients and organics in rice soils during rabi season of 2020-21 at the Teaching Farm, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mondouri, Nadia under New Alluvial Zone of West Bengal. The experiment was carried out taking ten different nutrient management practices with three replications in randomized block design to evaluate the performance of lathyrus. The results of the experiment revealed that lathyrus plot fertilized with the recommended dose of fertilizer along with foliar application of Borax @ 0.5% recorded the highest plant height, number of branches plant-1, dry matter accumulation, number of pods per plant, pod length, number of seeds per pod and 100-seed weight. Maximum seed yield (1450 kg ha-1), stover yield (2513 kg ha-1) and highest WUE (10.00 kg ha-1 mm-1) were recorded by the plot treated with RDF+ Borax @ 0.5%.With respect to quality parameters, the seed protein content was highest (31.18%) in the plot fertilized with RDF along with ammonium molybdate @ 0.1%. Therefore, it may be concluded from the results of the experiment that the combined use of RDF with Borax @ 0.5% application in grass pea is one of the best option for better production in terms of quality and quantity for cultivation in New Alluvial Zone of West Bengal.

Effect of Water Stress and Levels of Bio-Organic Fertilizers on Water Productivity and Potato Solanum tuberosum L. Yield

A field experiment was conducted at the University of Baghdad, Al-Jadriya in the spring season of 2021 for the potato crop under the influence of organic biofertilizers and water stress. Three levels of bio-organic fertilizers were used 0 (OM0), 1 (OM1) and 1.5 (OM2) ton ha-1 and three levels of irrigation 30 (I-30), 50 (I-50) and 75 (I-75) % water depletion were available to evaluate the role of bio-organic fertilizer and water stress in production functions and water use efficiency. I-30 treatment showed the highest water consumption ranging between 468 and 486 mm season-1 and decreased to 355-436 mm with water stress treatments I-75. The values of water consumption varied according to the levels of bio-organic fertilizer. The percentage of decrease in water consumption was 1.49 and 3.66% at low stress and reached 6.37% at high stress (I-75) compared to OM0. Both treatments I-30 and I-50 gave the same yield. Bio-organic fertilization led to an increase in the average yield of tubers 32.8 and 41.9% for both OM1 and OM2 compared to OM0. The production functions indicate that the yield increases by 0.057 ton ha-1 mm-1 of added water, and the water depth must be greater than 64.2 mm to obtain a yield that is 1.96 ton ha-1 more (significant limit) than the treatments in the experiment (1.96=0.057(Irr.). )-1.70). Fertilizer levels are higher than 1.9 ton ha-1 to obtain a higher yield of tubers by 26.29 tons/ha and the efficiency of water use is nil according to the water use function when the water consumption is higher than 692.7 mm. The response factor decreased when adding bio-organic fertilizer compared to OM0, which means that plants were not affected significantly under water stress conditions.

Effect of Irrigation Scheduling and Different Sowing Dates on Water Productivity and Economics of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

“Effect of moisture regime under different sowing dates of wheat crop (Triticum aestivum L.)” was investigated at Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture & Technology, Ayodhya (U.P.) Agronomy Research Farm in rabi season 2021-22. Twelve main plot treatments included 15th November, 25th November, and 5th December sowing dates, while four sub plot treatments included irrigation at 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, and 1.2 IW/CPE ratios. Split plot design was used for three replications. Under 15th November sowing, all growth, yield, and characteristics rose dramatically. Irrigation at 1.0 IW/CPE ratio increased wheat shoot m-2, plant height (cm), dry matter accumulation (g m-2), yield characteristics, grain and straw yield (q ha-1) considerably. D113 (15 November planting with irrigation at 1.0 IW/CPE ratio) had the best net return and D1I2 (15 November sowing with irrigation at 0.8 IW/CPE proportion) the highest B:C ratio (2.54). Wheat yields were highest when sown on November 15. Under 15th November planting, water use efficiency was highest (9.85 kg ha-1mm-1). Irrigation with 1.0 IW/CPE ratio had the maximum water usage efficiency (9.34 kg ha-1 mm-1). The 15 November seeding with irrigation at 1.0 IW/CPE ratio yielded the highest net return (1,17,124.00), making wheat farming profitable. Maximum B:C ratio (2.54) with I1D2 therapy.

