Innovative approach to grow crops with much less water than the traditional practices

Growing water scarcity in developing countries suggests exploration of efficient irrigation practices to overcome water shortage by growing more food with limited available land and water resources. Maize is the third most important cereal crop after wheat and rice all over the world as well as in Pakistan. Being a short duration and high yielding crop, maize can enormously contribute to the overall food, fodder and edible oil needs of the country. Growing maize with traditional flood irrigation generally requires more water than with the efficient irrigation methods like sprinkler and bed and furrow irrigation. To explore the possibility of growing maize with water stored in the topsoil profile, a study was conducted in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The yield of maize grown with moisture stored in the soil profile was compared with the maize yield grown with traditional flood irrigation practice. The flood irrigation grown maize also received subsequent irrigation during the growing season equal to 100% and 150% of the actual evapotranspiration. The farmers close to the amount of water commonly apply the 50% level. Plant height, fresh and dry gain yield was just as good as or even better than traditional practices, which received much more water. The better water use efficiency of corn plots, which were not irrigated during the growing season, was attributed to less evaporation from the soil surface and reduced infiltration of water through and out of the root zone. This finding can lead to the better use of surplus water available during monsoon period (July-August). Wider adoption of this approach in the Indus Basin would save about 7.5 million acre foot (MAF) of water each year in Pakistan which could help overcome water shortage in the country.