Precision agriculture based resource-conserving technologies (RCTs) in their version of laser-assisted land leveling, introduced at the farm level in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of India in 2001, could examine the many issues of the intensive irrigated rice-wheat system. We attempted to study the potential benefits and impact of laser-assisted precision land leveling (PLL) in various crops and cropping systems under different agroecologies through on-station and researcher-managed on-farm trials. In on-station trials, PLL improved RW system productivity by 7% and saved irrigation water by 12% and profitability by US$113 175 ha1 compared with traditional land leveling (TLL). Under on-farm trials conducted in the northwestern IGP, we found that PLL enhanced RW system productivity by 10%, 11%, and 19% with water savings of 23%, 25%, and 30% in western Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana, respectively. In the eastern IGP, the savings in irrigation costs in different crops in laser-leveled fields compared with traditional leveling ranged from $20 to $30 ha1. The increase in farm profitability under laser land leveling was nearly $200 300 ha1 year 1. Impact studies revealed that laser-leveling technology has been adopted on nearly 200,000 ha in the IGP, which saved electricity for $6 and $13 million in the RW system of Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh, respectively, with a significant increase in crop yields and savings in irrigation water. These studies suggest that, to sustain the intensive irrigated systems in general and the RW system of the IGP in particular, the integration of laser-assisted precision land leveling with other RCT s could be a viable option. However, the long-term effects of these alternative technologies need to be studied under varying agroecologies.

Borlaug Institute for South Asia|Conservation Agriculture Program

English

INT3482|INT3072|CGUR01|INT3262