Investigating Water Productivity and Economic Efficiency of Wheat Crop under Different Sowing Methods

Science, Technology & Development

Vol. 30, No. 3 (July-September) 2011

Investigating Water Productivity and Economic Efficiency of Wheat-Crop under Different Sowing Methods
Asif Ali Mirani1, Zakir Hussain Dahri1, Sayed-ul-Abrar2, Shabir Ahmad Kalwar1, Kamran Bukhsh Soomro1, and Zulfiqar Ali1

ABSTRACT This study was conducted at PARCs research station Kala Shah Kaku, Lahore in order to calculate the water productivity and economic efficiency of wheat-crop under different sowing methods in a combined harvested paddy filed. The sowing methods were direct drilling with FMI Seeder, Zero tillage and conventional method. Data were collected during 2008-09. Wheat-yield was 2750 kg/ha, 2665kg/ha and 2610kg/ha for direct drilling with FMI Seeder, Zero tillage and conventional method respectively. The direct drilling in heavy residue gave 5.4 % more yield than the conventional method and 3.2 % more yield than zero tillage. The zero tillage ensured 2.1% more yield than the conventional method. The net water applied as 323, 354, and 380 mm for direct drilling with FMI seeder, zero tillage and conventional methods respectively against the potential crop evapotranspiration of 383 mm. This indicates that the direct drilling of wheat-crop in heave rice stubbles saves 15 % irrigation water as compared to conventional method and 8.8 % over zero tillage. The zero tillage method saves 6.8 % of irrigation water over the conventional method. The water productivity was found to be 0.851kg/m 3, 0.753 kg/m3 and 0.687 kg/m3 for direct drilling with FMI Seeder, Zero tillage and conventional method respectively. This indicates that the direct drilling ensures 23.9% increase in water productivity over conventional method and 13.01% over zero tillage. The zero tillage gave 9.6 % more water productivity than the conventional method. The costs of production for the three sowing methods were Rs. 39123/ha, Rs.43737/ha and Rs. 53047/ha for direct drilling, zero tillage and conventional method respectively. This indicates an overall saving of Rs. 13924/ha (26.2%) by the direct drilling method as compared to the conventional method and Rs. 4613/ha (10.5%) over zero tillage method. The zero tillage saves Rs. 9319/ha (17.6%) over the conventional method. Thus, the resource conservation tillage technology is helpful for increasing the water productivity as well as land productivity.

T
1 2

1. INTRODUCTION greater efficiency, irrigation systems and practices must be well planned, optimally designed and efficiently operated (Schwab et al., 1993). Two general requirements of prime

HE The current crop production technology and irrigation practices are based on traditional methods and are inefficient lacking innovation. For obtaining

Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Islamabad, Pakistan. University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, Pakistan.

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importance to obtain high efficiency in surface irrigation are: properly constructed water distribution system to provide adequate control of water to the fields and proper land preparation to permit uniform distribution of water over the field (Michael, 1978). The average water conveyance efficiency of the Indus basin irrigation system is 59.25%; which is based on canal conveyance efficiency of 79% and watercourse conveyance efficiency of 75%. The field application efficiency is 75%. Thus, the overall irrigation efficiency is 44.44% (Planning Commission 2008). This indicates that there is quite a sizeable scope for improvement. Irrigated wheat production in a rice-wheat cropping systems will continue to undergo changes in the coming years as a consequence of rising production costs and increasing water scarcity. In an environment of growing scarcity and competition for water, increasing the productivity of water becomes utmost important. To meet future demands, water productivity in this cropping system needs considerable improvement as water is becoming scarcer and competition among agriculture and other sectors is increasing. Farmers usually believe in an old saying that greater the tillage more will be the crop yield and generally use more water for production of crops than the actual requirements. However, the recent research and farming practices have negated both these practices bringing innovative and resources conservation techniques to enhance crop yields while minimizing the use of farm inputs like tillage, fertilizer, herbicide, water, etc. Water productivity and economic efficiency are two useful recent concepts to evaluate the performance of any crop and to explore the options for real water and capital saving from field to regional scale. Rice-wheat is an important cropping system in Pakistan as rice and wheat are the dominant cereals and major staple food for majority of population in the country. The turnaround time between rice harvest and wheat sowing is about one 1530 days. The residual moisture from the preceding rice crop is generally high forcing the farmers to wait until the land becomes sufficiently dry to practice tillage for seed bed preparation under the conventional approach of

