Cost-effectiveness and Water Use Efficiency of Groundnut and Wheat under SAT Region of Central India

Abstract

The field experiment was conducted in Parasai–Sindh watershed to evaluate the groundnut yield (rainy season crop), water use efficiency (WUE) and economic value under different topographic condition of watershed, to improve the yield of the wheat crop (winter season), irrigation scheduling of improved irrigation method was compared with the traditional irrigation method. This Experiment was conducted from rainy season 2012 to winter season 2013. The study was designed to determine the WUE, gross and net return under water scarcity area. The average yield (1205.33 kg ha-1); WUE [1.46 and 3.34 kg ha-1 mm-1 rainwater use efficiency (WUER) and effective rainwater use efficiency (WUEER), respectively] and benefit: cost (B:C) ratio (2.12) of groundnut were higher in upland as compared with lowland of watershed. Under sprinkler irrigation the yield and B:C ratio of wheat were improved 21.37 and 43.86% respectively as compared with conventional system (surface irrigation).  Sprinkler system of irrigation resulted in 32.21% less water used and 126.45% more economic water productivity (WPE) over conventional irrigation method in wheat.