Author(s): S. MASANTA AND S. MALLIK

Abstract: Irrigation and its scheduling is an important factor that governs the evapo-transpiration, water use efficiency, and moisture extraction pattern of the crop in a particular environment. The irrigation requirement may be changed due to use of different type of mulching material. Keeping this in view, present investigations were carried out for two consecutive years in a representative micro-watershed (Patloi Nala) to study the effect of different types of mulch and irrigation scheduling on yield, soil moisture status and water use efficiency of wheat crop grown in winter season. The results reveal that application of surface mulch enhance the productivity significantly by improving soil moisture status over no mulch treatment and use of white polythene mulch found to be better compare to black polythene as well as straw and leaf mulch. Water expense efficiency was also maximum under white polythene mulch. Application of mulch not only improves the productivity but also reduce the number of irrigations. However, due to the high price of synthetic mulch the economic gain was maximum under locality available mulch material i.e. straw and leaf mulch.Four irrigations each at crown root initiation, maximum tillering, flowering and milking stage enhanced the productivity, which was 498% higher than that of one irrigation given at crown root initiation stage. Water expense efficiency was maximum under four irrigation treatments.

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