wheat sowing. This more often leads delay in wheat sowing and the optimum sowing time for high yielding wheat varieties is usually passed, resulting in decline of crop yields. The problem is overcome through using zero tillage for sowing of wheat crop but this operation is limited only to manually harvested paddy fields. A large area of paddy crop is harvested through the combine harvester, which leaves heavy rice stubbles intact in the field. Harvesting and subsequent burning has been the normal method of rice stubble management in a combine harvested paddy field, which causes air pollution (particulates, greenhouse gases), nutrient loss (especially N and C, also P, K and S) and soil organic matter decline. In Pakistan, air pollution from stubble burning is particularly bad, impacting on human health. The rice stubble burning also requires some additional farm operations leading towards increased cost of production of wheat-crop. Until recently there has been no machinery capable of direct drilling into heavy rice stubble of a combine harvested paddy field and achieving consistently good results, due to problems of clogging of tool bars with the loose residues and hair pinning. The problem was recently overcome with the development and evolution of the Happy Seeder concept, which involves cutting and picking up the stubble, sowing into bare soil, and mulching with the stubble in a single operation. The first Happy Seeder consisted of a seed drill attached to the rear of a forage harvester, which cuts the stubble and deposits it behind the seed drill. However, there was serious problem of wheat crop germination as the harvested rice straw was lying over the soil and restricting air and light penetration necessary for seed germination. In 2003, Farm Machinery Institute, National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad evolved the technology and designed and built the FMI seeder which combines the flail chopping, sowing and mulching operations into a single compact machine. While the problem of sowing into heavy residues of rice crop is mechanically resolved, there is a strong need to evaluate this technology in terms of crop water productivity and economic efficiency. The net gains or losses achieved through improved water management; beneficial use of residual moisture and crop residue;

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Investigating Water Productivity and Economic Efficiency of Wheat Crop under Different Sowing Methods

minimized use of tillage, fertilizer, herbicides, and irrigation water; better crop establishment and increased crop yields must be investigated and quantified before going for large scale adoption of the technology. Knowledge of the impact of sowing and irrigation management on crop-yield, irrigation water requirement, irrigation water productivity (IWP) and crop water productivity (CWP) can help to identify management to maximize returns to land or water. The average wheat-yield in Pakistan is 1851 kg/ha compared to 3102 and 4077 kg/ha in China and Mexico, respectively (Kahlown et al., 1999). According to Marshal and Holmes (1988), each millimeter of water could increase wheat yield up to 10 kg/ha. Bhatti et al., 1993 evaluated the benefits of supplemental irrigation for wheat crop under rain fed environment. The highest net benefits from supplemental irrigation were Rs. 6583 and Rs. 9651 per hectare during 1990-91 and 1991-92, respectively. Halcrow (2000) investigated that the wheat yields were increased by 11 percent as a result of irrigation developments. Present study evaluates the water productivity of wheat crop in a rice-wheat cropping system in Pakistan. Field scale water balance and water productivity is evaluated using measured data from the experimental field. Economic efficiency is studied by evaluating the cost of production, yield of wheat crop and net benefits from the crop. The research hypothesis of this study builds on the assumption that direct drilling of wheat crop, with FMI developed seeder, in heavy residue of preceding combine harvested paddy field not only saves significant amount of irrigation water but also reduces cost of production thereby increasing net profit to the farmers. The overall objective of this research study is to compare direct drilling of wheat crop by FMI developed Happy Seeder with zero tillage technology and evaluate its water productivity and economic efficiency for wheat crop in ricewheat cropping system. The specific objectives are; Estimate irrigation water requirement of wheat crop under different sowing methods, and Quantify and evaluate net water savings and economic benefits under each sowing method.

