ABSTRACT
Agriculture in India is at risk due to the continuously depleting aquifers and increasing pressure on surface and ground water resources. In this chapter we have synthesized the information on different water management approaches, irrigation scheduling, and impact of conservation agriculture (CA)-based crop management practices on irrigation water saving and water productivity (WP) in both rainfed and irrigated ecosystems. A single approach for irrigation management would not be able to tackle the forthcoming challenge of producing ‘More Crop Per Drop’ and also contributing to the ‘Jal Shakti’ (water power) mission. Integration of irrigation techniques (water-saving irrigation methods, irrigation scheduling approaches, etc.) with modern agronomic and soil manipulations (viz. direct-seeded rice, bed planting, crop diversification, zero tillage, and crop residue management, etc.) are essentially required to harness the full potential of available irrigation water for higher WP and profitability in dominant cereal-based systems on a sustainable basis. Improved irrigation management practices (timing and amounts) and methods (micro-irrigation, surface, sub-surface drip) based on real-time monitoring of water status in soil-crop systems is required to maximize the WP by efficiently managing the water resources and allocation at a regional scale. Studies have shown that CA-based practices are gaining momentum in India and have helped improve the resource-use efficiency, including WP. Limited studies on water management measures under CA have shown that coupling these practices conserves soil water by lowering evaporation while also improving crop yields, resulting in an increase in WP.
