T.B.S. Rajput

Bio: T.B.S. Rajput is an academic researcher from Indian Agricultural Research Institute. The author has contributed to research in topics: Irrigation & Drip irrigation. The author has an hindex of 13, co-authored 18 publications receiving 828 citations.

Efficient irrigation; inefficient communication; flawed recommendations

Abstract: Concerns about scarcity of water have focused attention on irrigation, the largest water-using sector worldwide, which is widely seen as a low-value, wasteful and “inefficient” use for water. The terminology for this debate is, however, poorly defined – often failing even to distinguish between consumptive and non-consumptive uses. In consequence, technical interventions have not always led to the expected, desirable outcomes, and the recommendations in many reports and papers are at best dubious, at worst simply wrong. The history of the analysis of “irrigation efficiency” is traced, and compared with the science of hydrology, which offers consistent terminology for various scales of analysis from field through irrigation scheme to region and basin. Based on the work of various previous writers, an analytical framework and associated terms are proposed to better serve the needs of technical specialists from all water-using sectors, policymakers and planners in achieving more productive use of water and tracing the implications of interventions on other uses and users. ICID recommends that this terminology be used in the analysis of water resources management at all scales, and form the basis for its research papers and other published outputs. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Les preoccupations relatives a la rarefaction de l'eau ont concentre l'attention sur l'irrigation, le secteur le plus consommateur d'eau dans le monde, qui est couramment considere comme un usage de faible valeur ajoutee, gaspilleur et inefficace. Les termes de ce debat sont cependant mal definis – ils ne permettent meme pas, le plus souvent, de distinguer entre usages impliquant une consommation et usages ne l'impliquant pas. En consequence, les interventions techniques n'ont pas toujours donne les resultats souhaitables attendus, et les recommandations de nombre de rapports et revues sont au mieux douteuses, au pire, tout simplement mauvaises. L'histoire de l'analyse de l' « efficacite de l'irrigation » est presentee, et comparee a la science de l'hydrologie qui propose une terminologie confirmee pour differentes echelles d'analyse allant de la parcelle jusqu'a la region et au bassin versant, en passant par le perimetre d'irrigation. A partir du travail de divers auteurs, sont proposes un cadre analytique et le vocabulaire correspondant afin de mieux repondre aux besoins des specialistes techniques dans tous les usages de l'eau, d'aider les decideurs et les planificateurs dans leurs efforts pour atteindre une utilisation plus productive de l'eau, et de reperer les impacts des interventions sur d'autres usages et d'autres usagers. La CIID recommande que cette terminologie soit employee dans l'analyse de la gestion des ressources en eau a tous les niveaux, et constitue une base de reference pour les travaux de recherche et autres publications. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Evaluation of precision land leveling and double zero-till systems in the rice–wheat rotation: Water use, productivity, profitability and soil physical properties

Abstract: In recent years conventional production technologies in the rice–wheat (RW) system have been leading to deterioration of soil health and declining farm profitability due to high inputs of water and labour Conservation agriculture (CA)-based resource-conserving technologies (RCTs) vis-a-vis zero-till (ZT), raised-bed planting and direct-seeded rice (DSR) have shown promise as alternatives to conventional production technologies to overcome these problems The integration of CA-based RCTs with precision agriculture (PA)-based technologies in a systems perspective could provide a better option for sustainable RW production systems In this study we attempted to evaluate conservation and precision agriculture (CPA)-based RCTs as a double-ZT system integrated with laser-assisted precision land leveling (PLL) in the RW system A field experiment was conducted in the western IGP for 2 years to evaluate various tillage and crop establishment methods under PLL and traditional land leveling (TLL) practices to improve water productivity, economic profitability and soil physical quality Irrespective of tillage and crop establishment methods (TCE), PLL improved RW system productivity by 74% in year 2 as compared to traditional land leveling Total irrigation water savings under PLL versus TLL were 12–14% in rice and 10–13% in wheat PLL improved RW system profitability by US$113 ha −1 (year 1) to $175 ha −1 (year 2) Yields were higher in conventionally transplanted rice followed by direct-drill-seeded rice after ZT In wheat, yields were higher in ZT when followed by DSR than in the conventional-till (CT) system RW system productivity under double ZT was equivalent to that of the conventional method Among different TCE, conventional puddled-transplanted rice-CT wheat required 12–33% more water than other TCE techniques Compared with CT systems, double ZT consumed 12–20% less water with almost equal system productivity and demonstrated higher water productivity The CT system had higher bulk density and penetration resistance in 10–15 and 15–20 cm soil layers due to compaction caused by the repeated wet tillage in rice The steady-state infiltration rate and soil aggregation (>025 mm) were higher under permanent beds and double ZT and lower in the CT system Under CT, soil aggregation was static across seasons, whereas it improved under double no-till and permanent beds Similarly, mean weight diameter of aggregates was higher under double ZT and permanent beds and increased over time The study reveals that to sustain the RW system, CPA-based RCTs could be more viable options: however, the long-term effects of these alternative technologies need to be studied under varying agro-ecologies