METHODOLOGY Description of the Study Area The study has been conducted at the Pakistan Agricultural Research Councils (PARC) research farm at Kala Shah Kaku, near Lahore. The area is intensively cultivated with Rice-Wheat as the dominant cropping pattern. The climate of the area is semi-arid and typically represents lowlying interior of the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent. Rainfall and temperature generally show large seasonal fluctuations. The summer is long and hot, lasting from April through September, with maximum temperature ranging from 21C and 49C. Winter lasts from December through February, with maximum air temperature ranging from 25C to 27C during day and sometime falling below zero at night. The monsoon elapses from June to September and accounts for about 75% of annual rainfall. There are two distinct cropping seasons: Kharif (summer) and Rabi (winter). Rice is cultivated in Kharif and Wheat in Rabi. Canal water is generally insufficient, which is supplemented by groundwater through a number of private tubewells installed by the farmers. This increases cost of production due to higher cost involved in groundwater pumpage. Experimental Setup The experimental site was selected keeping in view the representative symbol of the rice-wheat cropping zone with conjunctive use of surface and groundwater resources. The selected site is located in an area which is famous as a hub for rice-wheat cropping system and where majority of Basmati rice is produced. The experimental setup consists of three treatments each with three replications. In all 9 plots, each having 0.125 acres size (90 ft x 60.5 ft) were set in a complete randomized block design. The plots were separated through a non experimental 5 ft wide buffer zone along all sides and watered separately through watercourse (Figure 1). A small cut-throat flume was installed at the gate of each plot when irrigation water was applied to measure the amount of applied irrigation water. Tubewell water was used to irrigate the experimental plots. The three treatments were; T1 = Direct drilling with FMI Happy Seeder in a combine harvested paddy field

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T2 = Normal zero tillage in manually harvest paddy crop, and T3 = Conventional sowing (complete removal and burning of rice straw and subsequent
W a te rc o u rse

seed bed preparation) in a combined harvest paddy field.

N o n E x p e rim e n ta l B u ffe r Z o n e

T1 R1
N o n E x p e rim e n ta l B u ffe r Z o n e

T2 R1
N o n E x p e rim e n ta l B u ffe r Z o n e

T3 R1
N o n E x p e rim e n ta l B u ffe r Z o n e

N o n E x p e rim e n ta l B u ffe r Z o n e

N o n E x p e rime n ta l B u ffe r Z o n e

T2 R2
N o n E x p e rim e n ta l B u ffe r Z o n e

T3 R2
N o n E x p e rim e n ta l B u ffe r Z o n e

T1 R3
N o n E x p e rim e n ta l B u ffe r Z o n e

T2 R3
N o n E x p e rim e n ta l B u ffe r Z o n e

6 0 .5 ft

T3 R3
N o n E x p e rim en ta l B u ffe r Z o n e

9 0 ft F ig u re 1 Layout e sig n o th e e p e rim e n ta l se setup. Figure 1: L a y o u t d design fof thexexperimentaltu p

Data Collection and Analysis The physical and chemical properties of soil were determined before crop sowing. Same fertilizer dozes at the rate of one bag of DAP and

two bags of UREA fertilizer per acre were applied to each treatment. All the costs involved right from land preparation to crop sowing and harvesting were recorded. Amount and frequency

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N o n E x p e rim e n ta l B u ffe r Z o n e

