Demonstration of Pani Pipe - indicator tool of alternate wetting and drying in low land transplanted paddy

Abstract

In Cuddalore district, an area of 1.25 lakh hectare is cultivated under paddy with the production of 6.7 metric tonnes with the productivity of 7.4 tonnes/ha. Water plays a prominent role in rice production. Paddy is one of higher water consuming crop. Major portion of i.e. 80 per cent of total irrigation water is utilized by the irrigated transplanted paddy which has to be judiciously utilized. Keeping the above view the present study was conducted by KVK, Cuddalore as Front-line Demonstration during the year of 2016-17. The results of the demonstration showed that yield obtained by Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) through Pani Pipe recorded higher number of tillers/m2 (10.4 per cent), higher yield (6050 kg/ha) than the farmers practice of flood irrigation (5420 kg/ha). Number of irrigations by AWD through Pani Pipe were 32 per cent lower than the farmer’s practice of flood irrigation.