Techno-economic feasibility of year-round use of drip irrigation in a rice- based cropping system*

The water use, yield and profitability in three cropping sequences (rice-capsicum-baby corn, rice-rice-baby corn and rice-rice) grown under a drip irrigation (DRI) layout were compared with that in a rice-rice system under surface irrigation (SI) in a rice-dominated region of eastern India. The DRI could save 37% of irrigation water without affecting the yield in rice compared with SI. The DRI in the rice-capsicum-baby corn cropping system produced 4.63 times higher yield (rice equivalent yield, 48.2 t ha?(1)) using 59% less water (7570 m(3) ha?(1)), resulting in 11 times higher water productivity (8.72 kg rice m?(3) water), 7.63 times higher annual net income (NI) (435 000 INR ha?(1)) and 18 times higher economic water productivity (EWP) (INR 78.7 m?(3) water) with a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 2.87 compared with the rice-rice cropping system under SI. Use of DRI in a multi-cropping sequence is recommended for higher water productivity and net profit in rice-based cropping systems in irrigated commands.