Sensor-based precision nutrient and irrigation management enhances the physiological performance, water productivity, and yield of soybean under system of crop intensification.

Sensor-based decision tools provide a quick assessment of nutritional and physiological health status of crop, thereby enhancing the crop productivity. Therefore, a 2-year field study was undertaken with precision nutrient and irrigation management under system of crop intensification (SCI) to understand the applicability of sensor-based decision tools in improving the physiological performance, water productivity, and seed yield of soybean crop. The experiment consisted of three irrigation regimes [I1: standard flood irrigation at 50% depletion of available soil moisture (DASM) (FI), I2: sprinkler irrigation at 80% ETC (crop evapo-transpiration) (Spr 80% ETC), and I3: sprinkler irrigation at 60% ETC (Spr 60% ETC)] assigned in main plots, with five precision nutrient management (PNM) practices{PNM1-[SCI protocol], PNM2-[RDF, recommended dose of fertilizer: basal dose incorporated (50% N, full dose of P and K)], PNM3-[RDF: basal dose point placement (BDP) (50% N, full dose of P and K)], PNM4-[75% RDF: BDP (50% N, full dose of P and K)] and PNM5-[50% RDF: BDP (50% N, full P and K)]} assigned in sub-plots using a split-plot design with three replications. The remaining 50% N was top-dressed through SPAD assistance for all the PNM practices. Results showed that the adoption of Spr 80% ETC resulted in an increment of 25.6%, 17.6%, 35.4%, and 17.5% in net-photosynthetic rate (Pn), transpiration rate (Tr), stomatal conductance (Gs), and intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), respectively, over FI. Among PNM plots, adoption of PNM3 resulted in a significant (p=0.05) improvement in photosynthetic characters like Pn (15.69 µ mol CO2 m-2 s-1), Tr (7.03m mol H2O m-2 s-1), Gs (0.175 µmol CO2 mol-1 year-1), and Ci (271.7mol H2O m2 s-1). Enhancement in SPAD (27% and 30%) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) (42% and 52%) values were observed with nitrogen (N) top dressing through SPAD-guided nutrient management, helped enhance crop growth indices, coupled with better dry matter partitioning and interception of sunlight. Canopy temperature depression (CTD) in soybean reduced by 3.09-4.66°C due to adoption of sprinkler irrigation. Likewise, Spr 60% ETc recorded highest irrigation water productivity (1.08kg ha-1 m-3). However, economic water productivity (27.5 INR ha-1 m-3) and water-use efficiency (7.6kg ha-1 mm-1 day-1) of soybean got enhanced under Spr 80% ETc over conventional cultivation. Multiple correlation and PCA showed a positive correlation between physiological, growth, and yield parameters of soybean. Concurrently, the adoption of Spr 80% ETC with PNM3 recorded significantly higher grain yield (2.63t ha-1) and biological yield (8.37t ha-1) over other combinations. Thus, the performance of SCI protocols under sprinkler irrigation was found to be superior over conventional practices. Hence, integrating SCI with sensor-based precision nutrient and irrigation management could be a viable option for enhancing the crop productivity and enhance the resource-use efficiency in soybean under similar agro-ecological regions.

Effect of Soil Moisture Level and Nutrient Management on Yield, Bio-Chemical Properties and Water Productivity of Black Cumin

A field experiment was conducted at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU), Gazipur farm during rabi season of 2017-2018 to evaluate the effects of soil moisture levels and nutrient management on yield, bio-chemical properties and water productivity of black cumin (cv. BARI Kalozira-1) in the Shallow Red-Brown Terrace Soil of Salna series under AEZ-28 (Madhupur Tract). The experiment was set up in a Randomized Complete Block Design (factorial) with three replications comprising 9 treatment combinations having 3 soil moisture levels (Irrigation at 10%, 20% and 30% depletion of soil available water at field capacity) and 3 nutrient management packages: 100% RDF (80-45-50-20-5-2 kg ha-1 of N-P-K-S-Zn-B), 75% RDF + 25% N from cowdung and 50% RDF + 50% N from cowdung. The highest seed yield (1027 kg ha-1), biomass yield (2303 kg ha-1), thymoquinone (3286 mg kg-1 seed), thymol (149 mg kg-1 seed), fixed oil (28.7%), essential oil (0.85%), total consumptive use of water (112 mm) and water productivity (20.5 & 9.14 kg ha-1 mm-1, on the basis of biomass & seed yield, respectively) were obtained from irrigation at 10% depletion of available water along with 75% RDF + 1.98 t ha-1 cowdung. The application of irrigation water at 10% depletion of available water (112.22 mm) with N, P, K, S, Zn and B @ 60, 45, 50, 20, 5 and 2 kg ha-1, respectively + 1.98 t ha-1 cowdung (for supplementing 25% N requirement) appeared to be the best suited treatment package for black cumin cultivation in the study area.
 Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 47(3): 309-321, September 2022

