Asian Journal of Research in Crop Science

Water control systems significantly influence Rice growth and yield, with water-saving strategies, such as Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) and controlled irrigation often increasing water productivity and grain yield related to continual flooding, while deep flooding can inhibit growth. The research gap is the lack of specific studies on how modern water management practices like AWD affect the growth and yield of locally important varieties like Binadhan5 and BRRI dhan28. The policy implications suggest that farmers can achieve higher water productivity and water savings by adopting these water-saving methods, leading to more sustainable rice production without compromising yield, particularly in drought-prone or water-scarce areas. A field study was carried out at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) to investigate the impacts of various water control systems on the development and yield of 2 Boro rice varieties Binadhan5 as well as BRRI dhan28. The research was conducted in split-plot design with water management practices in the main plot and rice cultivars in the sub-plot. The water control procedures were as follows: (I₁) alternate wetting and drying of the field, indicating the usage of 5 cm irrigation water when the water surface in the pierced PVC pipe decreased 15 cm beneath earth surface, (I₂) irrigation after 5 days of saturation, and (I₃) continuous flooded condition. The maximum grain yield of rice was obtained from the cultivar Binadhan5 followed by BRRI dhan28. Among the different water management practices, alternate wetting and drying (I₁) documented the maximum grain yield of rice followed by irrigation after 5 days of saturation (I₂) and continuous flooded condition (I₃). The resulting impact has proven that excellent water control measures, as well as the adoption of appropriate varieties, assist to increase yield every droplet of water utilized and can quadruple growers' revenue.