scholarly journals Increasing crop productivity and water use efficiency in rainfed agriculture

Author(s):  
Piara Singh ◽  
Suhas Wani ◽  
Prabhakar Pathak ◽  
A Singh
2008 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 303 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. R. Young ◽  
P.-J. Derham ◽  
F. X. Dunin ◽  
A. L. Bernardi ◽  
S. Harden

We report exceptional productivity and associated water-use efficiency across seasons for commercial crops of rainfed spring wheat and grain sorghum growing on stored soil water in Vertosols on the Liverpool Plains, central-eastern Australia. Agreement between the independently measured terms of evapotranspiration (ET) and the soil water balance (in-crop rainfall + δsoil water) was achieved within acceptable uncertainty across almost all measurement intervals, to provide a reliable dataset for the analysis of growth and water-use relationships without the confounding influence of water outflow either overland or within the soil. Post-anthesis intrinsic transpiration efficiency (kc ) values of 4.7 and 7.2 Pa for wheat and sorghum, respectively, and grain yields of 8 and 7 t/ha from ET of 450 and 442 mm (1.8 and 1.6 g/m2.mm), clearly demonstrate the levels of productivity and water-use efficiency possible for well-managed crops within an intensive and productive response cropping sequence. The Vertosols in which the crops were grown enabled rapid and apparently unconstrained delivery of significant quantities of subsoil water (34% and 51% of total available) after anthesis, which enabled a doubling of pre-anthesis standing biomass and harvest indices of almost 50%. Durum wheat planted into only 0.30 m of moist soil and enduring lower than average seasonal rainfall, yielded less biomass and grain (2.3 t/ha) with lower water-use efficiency (0.95 g/m2.mm) but larger transpiration efficiency, probably due to reduced stomatal conductance. We argue that crop planting in response to stored soil water and management for high water-use efficiency to achieve high levels of average productivity of crop sequences over time can have a significant effect on both increased productivity and enhanced hydrological stability across alluvial landscapes.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 836-845
Author(s):  
Rinki Khobra ◽  
Ashutosh Srivastava ◽  
Pinky Raigond ◽  
Alka Joshi ◽  
Som Dutt ◽  
...  

Climate change threatens the global agriculture sustainability. Among different kinds of abiotic stresses, water stress is the most devastating component which curtails potato crop productivity. Our recent knowledge is limited concerning water stress tolerance and water use efficiency in potato. Many efforts are being made by the scientific community to reduce water use and to produce “more crop per drop”. This review elaborates quantitative and qualitative aspects of multiple stress mechanisms and their regulating system related to present scenario of water use efficiency (WUE) requirements. WUE can only be improved by using multidisciplinary promising research approaches like molecular breeding, high throughput genotyping, multi-gene transfer and bioinformatics applications to unleash the information needed to exploitation of required traits in potato.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-231
Author(s):  
Wajid Ali Shahani ◽  
Feng Kaiwen ◽  
Aslam Memon

The crop productivity in Pakistan is very low as majority of the farmers are still practicing traditional farming techniques. The existing crop production technologies do not offer effective and efficient utilization of natural resources, particularly that of water. Moreover, a significant amount of irrigation water is wasted due to uneven fields and ditches. Unevenness of the soil surface also has a major impact on the germination, stand and yield of crops through nutrient water interaction and salt and soil moisture distribution pattern. Therefore, the water use efficiency along with yield per acre could be increase by adopting resource conservation technologies like laser leveling. A sample of 120 growers including 60 wheat growers and 60 cotton growers were selected from Mirpurkhas & Tando Allahyar districts of Sindh province of Pakistan. Study results revealed that about 21 percent irrigation water saved by the adoption of laser leveling technology and also obtained higher yield and profit margins comparatively. Study concluded that adoption of laser leveling technology helps in reducing the farm input costs, improve water use efficiency and enhance crop productivity.


2012 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 556-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad B. Khan ◽  
Farhan Yousaf ◽  
Mubshar Hussain ◽  
Muhammad W. Haq ◽  
Dong-J Lee ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 154 (8) ◽  
pp. 1327-1342 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. K. DAS ◽  
K. K. BANDYOPADHYAY ◽  
RANJAN BHATTACHARYYA ◽  
S. SUDHISHRI ◽  
A. R. SHARMA ◽  
...  