Influenece of Different Irrigation Scenario's under Mulched and Non-mulched Condition on Soil Moisture, Yield and Wue of Ridge Gourd (Luffa acutangula, L.)

A field experiment was conducted on Ridge gourd during rabi season of 2021-22 and 2022-23 at the Experimental Research Plot Soil and Water Engineering, CAE, Raichur. The study aimed to assess the efficacy of a sensor and evapotranspiration based irrigation system in varying irrigation levels, comparing the performance between mulched and non-mulched conditions. The use of sensor-based irrigation at 100% field capacity under mulched has shown positive outcomes, leading to a notable enhancement in crop production by about 9.40% additionally, this approach has resulted in a significant conservation of irrigation water, with savings of approximately 12.35% compared to the treatment involving irrigation at 100% evapotranspiration under mulched, but without the use of sensors. Across the treatments, the water application efficiency ranged from 94.13 to 91.37%. The highest water use efficiency was observed in the treatment with irrigation at 100% FC under mulched condition on pooled basis (0.20 t ha-1 mm-1). The sensor based drip irrigation system under mulched is an economically viable option to be recommended among farmers in arid and semi-arid climate. Despite the higher initial setup costs, farmers can achieve significant cost savings in the long run due to lower water usage, better yields, and minimised labour requirements.

Intensified seed spices-based cropping systems for higher productivity, resource-use efficiency, soil fertility and profitability in arid and semi-arid regions of India.

Coriander, fenugreek, nigella etc. are collectively known as seed spices. They are "High value and low volume crops" and considered cash crops for the growers of arid and semi-arid regions of India. Coriander, fenugreek and nigella are grown during the rabi season and take hardly 130-140 days to attain full maturity. In this context, farmers are not able to develop income from available arable land round the year, even though they have sufficient resources as well as manpower. Therefore, coriander, fenugreek and nigella-based cropping systems, four of each (total 12) were evaluated during 3 consecutive years (2019-20 to 2021-22) for their productivity, resource-use efficiency, economics and soil fertility. The results showed that among the seed spices-based cropping systems, maximum system productivity (5193 kg ha-1), production efficiency (18.81 kg ha-1 day-1), water-use efficiency (2.31 kg ha-1 mm-1), economic efficiency (11.85 US $ ha-1 day-1), net return (3270 US $ ha-1), benefit:cost ratio (3.27) and available N (165.6 kg ha-1) were observed under nigella-green coriander-mungbean cropping system. Hence, seed spices growers are recommended to adopt nigella-green coriander-mungbean cropping system in order to realize better productivity, resource-use efficiency, soil fertility and profitability.

Assessing the Productivity and Economic Sustainability of Banana Cultivation under Diverse Colored Plastic Mulches in Western Maharashtra Region of India

