Drip Irrigation for Reducing Soil Salinity and Increasing Cropping Intensity: Case Studies in Indian Sundarbans

Abstract

To mitigate the fresh water scarcity and improving productivity, drip irrigation system is the most efficient one. Two types of drip irrigation models to fulfill the motto of more crop per drop, were installed for experimentation at Sonagaon village of Gosaba island, South 24 Pgs, West Bengal, India. Model I was a solar operated with higher cost (`1.66 lakhs) whereas model II involved low cost (`45,000) one. Performances of these two models were evaluated for increasing the water use efficiency and cropping intensity. Four mulching treatments i.e. T1: black plastic, T2: white plastic, T3: paddy straw and T4: control, were tested. T1 resulted in higher yield in three vegetable crops in both the kharif and rabi seasons. Mean yield of vegetables was 43, 73 and 101% higher in paddy straw, white and black plastic mulching over control. Resource rich farmers or those who can avail Government subsidy could opt for model 1, whereas resource poor farmers can adopt the model 2 for increasing cropping intensity. Besides savings in labour and water, the cropping intensity could be increased to 200-300% by adopting these irrigation models.