Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T03:25:03.141Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Enhancing water productivity using alternative rice growing practices: a case study from Southern India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 September 2018

J. Deelstra*
Affiliation:
NIBIO – Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, P.O. Box 115, NO-1431 Ås, Norway
U. S. Nagothu
Affiliation:
NIBIO – Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, P.O. Box 115, NO-1431 Ås, Norway
K. R. Kakumanu
Affiliation:
Centre for Natural Resource Management (CNRM), National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayathi Raj, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad – 500 030, Telangana, India
Y. R. Kaluvai
Affiliation:
WALAMTARI, Hyderabad, India
S. R. Kallam
Affiliation:
ITC PSPD LIMITED, 106 Sardar Patel Road, Secunderabad, Telangana, India
*
Author for correspondence: J. Deelstra, E-mail: johannes.deelstra@nibio.no

Abstract

Saving water in irrigated agriculture is a high priority in areas with scarce water resources and impacted by climate change. This paper presents results of measurements on water productivity (WP) under alternative rice growing practices such as alternating wetting and drying, direct seeded rice, modified systems of rice intensification and conventional paddy rice (NI) in two selected districts (Guntur in Andhra Pradesh and Nalgonda in Telangana, India). Under alternative practices, the yields varied from 5.72 to 6.11 t/ha compared with 4.71 t/ha under paddy rice. The average water application varied from 991 to 1494 mm under alternative practices while average application in conventional paddy rice was 2242 mm. Higher yield and lower water application led to an increase in WP varying from 0.45 to 0.59 kg/m3 under alternative practices compared with 0.22 kg/m3 under conventional paddy rice. The measurements showed that less water can be used to produce more crop under alternative rice growing practices. The results are important for water-scarce areas, providing useful information to policy makers, farmers, agricultural departments and water management boards in devising future climate-smart adaptation and mitigation strategies.