T1 R2

Investigating Water Productivity and Economic Efficiency of Wheat Crop under Different Sowing Methods

of rainfall during the crop period were taken from the nearest by meteorological station at Lahore Airport. Moisture contents of each plot were determined at the time of crop sowing by collecting soil samples from the depths of 015, 15 30, 30 60, and 60 90 cm. Soil moisture was measured at regular intervals during the crop period to monitor the available water for crop use. Measured quantity of irrigation water was applied at about 50 60 MAD to bring the soil back to its field capacity. Soil moisture content at the time of crop harvesting was also determined to calculate the net amount of water used by the crop. Total amount of applied irrigation water including rainfall was determined. All the data collected
140 120

was analyzed to determine water productivity and net benefit from the crop. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Potential Evapo-transpiration and Actual Crop Water Requirements Potential evapo-transpiration (ETo) depends on climatic conditions. Based on the climatic data of Lahore region and using Modified Penman Equation, the monthly ETo for the crop period of wheat crop is shown in Figure 2. For a wheat crop harvested on 20th April, the estimated ETo potential evapo-transpiration comes out to be 5, 16, 51, 93, 135, and 83 mm for November to April months respectively. The total seasonal ET o is about 383 mm.

Potential Evapotanspiration (mm)

100 80 60 40 20 0 22-Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 21-Apr

Figure 2: Monthly potential evapo-transpiration in Lahore region

The crop coefficient for various crops were determined by Pakistan Agricultural Research Council through a series of field studies conducted across Pakistan (PARC, 1985). The Kco values were computed for each 10 daily period. The ETcrop, ETo and Kco for any crop during a particular growth stage are expressed through the following relationship: Amount of Applied Irrigation Water and Net Water Use The preceding rice crop generally leaves sizable amount of residual soil moisture. Direct drilling in heavy residue of rice crop and zero tillage do utilize that moisture, whereas the conventional method of sowing does not. In addition to initial residual soil moisture and incidental rainfall, measured amount of irrigation water was applied to each treatment at about

K co

ETcrop ETo
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Science, Technology & Development Vol. 30, No. 3 (July-September) 2011

50-60% maximum allowable deficit (MAD). The amount and frequency of incidental rainfall and applied irrigation water are detailed in Table 1.

The residual moisture at the time of crop harvest was also determined to calculate the net amount of water used by the crop for each treatment.

Table 1: Amount and schedule of rainfall and applied irrigation water (in mm) Direct Drilling with Zero Conventional Date Type/Source of Water FMI Seeder Tillage Sowing Sowing Time Residual 22-Nov Moisture 119 98 81 9-Dec Rain 2 2 2 19-Dec Rain 3 3 3 20-Dec Rain 1 1 1 20-Dec Irrigation 50 21-Dec Rain 2 2 2 28-Dec Irrigation 50 4-Jan Rain 4 4 4 7-Jan Irrigation 50 13-Jan Irrigation 50 16-Jan Rain 7 7 7 17-Jan Rain 2 2 2 18-Jan Rain 4 4 4 19-Jan Rain 7 7 7 24-Jan Irrigation 60 30-Jan Irrigation 50 11-Feb Rain 13 13 13 14-Feb Rain 13 13 13 27-Feb Irrigation 50 17-Mar Irrigation 50 50 21-Mar Rain 28 28 28 25-Mar Rain 24 24 24 26-Mar Rain 3 3 3 28-Mar Rain 4 4 4 3-Apr Rain 4 4 4 7-Apr Rain 14 14 14 9-Apr Rain 1 1 1 21-Apr Rain 2 2 2 Total Water Applied 357 396 419 Harvesting Time Residual Moisture 34 42 39 Net Water Used 323 354 380 The net amount of water used by the wheat crop for the three treatments of direct drilling with FMI seeder, zero tillage and conventional sowing was 323 mm, 354 mm and 380 mm respectively. This indicates that the direct drilling of wheat crop in heave rice stubbles saves 15 % irrigation water as compared to conventional method and 8.8 % over zero tillage. Roughly, as a rule of thumb, the direct drilling in heave rice residues can save up to two irrigations as compared to conventional method and one irrigation as compared to zero tillage. This is quite a sizeable amount of savings in irrigation water and if practiced in 2.2 million ha of farmland under rice-wheat cropping system, can save about 1 2 MAF of irrigation water during the Rabi season.