SUMMARYIn search of a suitable resource conservation technology under pigeonpea (Cajanus cajanL.)–wheat (Triticum aestivumL.) system in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, the effects of conservation agriculture (CA) on crop productivity and water-use efficiency (WUE) were evaluated during a 3-year study. The treatments were: conventional tillage (CT), zero tillage (ZT) with planting on permanent narrow beds (PNB), PNB with residue (PNB + R), ZT with planting on permanent broad beds (PBB) and PBB + R. The PBB + R plots had higher pigeonpea grain yield than the CT plots in all 3 years. However, wheat grain yields under all plots were similar in all years except for PBB + R plots in the second year, which had higher wheat yield than CT plots. The contrast analysis showed that pigeonpea grain yield of CA plots was significantly higher than CT plots in the first year. However, both pigeonpea and wheat grain yields during the last 2 years under CA and CT plots were similar. The PBB + R plots had higher system WUE than the CT plots in the second and third years. Plots under CA had significantly higher WUE and significantly lower water use than CT plots in these years. The PBB + R plots had higher WUE than PNB + R and PNB plots. Also, the PBB plots had higher WUE than PNB in the second and third years, despite similar water use. The interactions of bed width and residue management for all parameters in the second and third years were not significant. Those positive impacts under PBB + R plots over CT plots were perceived to be due to no tillage and significantly higher amount of estimated residue retention. Thus, both PBB and PBB + R technologies would be very useful under a pigeonpea–wheat cropping system in this region.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1290
Author(s):  
Taia A. Abd El-Mageed ◽  
Eman E. Belal ◽  
Mohamed O. A. Rady ◽  
Shimaa A. Abd El-Mageed ◽  
Elsayed Mansour ◽  
...  

Drought is one of the major threats to global food security. Biochar use in agriculture has received much attention and improving it through chemical modification offers a potential approach for enhancing crop productivity. There is still limited knowledge on how acidified biochar influences soil properties, and consequently its influences on the agricultural productivity of drought stressed plants. The water use efficiency (I-WUE) of drought stressed faba beans was investigated through the effects of acidified biochar (ACBio) (a 3:100 (w:w) combination of citric acid and biochar) on soil properties, growth, productivity, nutrient uptake, water productivity (WP), and irrigation. Two field experiments (2016/2017 and 2017/2018) were conducted in saline soil (ECe, 7.2 dS m−1) on faba been plants grown under three irrigation regimes (i.e., 100, 80, and 60% of crop evapotranspiration (ETc)) combined with three levels of ACBio (0, 5, and 10 t ha−1). Plants exposed to water stress presented a significant decrease in plant height, dry matter, leave area, chlorophyll content (SPAD), the quantum efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm, Fv/F0, and PI), water status (membrane stability index and relative water content), and seed yield. Acidified biochar soil incorporation improved soil properties (chemical and physical), plant growth, physiological responses, WP, I-WUE, and contents of N, P, K, and Ca. Results revealed that the application of ACBio at 10 t ha−1 and 5 t ha−1 significantly increased seed yield by 38.7 and 25.8%, respectively, compared to the control. Therefore, ACBio incorporation may find application in the future as a potential soil amendment for improving growth and productivity of faba bean plants under deficit irrigation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Muhammad Zeeshan Mehmood ◽  
Ghulam Qadir ◽  
Obaid Afzal ◽  
Mohamed Ali Awale ◽  
Rana Numan Ashraf

Rice is the major staple food for billions of people worldwide. It has the social and economic impacts on people lives. Water scarcity is one of the major challenges to rice production and ultimately food security globally. For food security, it is important to explore efficient rice production technology that uses less water. Therefore, in the modern agriculture focus has been shifted towards development of water saving technologies. These methods include direct seeding, alternate wetting and drying, aerobic rice systems, use of mulches etc. These techniques reduce the water requirements and can enhance water use efficiency (W.U.E) of rice. However, yield may be compromised with these techniques, but research has been carried out to reduce yield losses and water use. Biotechnology and breeding approaches are being used to develop rice verities with drought tolerance, improved water use efficiency etc. Development and adoption of these technologies will shift the rice production from anaerobic to completely or partially aerobic systems. These techniques may reduce the water losses. In Pakistan famers are willing to adopt new technologies; however there is a need of dissemination and demonstration to adopt these technologies at farmer level to enhance crop productivity and water use efficiency. Innovative research approaches are required to fill the gaps in technological innovations and adoption


Author(s):  
Dessie Gieta Amare ◽  
Zigijit Kassa Abebe

Deficit irrigation is a strategy which could be applied to utilize water efficiently. The goal of the article was to review and examine different irrigation deficit to compare its crop morphological characters, yield, water productivity and water use efficiency under different crop type. The overall idea and results are very actual and useful over the world in the semi-arid and arid area interms of water managment and better economic return per applied water.The maximum production in dryland, tomato should be irrigated using drip irrigation system with 100%ETc watering amount [17]. On the other hand 85%, 75% and 30% are also effective in terms of water saving and yield. 85%ETc irrigation level water applied system appears to be a promising alternative for water conservation and labor saving with negligible trade-off in yield of maize [15]. The application of deficit irrigation (75%ETc) could be adopted in lettuce production [16]. Form the review I have seen that The WP increased as the irrigation level reduced.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document