Determination of Crop Coefficient of Hybrid Wheat under Arid Climate: A Pot Study

Climate change increases vulnerabilities for crop productivity in Pakistan. Water crises are increasing with an increase in temperature and change in precipitation patterns due to climate change which ultimately imposed a threat to the food security of the country. Water is indispensable for all plants to complete life cycle as the unavailability of water at critical growth stages drastically affects the development of the plant. The present pot study was conducted for the estimation of crop coefficient of hybrid wheat for irrigation scheduling at Muhammad Nawaz Shareef University of Agriculture, Multan during two growing seasons 2018-19 and 2019-20. In this experiment, three wheat varieties were used were Hybrid-1 (R26-3-1/DH-16), Hybrid-2(AR 7-5 / ZWB-14), and Galaxy-2013 as treatment. The soil moisture content was maintained between 50 to 100 % available water content (AWC) during both growing seasons. The crop coefficient (Kc) and actual evapotranspiration (Eta) were maximum in galaxy-13 and minimum in hybrid wheat. The grain yield for Hybrid-1, Hybrid-2, and galaxy-13 was 1, 1.5, and 0.6 g plant-1, respectively while the straw output was 4.8, 4.3, and 3 g plant-1, respectively. The harvest index for Hybrid-1, Hybrid-2, and galaxy-13 were 20, 34, and 20% respectively. The water use efficiency (WUE) for Hybrid-1, Hybrid-2, and galaxy-13 was 0.2. 0.3 and 0.1 g plant-1mm-1, respectively. The Hybrid-1 and Hybrid-2 produced more grain yield, straw yield, more spikes, and more grains per spikes and showed more water use efficiency with short plant height as compared to galaxy-13. The results of the study revealed that Hybrid-2 is more water-efficient with low water requirement and it was followed by Hybrid-1. The growing of Hybrid-2 will enhance the wheat yield to meet the food requirements of the increasing population under the climate change scenario with less water

Determination of water requirements for major Crops in Sindh using Cropwat model

Due to population growth and increasing urbanization trends, there is a shortage of water around the world. Irrigation systems are critical for increasing crop output and ensuring food security. Desertification caused by humans and water shortages have further exacerbated the world’s regular water scarcity, putting a significant impact on food production. Water scarcity and rising food demands necessitate greater efficiency in water use, both in rain-fed and irrigated agriculture. Hence, it is the most demanding requirement for the farming community to use some type of irrigation planning to conserve the limited water resources. The purpose of this study is to calculate crop water requirements and irrigation scheduling for some major crops in Sindh using the CROPWAT model developed by FAO of United Nations. In this regard, selection from among the major crops cultivated in the Sindh province of Pakistan was made in such a way at least one crop from each category be included in this research. Accordingly, Wheat as Rabi, Rice as Kharif, Sugarcane as Perineal and Chili and Rape-seed Mustard as Cash Crops were selected. CROPWAT model calculates crop water requirements and irrigation scheduling from existing or new climatic- and crop-information. The Input crop data for CROPWAT software was obtained from various online resources and published information, whereas, climatic data incorporated in the CLIMWAT tool attached with CROPWAT was utilized. In addition, the software used average rainfall data of the particular years for each crop observed at DRIP Tandojam metrological station. The results of water requirements for the crops were obtained through CROPWAT model are: Wheat (352.1 mm); Rice (1662.5 mm); Sugarcane (2184.5 mm); Chili (714.4 mm); and Rape-seed Mustard (475.6 mm), while those by lysimeter were: Wheat (415 mm); Rice (1633 mm); Sugarcane 2150 mm); Chili (808.9 mm); and Rape-seed mustard (424.87 mm). These results delineate that there is decrease in crop water requirement of Wheat, Rice, Sugarcane and Chili to the tune of 15%, 1.5%, 11.6% and 1.7%, respectively, whereas an increase of 12% for Rape-seed mustard

Agronomic Operation and Maintenance of Field Irrigation Systems

Worldwide experience indicates that projected economic returns on investments in field irrigation systems are seldom obtained by farmers, due to improper strategies on irrigation scheduling, lack of operational control, and limited feedback on the actual performance of irrigation systems, in terms of application efficiency and uniformity. An approach to dynamic integration of soil hydrodynamic characteristics, potential evapotranspiration, and crop leaf area index evolution throughout the irrigation season is detailed, oriented to integrate smart water management strategies and techniques in the operation and maintenance of farm irrigation systems. This dynamic integrative platform has been used in Perú and México by actual farming companies producing table grapes, wine grapes, avocado, and bell peppers exported to international markets; this chapter documents its practical results in terms of water and energy savings, crop yield, and fruit quality