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Investigating Water Productivity and Economic Efficiency of Wheat Crop under Different Sowing Methods

Crop Yield Crop yield is the function of many input variables including amount and frequency of irrigation water. Except water and tillage, all other input variables were kept constant for all the treatments. Water stress at certain growth stages may be detrimental to crop yields. Such growth stages have been determined for many crops. Wheat-crop is more sensitive to water stress at milky stage. However, root development stage is more important as it determines the depth of soil contributing moisture and essential nutrients to the crop.

The heavy residue of the preceding rice crop conserves soil moisture, contributes essential nutrients, adds organic matter and improves physical properties of the soil thereby positively affecting crop yields. Same is true for zero tillage but at a reduced amount. Noticeable effect on yield of wheat crop for the three treatments studied is observed in the Figure 3. The direct drilling in heavy residue increased crop yield by 5.4 % over conventional method and 3.2 % over zero tillage. The zero tillage increased crop yield by 2.1 % over the conventional method.

3000 2500

2750

2665

2610

Crop Yield (kg / ha)

2000 1500 1000 500 0 Direct Drilling with FM I Seeder Zero Tillage (complete removal of straw) Conventional Sowing

Figure 3: Yield of wheat crop for various sowing methods

Water Productivity Water productivity defined as crop yield per unit of water used, is a recent concept emphasizing the optimal use of irrigation water. It can be increased by optimizing crop water use and increasing crop yields by optimal use of other inputs. Optimal water use by the crop will also increase crop yield. Our national level water productivity of wheat crop is only 0.54 kg/m3, which is amongst the lowest in the world. The major objective of this study was to evaluate

water productivity of various crop sowing techniques. A significant effect of crop establishment technique on net water use, crop yield and ultimately on water productivity is observed as summarized in the Table 2. The Figure 4 presents the water productivity achieved by three different sowing methods. The direct drilling in heavy residue of rice crop yielded the highest water productivity of 0.851 kg/m3 followed by 0.753 kg/m3 through zero tillage.

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Table 2: Comparison of net water use, crop yield and water productivity for various sowing methods Net Water Use (m3/ha) 3230 (323)* Crop Yield (kg/ha) 2750 Water Productivity (kg/m3) 0.851

Sowing Method Direct Drilling with FMI Seeder in Heavy Residue Zero Tillage (complete removal of straw) Conventional Sowing Direct Drilling with FMI Seeder in Heavy Residue Zero Tillage (complete removal of straw) Direct Drilling with FMI Seeder in Heavy Residue

3540 (354) 2665 0.753 3800 (380) 2610 0.687 % Change Over Conventional -15.0 5.4 23.9 -6.8 2.1 9.6 % Change Over Zero Tillage -8.8 3.2 13.1

* The figures in closed brackets show depth of net water use in mm

1.0

W ater P roductivity (kg / m 3)

0.851

0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.0 D ire ct drilling with FM I s e e de r in he avy re s idue

0.753 0.687

Ze ro Tillage (comple te re moval of s traw)

Conve ntional Sowing

Figure 4: Water productivity of wheat crop under different sowing methods

Cost of Production
The cost of wheat crop production includes all the costs involved right from land preparation for crop sowing to crop harvesting. These costs

have been estimated based on the prevailing rates of labor, agricultural mechanization, fertilizers, groundwater pumping cost, wheat straw, wheat grain, etc. as shown in the Table 3.

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Investigating Water Productivity and Economic Efficiency of Wheat Crop under Different Sowing Methods

Table 3: Cost of production of wheat crop for different sowing methods Input Variable Sowing Method Direct Drilling with FMI Seeder (Rs./ha) 1730 3459 11120 6425 9390 7000 39123 Zero Tillage (Complete Straw Removal) (Rs./ha) 1236 3459 11120 2100 9637 9390 6795 43737 Conventional Sowing (Rs./ha) 49 6178 1236 3459 11120 2100 12849 9390 6667 53047

Straw Burning Tillage Drilling/Sowing Seed Fertilizer Herbicide Irrigation Harvesting Threshing

