Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Early Online
    • Archive
    • Subject Collections
  • Info For
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Subscribers
    • Advertisers
  • About
    • About JSWC
    • Editorial Board
    • Permissions
    • Alerts
    • RSS Feeds
    • Contact Us

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Early Online
    • Archive
    • Subject Collections
  • Info For
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Subscribers
    • Advertisers
  • About
    • About JSWC
    • Editorial Board
    • Permissions
    • Alerts
    • RSS Feeds
    • Contact Us
  • Follow SWCS on Twitter
  • Visit SWCS on Facebook
Research ArticleResearch Section

Drip fertigation improves water and nitrogen use efficiency of Bt cotton

K. Singh, A.S. Brar and H.P. Singh
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation September 2018, 73 (5) 549-557; DOI: https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.73.5.549
K. Singh
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
A.S. Brar
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
H.P. Singh
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • References
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

Availability of good quality water for agrarian purposes has become a major issue across the globe. Because of increasing demand from domestic and industrial sectors in most developing countries, irrigation water is becoming a scarce and expensive input for crop production in northwestern India. Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) production through flood irrigation not only wastes precious and limited water available but also leads to nutrient leaching, excessive vegetative growth, and delayed maturity. Drip irrigation coupled with fertigation holds a greater promise, specifically for the Indian state of Punjab, comprising the arid and semiarid zones of northwestern India, where brackish underground water renders it unfit for crop production. Hence, a field experiment was conducted to find a water and nitrogen (N) efficient fertigation treatment for Bt cotton for improving cotton productivity. The experiment was laid out in a complete randomized block design with combinations of three drip irrigation levels (0.6, 0.8, and 1.0 evapotranspiration [ETc]), three N fertigation levels (50%, 75%, and 100% of recommended dose of N [RDN], i.e., 75 kg N ha−1), and an extra absolute control (surface flood irrigation with soil application of RDN). The highest seed cotton yield (SCY) of 2,294 kg ha−1 was recorded with drip irrigation at 0.8 ETc, which was statistically on par with 1.0 ETc but significantly better than 0.6 ETc. Among N fertigation levels, 100% RDN recorded maximum SCY (2,308 kg ha−1), which was on par with 75% RDN but significantly better than 50% RDN. Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) decreased successively and significantly with increase in fertigation level; however, apparent water productivity (AWP) and water use efficiency (WUE) remained statistically on par between 75% and 100% RDN. WUE was significantly higher under drip irrigation at 0.8 ETc than 0.6 and 1.0 ETc; however, AWP was on par between 0.6 and 0.8 ETc. Combination of drip irrigation at 0.8 ETc and 75% RDN recorded the highest SCY (2,428 kg ha−1). Drip irrigation at 0.8 ETc resulted in 7% higher consumptive use, saving 62.1% more irrigation water than absolute control. Furthermore, the combination of drip irrigation at 0.8 ETc and 75% RDN recorded 31.2%, 22.6%, 74.9%, and 17.8% higher SCY, WUE, NUE, and benefit to cost ratio (B:C) than the absolute control, respectively. Thus, drip irrigation at 0.8 ETc with 75% RDN fertigation was more profitable, more N efficient, and more water efficient that the traditional practice of cotton cultivation in Indian Punjab.

  • © 2018 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Log in using your username and password

Forgot your user name or password?

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation: 73 (5)
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
Vol. 73, Issue 5
September/October 2018
  • Table of Contents
  • About the Cover
  • Index by author
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Drip fertigation improves water and nitrogen use efficiency of Bt cotton
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
3 + 5 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
Citation Tools
Drip fertigation improves water and nitrogen use efficiency of Bt cotton
K. Singh, A.S. Brar, H.P. Singh
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation Sep 2018, 73 (5) 549-557; DOI: 10.2489/jswc.73.5.549

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Request Permissions
Share
Drip fertigation improves water and nitrogen use efficiency of Bt cotton
K. Singh, A.S. Brar, H.P. Singh
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation Sep 2018, 73 (5) 549-557; DOI: 10.2489/jswc.73.5.549
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Why do farmers care about rented land? Investigating the context of farmland tenure
  • Duration of usage and farmer reported benefits of conservation tillage
  • Sources of sediments during rainfall in the dry-hot valley region of China on a small watershed scale
Show more Research Section

Similar Articles

Content

  • Current Issue
  • Early Online
  • Archive
  • Subject Collections

Info For

  • Authors
  • Reviewers
  • Subscribers
  • Advertisers

Customer Service

  • Subscriptions
  • Permissions and Reprints
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy

SWCS

  • Membership
  • Publications
  • Meetings and Events
  • Conservation Career Center

© 2021 Soil and Water Conservation Society