Yield response of a semi-dwarf wheat variety to irrigation on a calcareous brown flood plain soil of Bangladesh

Field studies were conducted to determine the yield performance of a semi-dwarf high yielding variety of wheat (Triticum aestivum L., cv. ‘Sonalika’) in response to irrigation provided at various critical stages of growth. Determination of an irrigation schedule for most efficient water management was attempted. The study, conducted on a calcareous brown flood plain soil, comprised a randomized block design experiment with eight irrigation treatments applied at critical growth stages.The yield of wheat was the highest and the irrigation efficiency maximum, when two irrigations, totalling 9.5 cm, were given at tillering and booting stages. The quantity of irrigation water applied was calculated on the basis of deficit from field capacity level of soil water content. The lowest grain yields were obtained in treatments receiving either no irrigation or only one irrigation at the grain-filling stage. The percent increase over control (no irrigation) in grain yield, due to various irrigation treatments, ranged from 21 to 92%. The data revealed that the depletion of soil water increased as the amount of irrigation water increased.The results indicate that the present yield levels of wheat in Bangladesh can easily be increased by 50–100% by irrigating with only one-third to one-half of the water currently being used, provided it is scheduled and managed efficiently, keeping in view the need of the crops as well as the soils.