Effects of raised and sunken bed configurations and irrigation scheduling for crop diversification and water productivity improvement in eastern India

The two primary challenges faced in eastern India are the surplus of water during the monsoon season and the scarcity of water during the winter season. Addressing these challenges, the implementation of raised and sunken bed configurations proves to be an effective method for managing land and water resources. A field experiment was conducted during 2023–2025 in a split-plot design to evaluate the effects of raised and sunken bed configurations and irrigation regimes on yield, water productivity, and economic viability. Main plots included three sunken bed widths (M1: 1.00 m, M2: 1.25 m, and M3: 1.50 m) and three raised bed heights (S1: 15 cm, S2: 30 cm, and S3: 45 cm) and kept a constant raised bed width (1 m). Crop evapotranspiration (ET c ) and soil moisture of raised beds and sunken beds were estimated using the CROPWAT 8.0 model and the gravimetric method, respectively. It was observed that the soil moisture content in the raised beds varied between 12.03 and 24.69%, while in sunken beds, it ranged from 8.62 to 19.78%. Among the raised bed treatments, M3S2 (1.5 m sunken bed width and 30 cm raised bed height) achieved the highest economic yields for cabbage (220.50 q ha −1 ) and cauliflower (213.88 q ha −1 ). This particular treatment also recorded the highest crop water productivity (11.24 and 12.14 kg m −3 ), irrigation water productivity (11.47 and 12.42 kg m −3 ), and total water productivity (10.32 and 11.18 kg m −3 ) for cabbage and cauliflower, respectively, compared to other treatment combinations. Similarly, the irrigation water productivity and total water productivity for treatment M3S3 (1.5 m sunken bed width and 45 cm raised bed height) were higher for the sunken bed, i.e. for chickpea at 1.34 kg m −3 and 1.29 kg m −3 , and for lentil at 1.99 kg m −3 and 1.91 kg m −3 , respectively, with treatment M3S2 following closely behind. Overall, the study highlights that optimal configuration of raised and sunken beds, particularly M3S2 for vegetable crops (cabbage and cauliflower) and M3S3 for pulse crops (chickpea and lentil), improves land and water productivity, enhances crop performance, and increases farm profitability under water-limited environments. It is recommended that further long-term studies be conducted to evaluate the sustainability, soil health dynamics, and climate resilience of these configurations.