Type
Crops and Soils Research Paper
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alberto, MCR, Wassmann, R, Hirano, T, Miyata, A, Hatano, R, Kumar, A, Padre, A and Amante, M (2011) Comparisons of energy balance and evapotranspiration between flooded and aerobic rice fields in the Philippines. Agricultural Water Management 98, 14171430.Google Scholar
Belder, P, Bouman, BAM, Cabangon, R, Guoan, L, Quilang, EJP, Yuanhua, L, Spiertz, JHJ and Tuong, TP (2004) Effect of water-saving irrigation on rice yield and water use in typical lowland conditions in Asia. Agricultural Water Management 65, 193210.Google Scholar
Belder, P, Bouman, BAM and Spiertz, JJ (2007) Exploring options for water savings in lowland rice using a modelling approach. Agricultural Systems 92, 91114.Google Scholar
Bos, MG, Repogle, J and Clemmens, AJ (1984) Flow Measuring Flumes For Open Channel Systems. New York, NY, USA: John Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar
Bouman, BAM and Tuong, T (2001) Field water mangement to save water and increase its productivity in irrigated lowland rice. Agricultural Water Management 49, 1130.Google Scholar
Bouman, BAM, Lampayan, RM and Tuong, TP (2007) Water Management in Irrigated Rice: Coping with Water Scarcity. Los Baños, Philippines: International Rice Research Institute.Google Scholar
Carrijo, DR, Lundy, ME and Linquist, BA (2017) Rice yields and water use under alternate wetting and drying irrigation: a meta-analysis. Field Crops Research 203, 173180.Google Scholar
Chaturvedi, RK, Joshi, J, Jayaraman, M, Bala, G and Ravindranath, NH (2012) Multi-model climate change projections for India under representative concentration pathways. Current Science 103, 791802.Google Scholar
Chauhan, BS and Opeña, J (2012) Effect of tillage systems and herbicides on weed emergence, weed growth, and grain yield in dry-seeded rice systems. Field Crops Research 137, 5669.Google Scholar
CWC – Water Resources Information System Directorate (2013) Water and Related Statistics. New Delhi, India: Information System Organisation. Available at http://cwc.gov.in/main/downloads/Water%20and%20Related%20Statistics-2013.pdf (Accessed 22 May 2018).Google Scholar
FAO (2012) Coping with Water Scarcity. An Action Framework for Agriculture and Food Security. Rome, Italy: FAO. Available at http://www.fao.org/docrep/016/i3015e/i3015e.pdf (Accessed 22 May 2018).Google Scholar
Feng, L, Bouman, BAM, Tuong, TP, Cabangon, RJ, Li, Y, Lu, G and Feng, Y (2007) Exploring options to grow rice using less water in northern China using a modelling approach. I. Field experiments and model evaluation. Agricultural Water Management 88, 113.Google Scholar
Geethalakshmi, V, Lakshmanan, A, Bhuvaneswari, K, Jella, K, Narasimhan, B, Kakumanu, KR, Palanisami, K and Nagothu, S (2013) Climate and Hydrology Scenarios for the ClimaAdapt Programme Regions in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh States in India. ClimaAdapt Deliverable 1.4. Ås, Norway: Bioforsk. Available at http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2492512. (Accessed 23 March 2018).Google Scholar
Lampayan, RM, Rejesus, RM, Singleton, GR and Bouman, BAM (2015) Adoption and economics of alternate wetting and drying water management for irrigated lowland rice. Field Crops Research 170, 95108.Google Scholar
Molden, D, Oweis, T, Steduto, P, Bindraban, P, Hanjra, M and Kijne, J (2010) Improving agricultural water productivity: between optimism and caution. Agricultural Water Management 97, 528535.Google Scholar
Monaco, F and Sali, G (2018) How water amounts and management options drive irrigation water productivity of rice. A multivariate analysis based on field experiment data. Agricultural Water Management 195, 4757.Google Scholar
Perry, C, Steduto, P, Allen, RG and Burt, CM (2009) Increasing productivity in irrigated agriculture: agronomic constraints and hydrological realities. Agricultural Water Management 96, 15171524.Google Scholar
Radha, Y, Reddy, KY, Rao, GS, Chandra, SR and Babu, GK (2009) Water-saving rice production technologies in Krishna Western Delta Command of Andhra Pradesh – an economic analysis 1. Agricultural Economics Research Review 22, 397400.Google Scholar
Ragab, R (2014) A Note on Water Use Efficiency and Water Productivity. Hyderabad, India: Water4Crops. Available at http://www.water4crops.org/water-use-efficiency-water-productivity-terminology/ (Accessed 22 May 2018)Google Scholar
Rejesus, RM, Palis, FG, Rodriguez, DGP, Lampayan, RM and Bouman, BAM (2011) Impact of the alternate wetting and drying (AWD) water-saving irrigation technique: evidence from rice producers in the Philippines. Food Policy 36, 280288.Google Scholar
Singh, R, Kundu, DK and Bandyopadhyay, KK (2010) Enhancing agricultural productivity through enhanced water use efficiency. Journal of Agricultural Physics 10, 115.Google Scholar
Sinha, SK and Talati, J (2007) Productivity impacts of the system of rice intensification (SRI): a case study in West Bengal, India. Agricultural Water Management 87, 5560.Google Scholar
Soil Survey Staff (1999) Soil Taxonomy: A Basic System of Soil Classification for Making and Interpreting Soil Surveys, 2nd Edn. U.S. Department of Agriculture Handbook 436. Washington, DC, USA: USDA/NRCS.Google Scholar
Stoop, WA, Uphoff, N and Kassam, A (2002) A review of agricultural research issues raised by the system of rice intensification (SRI) from Madagascar: opportunities for improving farming systems for resource-poor farmers. Agricultural Systems 71, 249274.Google Scholar
Swarup, A, Panda, D, Mishra, B and Kundu, DK (2008) Water and nutrient management for sustainable rice production. In Singh, DP, Dani, RC, Rao, KS, Nayak, SK, Panda, D, Dash, RN, Mishra, AK and Ghosh, A (eds), Rice Research Priorities and Strategies for Second Green Revolution. Cuttack, India: Central Rice Research Institute, pp. 79101.Google Scholar
The Economic Times (2015) India Set to Become Water Scarce by 2025, Government tells Parliament. Available at https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/india-set-to-become-water-scarce-by-2025-government-tells-parliament/articleshow/48296420.cms (Accessed 22 May 2018).Google Scholar
Tuong, TP and Bouman, BAM (2003) Rice production in water-scarce environments. In Kijne, JW, Barker, R and Molden, D (eds). Water Productivity in Agriculture: Limits and Opportunities for Improvement. Wallingford, UK: CABI Publishing, pp. 5367. Available at http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/CABI_Publications/CA_CABI_Series/Water_Productivity/Unprotected/0851996698ch4.pdf (Accessed 22 May 2018).Google Scholar
Tuong, TP, Wopereis, MCS, Marquez, JA and Kropff, MJ (1994) Mechanisms and control of percolation losses in irrigated puddled rice fields. Soil Science Society of America Journal 58, 17941803.Google Scholar
Ward, FA and Pulido-Velazquez, M (2008) Water conservation in irrigation can increase water use. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 105, 1821518220.Google Scholar
White, C (2012) Understanding Water Scarcity: Definitions and Measurements. Global Water Forum. Available at http://www.globalwaterforum.org/2012/05/07/understanding-water-scarcity-definitions-and-measurements/ (Accessed 23 March 2018).Google Scholar
Wopereis, MCS, Bouman, BAM, Kropff, MJ, Ten Berge, HFM and Maligaya, AR (1994) Water use efficiency of flooded rice fields I. Validation of the soil-water balance model SAWAH. Agricultural Water Management 26, 277289.Google Scholar
Zhao, L, Wu, L, Li, Y, Animesh, S, Zhu, D and Uphoff, N (2010) Comparisons of yield, water use efficiency, and soil microbial biomass as affected by the system of rice intensification. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 41, 112.Google Scholar