Total

The cost of production for direct drilling is only Rs. 39123/acre against Rs. 43737/acre for zero tillage and Rs 53047/acre for conventional sowing. Since, straw burning, tillage for land preparation and herbicides are not needed at all and cost of irrigation (groundwater pumping) is significantly minimized to almost half. Therefore, there is saving of Rs. 13924/ha (26.2 %) by the direct drilling method as compared to the conventional method and Rs. 4613/ha (10.5 %) over zero tillage method. The zero tillage saves Rs. 9319/ha (17.6 %) over the conventional method. Gross Income The gross income is the function of cropyield and rates of grain and straw. Government

has fixed support price of wheat crop at Rs. 950/40 kg. Wheat straw is nutrient rich most common and preferred animal feed and its price has been increasing. Its prevalent price is Rs. 170/40 kg. As depicted by the Table 4, the direct drilling method gives more gross income as compared to conventional and zero tillage methods due to higher grain and straw yields. A total of Rs. 77000/ha are earned as gross income by the direct drilling method followed by Rs. 74600/ha by zero tillage and Rs. 73080/ha by the conventional method. A 5.4% increase in gross income of direct drilling method over conventional method and 3.2% increase over zero-tillage method is observed.

Table 4: Wheat grain and straw yields and gross income under various sowing methods Sowing Method Crop Yield (kg/ha) 2750 2665 2610 Straw Yield (kg/ha) 2750 2665 2610 Commodity Income (Rs./ha) Grain Straw 65312.5 63293.75 61987.5 11687.5 11326.25 11092.5 Gross Income (Rs./ha) 77000 74620 73080

Direct drilling with FMI seeder in heavy residue Zero Tillage (complete removal of straw) Conventional Sowing

Net Profit The net profitability from the crop production has direct relation with the techniques and

technologies involved which reduce cost of production and increase crop yields. As shown in the Table 5, the direct drilling of wheat crop with

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FMI developed seeder in combine harvested paddy fields increases profitability by both ways, i.e. reducing cost of production and increasing crop yields. There is a tremendous increase of 89.1 % in net profit of the direct drilling technique as compared to conventional method. When

compared with zero tillage, it gives 22.6 % more profit. The zero tillage can give 54.2 % more profit than the conventional method. The comparison of gross income, cost of crop production and net profit under the three crop establishment techniques are presented in the Figure 5.

Table 5: Cost of production, gross income and net profit achieved by the three sowing methods under study Sowing Method Direct Drilling with FMI Seeder in Heavy Residue Zero Tillage (complete removal of straw) Conventional Sowing Direct Drilling with FMI Seeder in Heavy Residue Zero Tillage (complete removal of straw) Direct Drilling with FMI Seeder in Heavy Residue Cost of Production Gross Income Net Profit

Rs. / ha 39123 77000 37877 43737 74620 30883 53047 73080 20033 % Change Over Conventional -26.2 5.4 89.1 -17.6 2.1 54.2 % Change Over Zero Tillage -10.5 3.2 22.6

90000 80000 70000 60000 77000 74620

Direct drilling with FM I seeder in heavy residue Zero Tillage (complete removal of straw) Conventional Sowing
73080

53047 39123 43737 37877 30883 20033

Rs. / ha

50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 Gros s income

Cos t of Production

Ne t Profit

Figure 5: Cost of production, gross income and net profit for various sowing methods

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Investigating Water Productivity and Economic Efficiency of Wheat Crop under Different Sowing Methods

Economic Efficiency of Net Water Use The economic efficiency of the net water use is a new term invented by the researcher of this study. It is defined as the ratio of net profit from the field to the net water use by the crop. It combines water productivity with profitability and is better indicator of performance of the selected sowing methods. Higher value indicates greater economic efficiency. As shown in the Figure 6, the direct drilling in heavy residue gives
14 11.7 12

the highest economic efficiency of water use of 11.7 Rs./m3 against 8.7 Rs./m3 zero tillage and 5.3 Rs./m3 by the conventional sowing. Hence, the direct drilling method is 2.2 times more economically efficient than the conventional sowing, and 1.3 times more economically efficient than zero tillage and zero tillage is 1.6 times more efficient than the conventional sowing.