Aims: Banana is a heavy feeder of the nutrients. It is therefore, essential to study the crop with respect to color plastic mulches and irrigation scheduling. In this study, the effect of various colored plastic mulches on the growth and quality parameters of banana crop along with its economic feasibility was assessed.
 Study Design: This experiment followed a Complete Randomized Block Design (CRBD) with nine treatments (T1 to T9), each with three replications.
 Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out at Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, Maharashtra for the period of one year (crop cycle of banana).
 Methodology: Different color plastic mulches in combination with varying irrigation schedule were evaluated for growth and yield of banana crop. Various growth parameters of banana crop, yield, micrometeorological parameters, water use efficiency and cost economics of banana production were evaluated for the different treatments.
 Results: The highest banana yield recorded was 84.45 tons per hectare, and this was achieved using silver-black plastic mulch in conjunction with daily drip irrigation set at 48% of the Pan Evaporation (Ep) rate, referred to as treatment T3. Treatment T3 led to 37% increase in banana yield compared to surface irrigation with 1.00 Irrigation Water to Cumulative Pan Evaporation (IW/CPE) ratio (treatment T9). The seasonal water requirement for banana cultivation with treatment T3 amounted to 1015 mm, resulting in an impressive water use efficiency of 83.18 kg ha-1 mm-1. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values exhibited a range from 0.3895 during the initial growth stage of the banana to 0.8918 at the peak growth stage.
 Conclusion: From an economic perspective, the utilization of silver-black plastic mulch emerged as the best choice among all treatments, boasting the highest benefit to cost ratio of 2.34 and yielding the maximum net income of ₹ 3, 86,286 per hectare.

Increasing rainwater use efficiency, gross return, and grain protein of rain-fed maize under nitrate and urea nitrogen forms

The soil's capability to adjust and mitigate the effects of water shortage due to climate change is limited in some regions such those that suffer from the low rainfall rates. This experimental field study aimed to assess the effects of two inorganic nitrogen forms on maize performance (i.e., growth, yield, grain protein content, and gross returns) and rainwater use efficiency (RUE). Treatments comprised three replicates of synthetic nitrogen forms (i.e., urea and nitrate) that were located in the main plots with four levels that were assigned to the subplots (i.e., 0, 25, 50, and 100 kg N ha-1). Nitrate application resulted in a higher plant height (62 cm) at the vegetative phase with superior values (11.6%) recorded in grain protein than those obtained from other treatments. In addition, the highest grain yield was obtained in nitrate-treated plots in comparison to other N application forms. The leaf area index registered optimal values when 50 kg N ha-1 was applied. On the application of two nitrogen forms, nitrate resulted in a higher RUE (2.1-3.4 kg ha-1 mm-1) than that obtained from maize treated with urea (1.3-1.9 kg ha-1 mm-1). This translated to a 123-234% increase in RUE over the control (N0), which is the key smallholder farmers’ practice. It is recommended that producing maize using nitrate nitrogen at 50 kg N ha-1 as opposed to urea can increase yield stability, and rain use efficiency with higher gross returns in water-scarce agro-ecologies in SSA.

In-Field Rainwater Harvesting Tillage in Semi-Arid Ecosystems: I Maize-Bean Intercrop Performance and Productivity.

The purpose of this study was to monitor and compare the growth and productivity of maize/beans sole and inter-cropping systems under conventional (CON) and in-field rainwater harvesting (IRWH) tillage practices. During the typical drought conditions of the 2018/19 growing season, seven homestead gardens of smallholder farmers (four in Paradys and three in Morago villages) in the Thaba Nchu rural communities of South Africa were selected for on-farm demonstration trials. Two tillage systems CON and IRWH as the main plot and three cropping systems as sub-treatment (sole maize and beans and intercropping) were used to measure crop growth and productivity parameters. The results showed that IRWH tillage had significantly higher above-ground dry matter for both sole maize (29%) and intercropped maize (27%) compared to CON treatments. The grain yield under both tillage systems showed that IRWH-Sole >> IRWH-Ic >> CON-Sole >> CON-Ic, with values ranging from 878.2 kg ha-1 to 618 kg ha-1 (p ≤ 0.05). The low harvest index values (0.21-0.38) could have been due to the effect of the drought during the growing season. The results of precipitation use efficiency (PUE) showed that the IRWH tillage was more effective at converting rainwater into maize biomass and grain yield compared to CON tillage. However, the different cropping systems did not show a consistent trend in PUE. During the growing season, the PUE for AGDM varied for different tillage and cropping system treatments in Morago and Paradys. For maize, it ranged between 10.01-6.07 and 9.93-7.67 kg ha-1, while for beans, it ranged between 7.36-3.95 and 7.07-3.89 kg ha-1 mm-1. The PUE for grain yield showed similar trends with the significantly highest values of PUE under IRWH tillage systems for the Morago sites, but there were no significant differences at the Paradys site in both tillage and cropping systems. There is a critical need, therefore, to devise alternative techniques to promote an increase in smallholders' productivity based on an improved ability to capture and use resources more efficiently.

