IMPACT OF DRIP IRRIGATION SYSTEM ON WATER PRODUCTIVITY AND PROFITABILITY OF CROPS IN JHARKHAND
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Date
2015
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Birsa Agricultural University, Kanke, Ranchi, Jharkhand
Abstract
Water is the most precious gift of nature and is the most crucial elements for the
sustainability of the life. The strategic role of irrigation as an essential input for crop
production can’t be denied. As a traditional productive input, it ensures production by
acting as an agent of insurance against inadequate and inconsistent monsoon. Ultimately
the outcome provides agricultural production stability. The various irrigation methods
under different system of irrigation differ with regard to extent of control, timeliness and
adequacy of supply of irrigation water for crop cultivation. Consequently, the economic
benefits and the costs due to these irrigation methods vary among different irrigation
systems.
Keeping in view the above facts, the present study has been undertaken in five
block of Ranchi district with a purpose to address the issues particularly with respect to
examine the effect of methods of irrigation on water supply, average yield, expenditure
under different irrigation techniques, water productivity, and the fertilizers requirements
of major vegetable crops, on the sample farms. For this purpose five blocks viz. Nagri,
Bero, Khunti, Itki, and Ratu were selected randomly from the list of vegetable growing
blocks of Ranchi using drip irrigation system. Among selected five blocks, 50 farmers
were selected randomly. The selected farmers were mostly growing chilli, ginger, tomato
and cabbage under drip irrigation facility. For comparing the benefits under drip
irrigation method over conventional irrigation method, the data were collected through
survey method in the cropping year 2014-15.
The study revealed that under the two study irrigation techniques, farmers were
saving more than 70 per cent of water were in all four crops under consideration,
maximum being under chilli cultivation i. e. 84 per cent higher by using drip irrigation
over conventional methods of irrigation. Apart from water requirements, farmers of
selected blocks also saved fertilizer cost under drip irrigation system. Maximum saving
was registered in chilli cultivation (i.e. average 35 %) and minimum in the case of ginger
crop by using drip irrigation. The overall productivity of the vegetable crops also
registered mean yield increase tremendous growth in the range of 53 per cent to 71 per
cent under drip irrigation system over the conventional irrigation system. It is also
important for the farmer to save direct cash from the system what they are using. Here
the mean saving by farmers was 45 per cent in cabbage cultivation under drip irrigation,
whereas minimum saving was from chilli cultivation under drip i.e. 37 per cent. The
observations also revealed that maximum water productivity was under drip in ginger
cultivation i.e. 54.34 Kg/acre/mm and minimum under cabbage i.e. 11.36 Kg/acre/mm
while under conventional method it registered 2.68 Kg/acre/mm and 3.50 Kg/acre/mm of
these two crops, respectively. It was further observed that all vegetables registered better
benefit-cost ratio under drip irrigation system as maximum benefit-cost ratio were in the
case of cabbage cultivation i.e. 7.90 which were followed by chilli (7.35), tomato (6.09)
and ginger (5.30) cultivation. The efficiency of different inputs used on the vegetable
cultivation indicated that almost all the resources used were found to be efficient under
drip irrigation system over conventional method of irrigation.
Hence on the basis of above findings it can be concluded that among two
irrigation methods drip irrigation was the most efficient in terms of increased yield
,water productivity and economics as compared to conventional method of irrigation.
Description
IMPACT OF DRIP IRRIGATION SYSTEM ON WATER PRODUCTIVITY AND PROFITABILITY OF CROPS IN JHARKHAND
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