Effect of Sowing Time Variations and Irrigation Water Levels on Growth, Yield of Wheat, and Water Footprints

Water scarcity is predicted to intensify due to climate change, population growth, and industrial expansion. This poses serious problems for long-term food safety and agricultural sustainability. This field experiment involved varying the sowing times three times (advance, normal and delayed seed sowing) and the irrigation water levels three times, with three replications. The result shows the maximum height of the plant, length of the tip, number of grains per tip, and grain production (5063 kg ha−1) were achieved via regular planting with sufficient irrigation (T1). Although the output was somewhat reduced (2–3%), the treatment of water irrigation with the deficit (T2, T3) improved the plant level water use efficiency by 10–23%and reduced the trace of blue water by 12–28%. T3 had the lowest blue water track (736 m3 t−1). Conversely, advance and delayed seed sowing combined with deficit irrigation significantly reduced yield up to 14% and increased blue water footprint under full irrigation. Economic analysis revealed that T1 provided the highest net income (Rs: 376,284 ha−1), while T2 and T3 retained 97–98% as compared to the advance seed sowing with well water, while improving water productivity. Therefore, it is concluded that the normal sowing with a 15–30% irrigation deficit enhances water productivity without substantial yield losses, providing a climate-adaptive approach for wheat production in water-scarce regions.