M.S. Rahman
Scientific Officer
IWM Division, BARI, Gazipur
P.K. Sarkar
Principal Scientific Officer
IWM Division, BARI, Gazipur
M.A.R. Akand
Principal Scientific Officer
IWM Division, BARI, Gazipur
A. Khatun
Principal Scientific Officer
IWM Division, BARI, Gazipur
S. K. Biswas
Senior Scientific Officer
IWM Division, BARI, Gazipur
Scarcity of water is the most severe constraint for development of agriculture in Bangladesh. Under this condition, the need to use the available water economically and efficiently is unquestionable. The objectives of the study was to identify crop growth stages during which the crop can withstand water stress with limited effect on yield and a suitable irrigation options against drought for sustainable production. The results showed that variation in timing and amount of irrigation had a reasonable impact on grain yield. The mid-season stage of mustard was the most sensitive to water stress. On the other hand, water stress during the early and late stage had a limited effect on yield. Although maximum yield was obtained from the treatment fulfilling entire crop water requirement, deficit irrigation can be an effective practice for higher productivity and thus irrigated areas can be increased in water resources limiting situations.
Water scarcity, water stress, deficit irrigation, mustard
Central farm, IWM Division, BARI, Joydebpur, Gazipur
Crop-Soil-Water Management
The study was undertaken to identify the stages of crops’ growth sensitive to water stress of different magnitudes and a suitable irrigation options against drought for sustainable production.
The experiment was conducted at the research field of Irrigation and Water Management Division, BARI, Gazipur during the rabi season of 2010-2011 on mustard crop (BARI Mustard 11). With a randomized complete block design (RCBD) and four replications the treatments were selected based on applying irrigation at different growth stages as below:
T1 = Full irrigation (Control)
T2 = Water stress at sowing stage
T3 = Water stress at early stage ( Early dry)
T4 = Water stress at mid stage (Intermittent dry)
T5 = Water stress at late stage (Late dry)
The soil was a silty clay loam having a bulk density of 1.50 gm/cc and volumetric water content at permanent wilting point (PWP) and field capacity (FC) equal to 23% and 43.5%, respectively. Seeds were sown on 12 November 2011 at the rate of 10 kg/ha. The unit plot size and line to line spacing were 5×4 m and 30 cm, respectively. Standard fertilizer doses were applied in the field. A common irrigation (5 mm) was applied in the field (except T2 treatment for maintaining water stress at sowing stage) after of sowing for ensuring good germination. Intercultural operations such as weeding, earthing up and pesticide application were done as when necessary. Mustard was harvested on 27 February 2011, and growth and yield data were collected.
BARI Annual Report 2010-2011
Meeting full water requirement during the early growth stage of mustard is not very important if water shortage is not suffered by the cop during the remainder of the season, especially during the mid season stage. This indicates that the most critical period for irrigation is the mid season stage for mustard. In other word, the crop is very susceptible to water stress at that stage. When water stress is imposed early in the growing season, high yield of mustard could easily be sustained provided adequate watering conditions take place during the rest of the growing season.
Report/Proceedings