Land gradient and configuration effects on yield, irrigation amount and irrigation water productivity in rice-wheat and maize-wheat cropping systems in Eastern India

Abstract

Laser land levelling is expanding rapidly in the rice-wheat (RW) and maize-wheat (MW) systems of the Indo-Gangetic Plains of India and Pakistan. Current practice is to level to zero (0%) gradient, whereas a small gradient (e.g. 0.1%) is typically used in developed countries. Therefore, experiments were conducted in farmers’ plots (~15 m x 40 m) in the Eastern Gangetic Plains to evaluate laser levelling with a 0.1% gradient in comparison with 0% and farmer levelling practice (FL). The study was conducted over two years in RW and MW systems. In the MW system, raised beds in plots lasered with 0% and 0.1% gradients were also evaluated. Laser levelling with 0% gradient significantly reduced irrigation amount and/or increased irrigation water productivity (WPi) in all crops/systems grown on the flat compared to FL except for wheat in the MW system. While there was a consistent trend for higher yield with a 0% gradient compared with FL, the differences were not significant in any crop/system. For the RW system, the results suggest no to marginal benefits in irrigation amount and WPi from levelling with a 0.1% gradient in comparison with 0% gradient. In that system, by far the bigger gains were from changing from FL to laser levelling with 0% gradient. This resulted in substantial reductions in irrigation amount, which greatly increased WPi in both crops (by ~40%), while yield was not affected. Rice grown with FL was not profitable, but lasering with 0% gradient significantly increased gross margin for rice, wheat and the total RW system. As for the RW system, levelling to 0% with a flat configuration significantly increased WPi of both crops in the MW system compared to FL, but by a lesser proportion. Raised beds significantly increased yield of maize by 8% (0.5 t ha −1 ), reduced irrigation amount by 20% (40 mm) and increased WPi by 34% (1.0 kg m −3 ) in comparison with the laser levelled flat plots. Gross margin of the MW system on beds was 17–20% higher than FL, and gross margin with beds on a 0.1% gradient was significantly higher than either gradient on the flat. The results suggest that the gains from levelling with a 0.1% gradient compared to 0% are marginal; however, this may change if the goal of consolidation of small farmer plots into larger fields becomes a reality provided there is a proportionate increase in irrigation flow rates, and ability to drain.

Sustainable production of bread wheat using laser land levelling and sowing methods as potent regulators of carbon sequestration, fuel consumption and water use in the arid environment of Bahawalpur, Pakistan

“…Levelling of soil enhances the utilization of water by crops. Greater availability of water under ‘LASER levelling’ might have enhanced cell division, elongation and ultimately differentiation (Devkota et al, 2021). However, no LASER levelling increased the wastage of water, caused poor distribution of water throughout the field and decreased the availability of water to be utilized in the growth process of wheat (Table 3).…”

“…A decrease in evapotranspiration was observed under the ridge–furrow system compared to flat planting, which ultimately improved water use efficiency and water productivity (Devkota et al, 2021). Another aspect is that runoff of water was decreased under ridge sowing, which ultimately enhanced water use efficiency and decreased water requirements (Qiang et al, 2022).…”

The Impacts of Planting Patterns Combined with Irrigation Management Practices on Watermelon Growth, Photosynthesis, and Yield

“…Many agroforestry systems at home and abroad have developed into diversified and sustainable land use patterns, but there are different laws of resource allocation and utilization among different regions and species. In tree-based alley cropping systems, where plants co-grow, every plant tries to compete for available resources for its own needs [6]. Resource competition/complementarity between trees and crops is bound to occur.…”

Multiple Leveling for Paddy Field Preparation with Double Axis Rotary Tillage Accelerates Rice Growth and Economic Benefits

“…Paddy field preparation is the first crucial working procedure after the previous crop harvest, which requires various operations successively such as basal fertilizing, water retting for farmland, returning straw by rotary tillage, and leveling, to prepare for the transplanting of rice seedlings. In this multiple cropping system, farmers have to complete the whole mechanical operations in a paddy field within a short crop rotation time to win adequate growing time for rice [2,3].…”