Economic Efficiency of Net Water Use (Rs / m3)

10 8

8.7 5.3

6 4 2 0 Direct Drilling with FM I Seeder Zero Tillage Conventional Sowing

Figure 6: Economic efficiency of net water use for different sowing methods
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Conclusions The net water used by the wheat crop was determined as 323, 354, and 380 mm for direct drilling with FMI seeder, zero tillage and conventional methods respectively against the potential crop evapo-transpiration of 383 mm. This indicates that the direct drilling of wheat crop in heavy rice stubbles saves 15 % irrigation water as compared to conventional method. The direct drilling in heavy residue gave 5.4% more yield than the conventional method and 3.2% more yield than zero tillage. The zero tillage ensured 2.1% more yield than the conventional method. The direct drilling in heavy residue of rice crop yielded the highest water productivity of 0.851 kg/m3 followed by 0.753 kg/m3 through zero tillage. The conventional method gave the lowest water productivity of 0.687 kg/m3. There is significant savings in respect of production cost for the direct drilling method as compared to the conventional and zero tillage method of sowing. The total cost of production for the three sowing method is Rs. 39123/ha, Rs. 43737/ha and Rs 53047/ha for direct drilling, zero tillage and conventional methods respectively.

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Direct drilling ensured 89.1% increase in net 3. Halcrow. 2000. Final report of monitoring and evaluation of irrigation schemes, profit over the conventional sowing method Islamabad, Pakistan. and 22.6% over zero tillage. Direct drilling method gave highest economic 4. Hussian, I.; R. Sakthivadivel; U. Amrasighe; M. Mudasser and D. Molden (2003). Land efficiency of water use of 11. Rs/m3 against 3 3 and Water Productivity of Wheat in the 8.7 Rs/m by zero tillage and 5.3 Rs/m by Western Indo-Gangetic Plains of India and the conventional method. Pakistan. Research Report 65, International Recommendations Water Management Institute (IWMI), Long-term studies are needed to study the Colombo, Sri Lanka. behavior of soil salinity, essential nutrients, 5. Kahlown, M.A., Allaudin, A. Nasir and A. and organic matter in the rice-wheat crop Ghaffar. 1999. Causes of variability in crop fields in which wheat crop is sown by direct productivity. Mona Reclamation drilling in heavy residue of paddy crop with Experimental Project, WAPDA, Bhalwal, FMI developed happy seeder. Publication No. 234. Studies are also needed to quantify the 6. Kahlown, M.; A. M. Ashraf and A. Ashfaq environmental benefits due to non-burning of (2004). Contribution of Small Dams in crop residue. Development of Water Resources of Pothwar REFERENCES Region, Pakistan Journal of Water Resources, 8(1): 23-38. 1. Awan, Q.A and A. Arshad. 1988. Irrigation efficiencies in the farm irrigation system. 7. Marshal, T.J. and J.W. Holmes. 1988. Soil Physicas, 5th edition. John Wiely & Sons, Paper presented in the seminar on Water as a New York, USA. constraint, held at Lahore on June 11, 1988. 8. Michael, A.M. 1978. Irrigation Theory and 2. Bhatti, A.A., M.M. Ahmad, P.M. Moshabbir Practice. Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., and S. Ahmad. 1993. Benefits of New Delhi, India. supplemental irrigation for wheat in Barani environment. Proceedings of Irrigation 9. Schwab, G.O., D.D. Fangmeir, W.J. Elliot and R.K. Frevert. 1993. Soil and Water Systems Management Research Symposium, Conservation Engineering. John Willey & held at Lahore during April 11-13, 1993, Sons Inc. pp. 507. IWMI-Pakistan, Lahore (VII): 45-54. ________________________________________

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