Organic Mulching Effects on Water Productivity, Soil Temperature, Growth and Yield of Lentil Varieties

The experiment was conducted at College of Post Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences, Umiam, Meghalaya during the rabi season (November–April, 2022) to study the effect of organic mulching on growth, yield and water productivity of lentil varieties in mid-hills of Meghalaya. The experiment was carried out in split plot design with four mulch treatment under main plot (M0: un-mulch/control, M1: paddy straw mulch, M2: maize stover mulch, M3: weed mulch) and four varietal treatments under sub plot (V1: HUL-57, V2: PL-4, V3: PDL-1 and V4: PSL-9) which were replicated thrice. Results indicated that, plant height, number of branches plant-1, water productivity were highest under paddy straw mulch. Paddy straw mulch (43.57) which was on par with weed mulch (41.29) has reported significantly highest number of pods plant-1 over maize stover mulch (38.18) and un-mulch (36.21) treatments. Different mulches have reported economic yield advantage of 21.01% to 10.55% over the control. Water productivity has found significantly higher under paddy straw mulch (3.25 kg ha-1 mm-1) over the control treatment (2.57 kg ha-1 mm-1). Mulches also modified soil thermal regimes and effected plant growth and development. Soil temperature has shown increasing trend towards the end of crop season, since, air temperatures are increasing towards the end of growing season. Paddy straw mulch, weed mulch and maize stover mulch increased 2.31oC, 1.88oC, 0.27oC temperature, respectively, over the control during morning hours.

Farklı Sulama Suyu Düzeylerinin Yem Pancarının Verim ve Kalite Parametrelerine Etkisi

The study was carried out at the Agricultural Research and Application Farm of Faculty of Agriculture, Isparta University of Applied Sciencesin 2021, with the aim of determining the effect of different irrigation water levels on the yield and quality parameters of fodder beet by the experiment of randomized complete block design with three replications. The study used Rota fodder beet variety. Applied irrigation water amounts were determined according to Penman-Montheith method by considering the total reference evapotranspiration (ETo) of ten days for five different ratios (S1: ETo×1.20, S2: ETo×0.90, S3: ETo×0.60, S4: ETo×0.30; S5: ETo×0.00). Drip irrigation method was used for irrigation. Applied irrigation water amounts ranged between 131.9 mm – 643.6 mm. Crop water consumption (ET) ranged between 337.1 mm – 782 mm. At the end of the treatments, it was observed that fresh leaf yield varied between 570 and 1788.1 kg da-1 while these values were from 1865.7 to 7838.8 kg da-1 for fresh root yield, from 2435.8 to 9626.9 kg da-1 for total fresh yield, from 134.1 to 255.5 kg da-1 for leaf dry matter yield, from 469.9 to 1247.6 kg da-1 for root dry mater , from 12.2 cm to 25.4 cm for tuber length, and from 6.5 to 12.4 cm for tuber diameter. The yield response factor (ky) was 1.04. The water use efficiency was 72.3 – 145.0 kg ha-1 mm-1, the irrigation water use efficiency was ranged from 111.7 to 157.5 kg ha-1 mm-1. The S2 irrigation treatment was the most appropriate irrigation program under adequate irrigation water conditions. In terms of irrigation deficit conditions, results indicated that there may apply irrigation water at 60% or 30% of reference evapotranspiration from S3 or S4 irrigation program.

Effect of Organic Mulches on Yield, Water Productivity and Economy of Garden Pea Cultivars

Mulching techniques that are adaptive and extremely successful may be able to reduce the detrimental impacts of crop production and water stress on different varieties of peas in a climate change scenario. Field experiment was carried out in the Umroi region of Meghalaya during the rabi season (2020–2021) for this reason. This study used a split-plot design with three organic mulches as the main plot treatment and four pea types as the sub-plot treatments, which was replicated three times. The field trial showed that paddy straw mulch significantly outperformed both weed mulch and no mulch in terms of green pod yield, water productivity, and benefit cost ratio, with values of 89.33, 54.14 kg ha-1 mm-1, and 3.16, respectively.VM 12 greatly topped other cultivars in terms of green pod yield, water productivity, and benefit-cost ratio (BCR), with values of 89.78 kg ha-1, 54.41 kg ha-1 mm-1 and 3.33, respectively. The investigation showed that the best alternative agronomic strategy for achieving the maximum yield output of garden pea was paddy straw mulch, followed by weed mulch and un-mulch.

