Inala J. of Agroforestry Vol. 8 No. 1: 1 - (2006) 1 Effect of Micro-sprinkler Irrigation on Growth, Yield and Water Use Efficiency of Different Agri-silvi-horti Systems R.A. Kaushik, N. Kaushik and Sushil Kumar CCS Haryana Agricultural University Regional Research Station Bawal-123501 Rewari (Haryana) India ABSTRACT The present studies were carried out at CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Regional Research Station, Bawal (Rewari), Haryana, Four tree species (Dalbergia sissoo, Emblica officinalis, Prosopis cineraria and Psidium guajava) were planted in September 2000 at a spacing of 6 x 6 m in 1:1 ratio. The inter space of the tree was cultivated with groundnut (Arachys hypogea), onion (Allium cepa), clusterbean (Cyamopsis (etragonaloba) fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum), ridgegourd (Luffa acutengula) tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) rotation and irrigation at 100, 70 ‘and 40% Ec (Evapotranspiration) was applied through micro-sprinkler. D. sissoo showed maximum plant height (456.7, (om) and diameter (9.7 cm) under 70% irigation level. Minimum plant height (144 cm) and diameter (2.7 cm)was observed in P cineraria at 40% level of irrigation. The tree species showed significant differences for growth. Irigation treatments were found significant only for diameter. The yields of intercrops were significantly affected by different iigation levels and were highest at 100% irrigation level butt was not affected by different tree species. The highest yield of 1010, 1360, 1730 kg/ha of groundnut, clusterbean and ridgegourd were recorded under D. sissoo + Psidium guajava, Prosopis cineraria + P guajava and P cineraria + E. officinalis respectively at 100% ETc irigation level. During rabi season ‘maximum yield of fenugreek (2009 kg/ha) and tomato (40200 kgiha) was observed under 100% ETc. The WUE increased 28 the level of irrigation decreased. This may be due to less water requirement under 70% and 40% irrigation levels and comparatively less reduction in yield under these levels of irigation as compared to 100% irigation level Key Words : Agr-silv-horti systems, igation level, growth, yield, wateruse efficiency. 1 INTRODUCTION The indian hot arid zone covers about 10 per cent of the country’s geographical area. The arid tropics generally have relatively hostile environmental Conditions such as low and erratic rainfall, intense solar radiation and high wind velocity. The soils are immature, structureless, and very coarse in texture with low water holding capacity, poor nutrient status and poor quality under ground water (Kumar et al, 1999). The moisture deficit conditions dominate for a long time throughoutthe year, which, acts as the major limiting factor for establishment and growth of woody species. Water is the scarcest commodity limiting the production potential of arid ecosystem. Most of the cropping systems operating in the limited irrigated area of arid ecosystem have very high water requirement and hence highly unsustainable. Location specific models have to be developed involving fruit crops, multipurpose tree species and arable crops in a agri-silv-horti production system for increasing water use efficiency, productivity and sustainability of the system. improvement of irrigation water use efficiency is necessary due to water scarcity and the hazard of groundwater contamination with leachates from irrigated fields (Clothier and Green, 1994). In this regard micro irrigation (drip and micro-sprinkler) will reduce water losses by soil evaporation and drainage. As such it may Contribute to a more suitable use of scarce natural resources, Therefore, the present studies were conducted to work out the water requirement of a location specific agri-sivi-horti system with micro sprinklerirrigation. 