Impact of Irrigation Techniques on Water-Use Efficiency, Economic Returns, and Productivity of Rice

The growing global population and water scarcities are putting pressure on researchers to develop new techniques for food production that require less water. In agriculture, sustainable irrigation methods considerably improve water-use efficiency (WUE), economic returns, and crop productivity. A field trial was carried out during 2022 and 2023 to examine the impact of different irrigation techniques—furrow irrigation (FI), alternate wetting and drying (AWD), and continuous flooding (CF)—on water-use efficiency, economic benefits, cost of production, and productivity of different high-yielding rice varieties (i.e., V1: Super gold 2019, V2: Super basmati 2019, V3: Kissan basmati 2016, V4: Punjab basmati 2016, V5: Chenab basmati 2016). Findings showed that yield and yield parameters were statistically higher in AWD than FI and CF. Chenab basmati 2016 was superior in productivity as compared to the remaining varieties in both years. Water-use efficiency, net income, and cost/benefit ratio were highest in AWD as compared to CF and FI. AWD irrigation methods coupled with Chenab basmati 2016 were the most effective combination of treatments for obtaining more grain yield with maximum water savings, net income, and cost/benefit ratio.