Effect of Different Irrigation Management Techniques and Planting Methods on Production and Water Use Efficiency of Maize

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during Rabi 2024-25 to study on performance of maize under different irrigation schedules with different sowing dates was conducted at Agricultural College Mahanandi, ANGRAU during Rabi 2024-25 and found in this research study, furrow irrigation with different irrigation schedules was studied. It is also required to study the water management techniques such as alternate furrow irrigation and paired row furrow irrigation with the above recommended date of sowing date and irrigation scheduling. Initial soil infiltration is found to be 20.4 cm/h and infiltration capacity or constant infiltration capacity of the soil is found to be 1.2 cm/h. Permeability of the soil is found to be 1.019 x 10-6 m/s. Crop water requirement of maize is found to be 429.9 mm for entire crop period. The average irrigation water used for T1(Conventional furrow irrigation) found to be higher with 520.8 mm followed by T6 (Drip irrigation with normal planting), T3 (Skip fixed furrow irrigation), T2 (Alternate furrow irrigation), T4 (Furrow irrigation with paired row planting) and T5 (Drip irrigation with paired row planting) with 443.06, 366.27, 354.12, 332.09 and 221.52 mm respectively. However, highest Water Use Efficiency (WUE) were recorded in T5 (paired row furrow with drip irrigation with 30.34 kg ha-1mm-1.  Water Use Efficiency (WUE) of T2, T3, T4 with 15.83, 14.94 and 15.76 kg ha-1mm-1 respectively is on par with T6(Drip irrigation with normal planting) with 17.69 kg ha-1mm-1. Drip irrigation systems consistently outperformed furrow-based methods in terms of both yield and water savings. T₆ (Drip irrigation with normal planting) recorded the highest grain yield (7836 kg ha⁻¹), attributable to uniform and timely moisture supply throughout the crop growth period. Conversely, T₅ (Drip irrigation with paired-row planting) achieved the maximum water use efficiency (30.34 kg ha⁻¹ mm⁻¹), despite receiving the lowest irrigation volume, highlighting its superior capacity to convert limited water into economic yield.