Effect of Nitrogen and Water Use on Yield And Storability of Onion

A Field experiment was conducted at Regional Spices Research Centre, BARI, Gazipur and Spices Research Sub-Centre, BARI, Lalmonirhat to find out the water and nitrogen use efficiency of onion (Allium cepa L.) as influence by different levels of soil moisture regimes and nitrogen doses during rabi season of 2020-2021. The experiment was designed in Factorial Randomized Complete Block Design having three replications. The treatment composed of three soil moisture regiems (10%, 20% and 30% depletion of soil moisture over field capacity) and three nitrogen doses (150, 100 and 75 kg ha-1). The individual as well as interaction effect of soil moisture and nitrogen levels showed significant effect on yield and yield contributing parameters, storability, nitrogen and water use efficiency except the TSS of onion. The highest bulb yield (21.49 t ha-1 in Gazipur & 22.79 t ha-1 in Lalmonirhat), marketable bulb yield (18.0 t ha-1 in Gazipur & 20.0 t ha-1 in Lalmonirhat), harvest index (598.0% in Gazipur & 607.9% in Lalmonirhat) were recorded when the crop irrigated at 10% depletion of field capacity and plant supplied with 100kg Nha-1. Similarly, the maximum nitrogen use efficiency (54.74% in Gazipur & 61.38% in Lalmonirhat) and the maximum water use efficiency (105.76 kg ha-1 mm-1 in Gazipur & 108.06 kg ha-1 mm-1 in Lalmonirhat) were also observed from the above mentioned treatment combinations. Total PLW was higher (16.3% in Gazipur and 21.1% in Lalmonirhat) with irrigation was given applied at 10% depletion of field capacity and application of 150 kg N ha-1 during 120 days of storage.
 Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 47(1): 119-142, March 2022

Effect of Soil Moisture Level on Yield and Nutrient Balance Sheet of Black Cumin

A field experiment was conducted at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur during rabi season of 2016-17 to evaluate the effects of soil moisture levels on black cumin (BARI Kalozira-1). The study site belongs to Shallow Red-Brown Terrace Soil of Salna series under AEZ-28 (Madhupur Tract). The experiment was set up in randomized complete block design with three replications, comprised five treatments assoil moisture levels: irrigation at 90%, 80%, 70%, 60% and 50% field capacity. The required number and amount of irrigation were 11 and 113.1mm, 8 and 108.1mm, 6 and 104.2mm, 4 and 99.4mm and 0 and 22.4mm in irrigation at 90%, 80%, 70%, 60% and 50% field capacity, respectively. The maximum seed yield (1243.0 kg ha-1) was recorded under the highest moisture regime in irrigation at 90% field capacity of soil moisture. The minimum yield (165.5 kg ha-1) was noted at 50% field capacity (where no irrigation was required). Net nutrient balance of N, K and S showed negative balance but P was positive. The maximum water use efficiency (10.51 kg ha-1 mm-1) for yield was noted with irrigation at 90% field capacity, which may be recommended for black cumin cultivation in the study area. The cost-benefit analyses also indicate that the maximum net income (Tk. 123503.00) of black cumin cultivation has been achieved by maintaining the highest soil moisture through irrigating the crop at 90% of field capacity.
 Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 46(1): 43-61, March 2021

