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Alternate Wetting and Drying Irrigation for Rice Cultivation

M.M.H. Oliver
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh

M.S.U. Talukder
Department of Irrigation and Water Management, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh

M. Ahmed
Department of Irrigation and Water Management, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

A field experiment was conducted at the Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) to find out possible effects of alternate wetting and drying irrigation (AWDI) on the yield, water use and water use efficiency (WUE) of Boro rice. The experimental layout was furnitured using split-plot design (SPD) with two modern varieties (MV) of rice viz. BRRI dhan28 and BRRI dhan29, which received four irrigation treatments randomly and was replicated thrice. The treatments ranged from continuous submergence (T₁) of the field to a number of delayed irrigations (T₂, T₃ and T₄) denoting application of 5 cm irrigation water when water level in the perforated PVC pipe fell 10, 20 and 30 cm below ground level (G.L.), respectively. The study revealed that treatment T₁ attributed by the highest total water use (122.2 cm) and the lowest WUE (58.53 kg/ha/cm) produced the highest grain yield (6.86 t/ha). Treatment T₂, on the contrary, gave the second highest yield (6.58 t/ha) and consequently the second highest WUE (69.48 kg/ha/cm) indicating quite a large water saving (15 cm) compared to treatment T₁. The yields in treatments T₃ (6.27 t/ha) and T₄(5.86 t/ha) were significantly lower at 1% level of significance compared to that of treatment T₁. No significant effect was found either for the treatment or for the varieties on the number of effective and total tillers hill^-1 nor did they affect 1000 grain weight. Reduced plant height, no. of effective tillers hill^-1, grain yield, straw yield, biological yield and harvest index were found with the increasing water stress.

Keywords: Alternate wetting and drying irrigation, Boro rice, Yield, Water use efficiency

Location: The Bangladesh Agricultural University Farm of Mymensingh

Start Date: 00-00-2008

End Date: 00-05-2008

Program Area: Crop-Soil-Water Management

Commodity: Water management

Objectives:

1. To find out possible effects of alternate wetting and drying irrigation (AWDI) on the yield, water use and water use efficiency (WUE) of Boro rice.

Methodology:

The Bangladesh Agricultural University Farm of Mymensingh was selected as the experimental site. Topography of the land being plain was suitable for check basin irrigation. Individual plots were located inside a close growing rice field so that actual growing condition (reception of the direct and diffused fluxes) prevails in the site. Soil texture of the experimental site was found to be silty loam. The upper root zone of the experimental field was tilled with high puddling intensity. The experimental plots (4 m x 2.5 m) were laid out with split-plot design (SPD) combining two modern varieties of rice (BRRI dhan29 and BRRI dhan28) and four irrigation treatments that were replicated thrice. This resulted in a total of 24 plots in the field with 8 plots in a row. Each of the plots was separated by 1 m of transition zone while each of the replications was demarcated by a buffer zone of 1.5 m in between. To prevent seepage, polythene sheets were pushed into the edges of the levees along the inner perimeter of all plots. PVC pipes of 4 cm in diameter and 40 cm in length were installed in the field keeping 7 cm above the soil and the remaining 33 cm which was perforated underneath to measure the depletion of soil water in the field. Irrigation water was applied when depleting water table inside the pipe reached a certain level. The first treatment (T₁) was continuous submergence (1 to 7 cm standing water) and the remaining three (T₂, T₃ and T₄) stood for an application of 5 cm irrigation water when water level in the pipe fell 10, 20 and 30 cm below the G.L., respectively. Continuous standing water (5 cm) was maintained in all the plots up to 28 days after transplantation (DAT) to avoid pre-apprehended weed infestation that could be awesome during crop establishment stage. A bowl of 1.5 litres was used to irrigate the plots from the buffer zones by throwing water in. The seedlings were transplanted maintaining hill to hill distance of 15 cm and row to row distance of 25 cm. The first and the last hills were kept at 7.5 cm away from their nearest levees resulting in 25 hills along the length and 10 hills along the width. Since the grains of BRRI dhan28 got ripened earlier than the BRRI dhan29, the former was harvested (01 May 2008) two weeks earlier than the harvesting date (May 14, 2008) of the latter. Matured plants inside 1 m square of land were harvested for subsequent analysis. Moisture content of the grains, however, was adjusted to 14% equivalent moisture content after measuring through digital grain moisture meter for subsequent analysis. Quantitative information related to yield and all the yield contributing characters viz. plant height, effective tillers, length of the panicle, no. of spikelets per panicle, no. of filled and unfilled grains per panicle, 1000 grain weight, grain yield, straw yield, harvest index and water use efficiency of the two varieties (BRRI dhan28 and BRRI dhan29) were analysed to obtain the effect for AWDI on rice production.

Source of Information: J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 6(2): 409–414, 2008; ISSN 1810-3030

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

The highest average total water (117.2 cm) used by the plant was found in treatment T₁ which was also attributed by the highest yield (6.86 t/ha). The treatment T₂ (applying irrigation after 10 cm depletion of W.L. below G.L), in spite of using much less amount of water (94.7 cm), gave a yield of 6.58 t/ha which is almost close to the highest yield saving nearly 25 cm of water compared to treatment T₁. This clearly demonstrates that submerged paddy field is not necessarily the only solution for optimum production. It was found that it requires 3 to 4 days for 10 cm depletion of water level below the ground surface in silty-loam soil which, in this study, was termed as T₂. This practice was found to be the most suitable because of the highest water use efficiency (69.48 kg/ha/cm), insignificant reduction in grain yields (4.08%) and water saving (25 cm). The value of the water saved by this technique would itself be sufficient to arrest the economic justification of the insignificant yield loss in AWDI technique.

Knowledge Management: Journal