Integrated rainwater harvesting technique for climate resilience in pigeonpea

Abstract

Formation of conservation furrows is one of the important in-situ moisture conservation measures which facilitate rainwater to infiltrate by reducing the velocity of runoff flow and thus providing more opportune time for the rainwater to infiltrate where it falls. Low hp tractor drawn two row intercultivator cum conservation furrow opener was developed at Agricultural Research Station Ananthapurumu during 2016. After the development of tractor drawn intercultivator cum conservation furrow opener field experiment was conducted in arid Alfisols for two years during kharif 2016 and 2017. The treatments (six) consists of T1: control - rainfed (no conservation furrow) T2: conservation furrow at every row, T3: conservation furrows at every two rows, T4: conservation furrow at every row + 20 mm supplemental irrigation once at flowering, T5 - conservation furrow at every two rows + 20 mm supplemental irrigation once at flowering and T6: no conservation furrow + 20 mm supplemental irrigation once at flowering. The experiment was conducted in Randomized block design with three replications with a plot size of 9×40 m at Agricultural Research Station, Ananthapuramu, ANGRAU, Andhra Pradesh. Mean seed yield data of two years indicated that, 46 and 73% increase in seed yield was recorded due to formation conservation formation for every row (T2) and every two rows (T3), respectively compared to rainfed crop (T1). An increase in 146 and 82% was recorded due to the combined effect of conservation furrow for every row (T4) and every two rows (T5) in combination with 20 mm supplemental irrigation compared to rainfed crop (T1). Mean data of two years on economics indicated that gross returns, net returns and benefit cost ratio (BCR) was higher with conservation furrow at every row combined with 20 mm supplemental irrigation once at flowering compared to other treatments. Formation of conservation furrows is one of the important in-situ moisture conservation measures which facilitate rainwater to infiltrate by reducing the velocity of runoff flow and thus providing more opportune time for the rainwater to infiltrate where it falls. The impact of this in-situ conservation measure could be more prominently seen when it was integrated with one supplemental irrigation at critical stage of crop growth (flowering) in pigeonpea.