2 MATERIALS AND METHODS 24. Experimentalsite The field experiment was conducted at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Regional Research Station, Bawal, located in the low rainfall zone of the Southern Haryana (28.1°N, 76.5°E and 266 m above mean sea level). The total rainfall during the study period (Oct. 2000 - April 2002) was 720.6 mm. In general, May-June are the hottest while December-January are the coldest months of the year. The soil profile characteristics are givenin Table 12 Effect of Micro - Sprinkler inigation Table 1. Analysis of inital soil samples Soil depths (cm) pH Ec (dsm) OC (%) P (kgiha) K (kg/ha) 015 862 0.076 0.19 38.5 197.0 1530 8.60 0.080 0.16 315 170 30-60 8.82 0.082 014 36.5 162.5 60-90 ers 0.080 oz 36.5 153.0 90-120 8.70 0.082 12 27.0 139.0 120-150 867 0.075 0.10 375 139.0 180-200 867 0.074 012 34.5 134.0 2.2 Experimental materials and irrigation treatments. The combination of different tree species namely guava (Psidium guajava) + shisham (Dalberiga sissoo), (Psidium guajava) + khejri (Prosopis cineraria), aonla (Embilica officinalis)+ shisham (Dalberiga sissoo) and aonla (Embilica officinalis)+khejri (Prosopis cineraria) were planted during Oct. 2000 at a spacing of 6 x 6 m. Five trees of each species were planted covering the total area of 900 m’, Observations were taken on three trees for each replication and nine trees per treatment. Young budded plants of P. guajava, E. officinalis and seedlings of D. sissoo and P. cineraria raised in polythene bags for 8 months were used as planting material. The plants were raised following cultural practices recommended for the region. Plants were protected against termite by applying endosulfan/chloropyriphos with irrigation water. After establishment of trees during July 2004 the three crop rotations viz. ridgegourd (Luffa acutangula) tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), groundnut (Arachis hypogaea), onion (Allium cepa) and clusterbean (Cyamopsis| tetragonoloba) Fenugreek (Trigonellla foenum- graecum) were raised in the interspaces of the trees as perrecommended package of practices. A single micro-sprinkler was placed under each tree, discharging about 27.0 Uh of water. From February 2001, the trees were subjected to three irrigation treatments viz. T, (100% ETc), T, (70% ETc) and T, (40% ETc) with three replications per treatment. Thus tree species and irrigation levels, together give the split plot design. The water applied in T, was considered sufficient to satisfy fully the needs of the crop (100% ETc). The total amount of irrigation (itre/plant) applied in T, was calculated from: Water requirement =K.x Kx EnwX Canopy area Where K, is the pan coefficient = 0.60 and K the crop coefficient = 0.80 (Dorrenbos and Pruitt, 1977). En, i8 pan evaporation. Canopy area was increased generally in accordance with the increase in crown spread. The trees were irrigated on every alternate day. The irrigation system was operated during evening hours to avoid evaporation losses. The growth performance in terms of height and diameter was recorded. In each treatment observations were recorded in nine plants after excluding the border plants. Biomass was estimated from girth from the formula given by Biomass = 0.0026 G2.76 Where Gis girth in om. The yield of different crops was also recorded. Water use efficiency (WUE) was calculated by dividing the biomass increment due to irrigation with the quantity of water applied. The WUE was calculated on fresh weight basis of the economic yield. The economics was calculated keeping in consideration the initial investment on planting, the actual expenditure incurred on irrigation system, various operations, prevalent labour charges, and current price of the inputs and value of the produce in the market. The total life span of the micro- sprinkler system was assumed to 10 years and the cost per year was taken into consideration while calculating the economics. 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 3.1. Performance oftrees In general maximum growth i.e. plant height and diameter was recorded under 100% irrigation levelIntan J, of Agroforestry Vol 8 No. 1: 1 - (2006) 3 for all the tree species, however D. sissoo showed maximum plant height of 456.7 om and a diameter of 9.7 cm under 70% irrigation level. Minimum height (144 cm) and diameter (2.7 om) was observed in Khejti at 40% level of irrigation (Table 2). The tree species showed significant differences for growth. D. sissoo showed maximum. and P. cineraria showed minimum growth iespective of irrigation treatments. Irrigation treatments were found significant only for diameter. The variabilty in growth performance of different tree species might be due to the differences in their genetic make up. More height in D. sissoo may be due to its fast growing habit. More height of D. sissoo @8 compared to other