Abstract
Efficient water use remains a major challenge globally. Semi-arid regions of the eastern plains of the state of Uttar Pradesh are no different. With stagnating yields and increased input achieving homogeneity in crop yield remains the only way to increase production. Water being the main drive, its judicious use is to be encouraged. Heterogeneity in water usage resulting in yield heterogeneity has to be quantified. It explains the extent of problem. This research conducted at Samrakalwana village at Allahabad reveals that a 36.12 % heterogeneity in water usage results in wheat yield heterogeneity of 44.04 %. Based upon this, management practices can be recommended to the farmers to minimize yield gap. Water footprints for wheat were obtained. The obtained water footprints for wheat were found to vary between 9844 to 2951 l/Kg. The water productivity ranged from 3.88 to 1.01 Tonnes/m3. This huge variation also explains the large heterogeneity is present in utilizing existing water as a resource at the Samrakalwana village.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Briscoe J, Malik RPS (2005) India’s water economy: bracing for a turbulent future. Oxford University Press, World Bank, New Delhi
Clay (2004) World agriculture and the environment :a commodity-by-commodity guide to impacts and practices
Denis DM (2013) Irrigation Performance Assessment using SEBS and SCOPE. A case study of Tonness pump Canal Command in India. Master’s thesis (Enschede, The Netherlands)
Hoekstra AY (2009) Human appropriation of natural capital: a comparison of ecological footprint and water footprint analysis. Ecol Econ 68(7):1963–1974
Hoekstra AY, Chapagain AK (2007) Water footprints of nations: water use by people as a function of their consumption pattern. Water Resour Manag 21(1):35–48
Hoekstra AY, Chapagain AK, Aldaya MM et al. (2011) The water footprint assessment manual : setting the global standard
Mekonnen MM, Hoekstra AY (2010a) A global and high-resolution assessment of the green, blue and grey water footprint of wheat. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 14(7):1259–1276, ISSN 1027-5606
Mekonnen MM, Hoekstra AY (2010b) The green, blue and grey water footprint of crops and derived crop products. value of water research report series no. 50, UNESCO-IHE, Delft, The Netherlands. No. 47. UNESCO-IHE, Delft
Mekonnen MM, Hoekstra AY (2011) National water footprint accounts: the green, blue and grey water footprint of production and consumption. value of water research report series no. 50. UNESCO-IHE, Delft
Mekonnen MM, Hoekstra AY (2014) Water footprint benchmarks for crop production: a first global assessment. Ecol Indic 46:214–223
Romaguera M, Albentosa (2012) Determining irrigated areas and quantifying blue water use in Europe using remote sensing Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) products and Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) data. Photogramm Eng Remote Sens 78(8):861–873 (ISSN 0099-1112)
Thapa G, Gaiha R (2011) Smallholder farming in Asia and the Pacific:challenges and opportunities. Conference on New Directions for Smallholder Agriculture, International Fund for Agricultural Development
Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful to Uttar Pradesh Council of Agricultural Research (UPCAR) for funding this study via sponsored project “Farming system based water budgeting for Samrakalwana village at Allahabad”
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Denis, D.M., Kumar, M., Srivastava, S. et al. A High Resolution Assessment of Water Footprint of Wheat to Understand Yield and Water Use Heterogeneity. Water Resour Manage 30, 2641–2649 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-016-1305-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-016-1305-y