Managing Drought Risk on Lentil Using Deficit Irrigation in Arid Zones

Grain legumes (pulses) are important crops for global food security, especially in developing countries. They also play an important role in enhancing sustainability through intensification and diversification of agricultural production systems. Meanwhile, the deficit irrigation strategy is one of the most important options for reducing water losses and maximizing water use efficiency in arid zones. A 2-year field experiment was conducted in the Agricultural Research Station, Higher Education Complex of Saravan during the growing seasons of 2018 and 2019. The experiment was split plot based on a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications. The main plots included four levels of irrigation (60, 80, 100, and 120%). Subplots were two different landraces from Iran for lentil crop (Baluchestan and Kurdestan). The results revealed that the effect of deficit irrigation was significant on grain yield, biological yield, harvest index, and water use efficiency. Apart from the landraces, with increasing water consumption, the grain yield of control treatment (100%) grew by 107% in comparison to 60% irrigation treatment, but this elevation was not significant at 120% level in comparison to the control treatment. Further, 120% irrigation treatment led to reduction in water use efficiency. The highest water use efficiency (2.9 kg ha-1 mm-1 ) was obtained in 80% irrigation treatment with 10% reduction in grain yield compared with control treatment. The highest harvest index was observed in the interaction of Baluchestan zones × 80% water treatment (0.24). Although the interaction of Baluchestan landrace × 80% water treatment had 10% grain yield lower than control treatment, its biological yield decreased by 27% compared to control treatment, which eventually led to 20% rise of the harvest index. Thus, our study revealed that deficit irrigation was a useful method to protect the water resources and could be used in cultivation of other plants in arid zones.

Optimizing Irrigation Scheduling and Land Configurations of Furrow Irrigated Aerobic Rice

Field experiments were conducted during pishanam 2015 and 2016 at Central Farm, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Killikulam. The experiment was laid out in a factorial randomized block design with three replications. Experimental treatments comprised of three irrigation scheduling and three bed widths. Rice crop was raised under furrow furrow-irrigated raised bed system (FIRB) system. Response of the crop to the different treatments indicated that growth parameters viz., plant height and Dry Matter Production (DMP) were highest in crop raised in bed width of 1.0 m accommodating five rows per bed and irrigating the crop daily. Raised bed of 1.0 m bed width accommodating five rows per bed and irrigating crop daily resulted in higher grain yield (3874 and 3789 kg ha-1 during 2015 and 2016, respectively) and Water use Efficiency (4.39 and 4.24 kg ha-1 mm-1 during 2015 and 2016, respectively) than other irrigation scheduling and land configurations

Alfalfa water productivity and yield gaps in the U.S. central Great Plains

Yield gap (Yg) analyses using farmer-reported yield and management data have been performed for a number of annual grain crops, but it lacks for perennial forages. The U.S. accounts for 21 % of the global alfalfa production with a large rainfed area located in the central Great Plains, serving as an interesting case-study for Yg in perennial forages. Most existing alfalfa Yg analyses quantified the magnitude of the Yg but failed to identify associated management practices to reduce it. Challenging this analysis, a systematic benchmark for alfalfa water productivity [WP, kg dry matter per mm evapotranspiration (ETc)] that allows for the quantification of Yg in farmer fields does not exist. Our objectives were to (i) benchmark alfalfa WP, (ii) quantify Yg in alfalfa farmer fields, and (iii) identify management opportunities to improve alfalfa yield. We conducted a systematic review of literature and compiled a database on alfalfa yield and ETc (n = 68 papers and 1027 treatment means) from which a WP boundary function was derived. We collected management and yield data from 394 commercial rainfed alfalfa fields during 2016–2019 in central Kansas. We then used satellite imagery to define the growing season (and corresponding water supply) for each field. The boundary function was then used to calculate Yg of each field, and conditional inference trees (CIT) explored the impact of management practices associated with increased yield. Our boundary function suggested an alfalfa WP of 34 kg ha-1 mm-1. Farmer-reported yield ranged from 0.9 to 19.0 Mg ha-1, averaging 7.6 Mg ha-1. Alfalfa water-limited yield potential (Yw) ranged from 11.1 to 23.2 Mg ha-1, resulting in an average yield gap of 54–60 % of Yw. Row spacing, seeding rates, and management of phosphorus fertilizer were major agronomic practices explaining alfalfa yields in farmer fields, followed by surrogate variables as sowing season, stand age, and soil pH. Our study provided the first systematic analysis estimating attainable alfalfa WP as function of ETc, suggesting that large alfalfa Yg exist in the U.S. central Great Plains. We also identified key agronomic practices associated with increased alfalfa yield. The WP here derived can be used for future studies aiming at quantifying alfalfa Yg across the globe. This was an initial step in quantifying Yg and its associated causes at farmer fields, and we highlight limitations and future directions for perennial forages yield gap analyses.