tree species was recorded by Karki et al. (1994). These results are in agreement with our earlier findings Kaushik et al (2002). The irrigation treatments influenced the growth in terms of diameter which may be due to the fact that the moisture is a critical factor Table 2. Plant height (om) and diameter (cm) of different tree species under micro-sprinkler irrigation system Tree species ETe 100% 70% 40% Height Diameter [Height Diameter | Height Diameter Shisham 420 9.00 496.7 97 400.0 87 ‘Aonla 248 476 228.0 44 1917 40 Kroje 166 420 163.0 39 144.0 36 Guava 205 4.00 178.0 38 1590 a7 aaa aa Samer observed under 100% ETe. The irrigation levels Seog a Showed significant differences while effet of tree e Uv species was found non-significant (Table 4). Irigation NS 0.20 Interaction NS. NS. Silvi-horticultural system of D. sissoo, P. guajava, responsible for growth of woody species. Increased plant height, stem girth, relative leaf water content and fruit yield with the increased evaporation replenishment rates have also been observed by Srinivas (1996) in papaya. Increased frequency of irrigation resulted in significant increase of diameter in poplar trees (Kaushik and Singh, 2001) 3.2. Intercrops The yield of intercrops were significantly affected by different irrigation levels producing highest at 100 per cent irrigation level but it was not affected by different trees, indicating that it does not matter under which tree species the crops were grown. The highest yield of 1050, 1360 and 7030 kgha of groundnut, clusterbean and ridgegourd were recorded under Khejri+ Guava, khejri + Guava and Khejri + Aonia, respectively (Table 3). During rabi season maximum yield of fenugreek (2000 kg/ha) and tomato (40200 kg/ha) was E. officinalis and P. cineraria did not affect the associated arable crops during the 2” year of their establishment. This might be due to less crown spread and low interception of light by trees in the initial years. Kaushik et al. (2002) also reported similar results from a five years old agri-sitvi-horti system. 3.3. Water use efficiency (WUE) WUE of different crops raised during the kharif under different agr-horti-silvi system is presented in Table 5. WUE ranged from 0.25 to 10.44 gil Maximum WUE was observed in ridgegourd followed by clusterbean and groundnut at all the irrigation levels and different systems (Table 5). ‘The WUE for tomato was maximum as compared to other crops including rabi and kharif. Maximum, WUE (38.37gII) was observed at 40 % ETe for tomato (Table 6). WUE was maximum with tomato followed by dolichos while chilli recorded lowest WUE (Hedge and Srinivas, 1991), The WUE increases as the level of irrigation4 Effect of Micro - Sprinkler inigation Table 3. Yield (kg/ha) of intercrops (ktarif) as affected by different trees and irigation scheduling under micro-sprinkler irrigation system Trees Irrigation scheduling (ETc) 100% 70% 40% [Ground Cluster Ridge [Ground Cluster Ridge [Ground Cluster Ridge aut bean gourd | nut bean gourd | nut bean gourd Shisham+Guava | 1010 1330 += 7000 || 910 © 1200-~=«@770.-«|| 750 ~«=— 1180 «6400 Shisham +Aonia_ | 930 1200 7000 | 630 © 1160» 6830-«'| 670 = 11006500 Khejri+Guava | 1050 1360-6960 | 930 1200» 6800.-'|| 70 «= 11306470 Khejri + Aonia 1020 1240 «7030: | 910 «= 1130-«S 690 | 750 ©1020-6390 C.D. at 5% Ground nut Cluster bean Ridge gourd Trees NS NS NS Inrigation 55 98 297 ‘Trees x Irigation_NS NS NS ‘Table 4. Yield (kg/ha) of intercrops (rabi) as affected by different trees and irigation scheduling under micro-sprinkler irrigation system ‘Tree species ETc 100% 70% 40% Fenugreek Tomato | Fenugreek Tomato | Fenugreek Tomato Shisham + Aonia 2000 40070 1500 35000 1130 29000 Shisham + Guava 1900 39970 1430 36170 1060 29200 Khejti + Guava 1960 40200 1350 36100 1100 29230 Khejri + Aonia 1920 39900 1400 35300 1060 29460 C.D. at5% Fenugreek Tomato Tree NS NS Irrigation 66 1180 Interaction 133 NS ‘Table 5. Water use efficiency (gi) of different agr-hort-sivli systems under micro-sprinkler system Trees Water Use Efficiency Ground nut Cluster bean Ridge gourd 100% 70% 40% [ 100% 70% 40% | 100% 70% 40% Shisham + Acnla | 0.29 037 oss] 045 087 099 | 234 93.24 5.36 Shisham + Guava | 0.25 0.32 046] 038 052 089 | 221 «3.08 5.13 Khejri + Guava 0.86 ov 102} 089 1410 167 | 360 625 10.44 Khejri + Aonla 0.88 074 107] 080 101 165 | 411 