Improving Rice Yield Through Insufficient Water

Abstract

Pakistan's most important crops are rice, grown on 2.83 million hectares and producing 6.9 million tonnes annually. Exporting rice from Pakistan is a major source of foreign currency for the country because of its widespread use as a staple food. While other cereal crops require less water, rice is a considerably more water-intensive crop. Agricultural water management includes all technologies and practices that promote water production to meet the increasing demand for irrigation water and the restricted availability due to climate change. Laser land leveling was first used in Pakistan in the 1980s. For the first time, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has created an alternate wetting and drying method. Farmers in rice fields utilized laser land leveling technology to determine how much irrigation water they used as a result. To make this idea a reality, 17 local farmers from various countries were chosen. The data collected were analyzed using the Excel spreadsheet application. There was a lot of water at the canal's head, but only 20% of it was available at its tail. Tube well operations fulfilled the final 20% of irrigation water needs at the head, 50% in the middle, and 80% at the tail. Before introducing AWD and laser land leveling technologies, tube well operating time was decreased by 25.49 percent, 20.3 percent, and 22.5 percent. Reducing the number of hours a tube well is run has two benefits: it reduces irrigation water extraction, which is important in light of climate change, and it reduces energy costs for tube well operation, which increases farmer profitability. These findings are consistent with previous research. Because this survey did not isolate yield and AWD technology and laser land leveling from other characteristics that may be investigated in future research studies, responding farmers also claimed a rise in paddy output to contribute to yield improvement. AWD technology has not been prioritized despite the government's investment in laser land leveling. Because of this, it is advised that the use of AWD technology be increased in agriculture.