Theme-III-6-Farmer field demonstrations on water conservation technology in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab.

Abstract

: Demonstration trials were conducted at farmers' fields on various water conservation technologies developed by Punjab Agricultural University. The results indicate that scheduling of irrigation to wheat as recommended by university leads to 16% saving of water. In case of paddy the saving of irrigation water was 58% as compared to farmers practice. Tensiometer, a device for irrigation management, leads to about 24% saving of irrigation water as compared to fixed irrigation schedule. Improved irrigation methods like bed planting saved significant amount of water as compared to flat method of irrigation. Laser levelling of land saved 10-20% of irrigation water in different crops in addition to other benefits. Mulching with paddy straw resulted in saving of 25% irrigation water and also improved yield of green chillies by 9%. Transplanting of sunflower as compared to direct sowing saved about 24% irrigation water although the grain yields remained the same.