560 9.54Indian J. of Agroforestry Vol. 8 No. 1 1 - (2006) 5 Table 6. Water use efficiency (g/l) of tomato and fenugreek under micro-sprinkier irigation systems Trees Water Use Efficiency Tomato Fenugreek 100% 70% 40% | 100% 0% 40% Shishum + Aonla 09.04 11.30 16.38 | 089 0.96 1.26 Shishum+Guava | 08.87 1.13 16.20 | 0.83 0.89 4.20 Khejri + Guava 20.10 25.12 36.48 | 1.93 1.90 24 Khejri + Aonla 20.80 26.26 38.37 | 197 2.05 2.56 decreases. This may be due to less water requirement under 70% and 40% irrigation levels and comparatively less reduction in yield under these levels of irrigation as compared to 100% irrigation level. Further, Fisher and Turner, (1978) also suggested that plant characters such as leaf morphology, leaf anatomy, stomatal aperatures and plant ontogeny in addition to the environment can significantly affect the WUE. Water use efficiency for different tree species varied from 0.97 to 10.65 g/l. Shisham showed maximum WUE followed by aonla (Table 7) 3.4. Consumptive water use Maximum consumptive use of water was observed in shisham and minimum in khejri (Table 8). Shisham showed double growth as compared to Khejri (Table 2) Consumptive water use by tree species increased progressively with the increase in evel of irrigation. This may be due to increase in water status, decrease in stomatal resistance and greater vapour pressure gradient between canopy air and the air above the tree level under wet conditions. 3.5. Economics Maximum net returns were observed with ridge gourd tomato rotation under all the tree species and the returns decreased with the decrease in irrigation level. Clusterbean - fenugreek rotation also gave good returns during the 2 year of establishment of silvi-horti system. Negative returns from groundnut - onion rotation may be due to less yield of groundnut and failure of onion crop (Table 9). Table 7. Water use efficiency (gil) of different tree species under micro-sprinkler irrigation system Tree species Irrigation levels (Etc) 100% 70% 40% Shisham 5:36 8.69 10.65 Aonia 1.69 1.62 2.25 Guava 1.04 1.23 1.50 Kheje 1.28 181 097 Table 8. Consumptive water use (mm) of diferent tree species under micro-sprinkler irrigation system Tree species Etc 100' 70% 40% Shisham 5271.85 3987.70 2403.71 Guava 3243.74 2358.14 1467.51 Aonia 2841.57 2076.65 1941.74 Khe 2299.76 1697.36 1044.946 Etfect of Micro - Sprinkteririgation ‘Table 9. Economics (Rsina) of the agr-sivi-horti system developed under micro-sprinkler irrigation ‘Tree species: Ridgegourd - tomato Clusterbean Fenugreek Groundnut - Onion ETc ETc ETc 100% 70% 40% [100% 70% 40% | 100% 70% 40% Shisham+Aonla [152163 130743 104523 |2e192 156077517 | -5623 -7623 © -10823 Shisham + Guava |152003 134503 105923 24007 134974767 |-7223 -9223 © -12823 Khejri+ Guava |152683 130523 105743 |27827 12457 «6087 | -4823 -7223 — -10423 Khejri +Aonla |152022 131463 106343 |25075 12987-2227 | -5423 -7623 © —-10823 The economic viability of a system is the most important consideration for adoption of any technology at farmers field. Among various crops ridge gourd -tomato rotation under all the tree species gave maximum net returns. This might be due to higher yield of these crops. The higher WUE of ridgegourd and tomato sequence may have contributed to higher economics of the system in terms of water saving, which is a scarce and costly input in arid and semi-arid areas. Clusterbean fenugreek followed the cucurbit-tomato rotation in terms of net retums, Groundnut-onion gave negative returns. This might be due to less yield of| groundnut and failure of onion crop. Economic evaluation of different agri-silvi-horti system during the course of investigation showed that the ridge gourd tomato associated with all the tree species fetched highest returns. These results are in agreement with the findings of Suresh and Rao (1998) and Kaushiketal. (2002). Several studies on irrigation have shown better water use efficiency, higher yields and lesser water requirements with micro-irrigation over surface irrigation (May, 1996; Subramanian et al, 1997 and Parsad et al, 2003). Koumanov et al. (1994) reported that under crown microsprinkiing provides optimum condition for maintaining the mulch and gave slightly better water use efficiency of the each trees than microjet/drip systems. 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