Studies on Water Productivity and Yields Responses of Wheat Based on Drip Irrigation Systems in Clay Loam Soil

This study aimed to estimate the wheat yield response to drip irrigation systems and the attributed water productivity and saving water indices under clay loam soil conditions of semi-tropical regions. Field experiments were conducted in the College of Agricultural Engineering, Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India, during the rabi seasons of 2011-2012 to study the effect of drip irrigation on water productivity and yield attributes of wheat crop. Results revealed that water saving was 28.42% higher in drip irrigation compared with the border irrigation system. Data also revealed that water productivity of drip irrigated wheat was 24.24% more than the border irrigated wheat. However, there was a slightly decrease of 10.8% in the grain yield. This may be due to the wheat plants exposed to higher water-stress during the growing stages. Finally, it can be concluded that good management of irrigation water under drip irrigation is promising for higher water productivity and can be adopted as alternative irrigation system for irrigating intensive field crop.