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The prevalence of water-intensive cropping systems in tandem with the use of traditional irrigation methods such as flood irrigation have resulted in alarming water scarcity levels in many countries like India. Enhancing irrigation and nutrient use efficiency in agriculture using drip irrigation systems is accentuated to address the rising water scarcity and fertilizer crisis. Input use efficiencies may be further improved by optimizing nutrient doses and irrigation schedules. In the present study, crop and water productivities of wheat-moongbean-maize cropping system, were evaluated for surface drip irrigation (SDI) and subsurface drip irrigation (SSDI) systems when irrigated at 0.6 and 0.8 ETC (crop evapotranspiration) and fertigated with 0, 60, 80 and 100 % recommended doses of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) fertilizers (RDF). The results were compared with the conventional local practice of surface flood irrigation and soil application of recommended fertilizers. SSDI at 0.8 ETc with 100 % fertigation of RDF in the ‘wheat-moongbean-maize’ cropping system increased average system productivity by 5.4 %, irrigation water productivity by 118 % and total water productivity by 45 % compared to surface flood irrigation and soil application of fertilizers. The total amount of irrigation water applied through SDI or SSDI at 0.8 ETc (336–274 mm) was 44.0 % and 58.5 % lower compared to surface flood (600–660 mm) in 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons, respectively. Fertigation using SDI or SSDI also reduced fertilizer requirements for this cropping system by 20 % to obtain an equivalent yield to the conventional system. Fertigation of 60 %, 80 % and 100 % RDF resulted in significant yield gain of 36 %, 55 % and 67 % in wheat; 25 %, 31 % and 34 % in moongbean and 33 %, 49 % and 62 % in maize as compared to fertilizer control (0 % RDF), respectively. On average, grain yields obtained with irrigation scheduling at 0.8 ETC were circa 10 % higher than that at 0.6 ETC.
Dhayal et al. (Thu,) studied this question.