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Received: 3rd march, 2026; Accepted: 2nd May, 2026

Abstract

The declining water table, deteriorating soil health, and low water use efficiency are major challenges to the sustainability of rice-based cropping systems. The study on water-use efficiency and yield of un-puddled transplanted basmati rice (UPTR) (Oryza sativa L.) under green manuring and irrigation scheduling was conducted at Khalsa College, Amritsar, during the kharif season in 2024. The experiment was arranged in a split-plot design, with three green manuring treatments in the main plot i.e., control (G0), green manuring with dhaincha (G1 ), and with cowpea (G2), and five irrigation schedules in sub-plot, i.e., I0 : puddled transplanted rice (PTR) + 15 days ponding + alternative wetting and drying (AWD), I1(UPTR+ 15 days ponding + AWD), I2(UPTR+irrigation at 3mm CPE), I3(UPTR+irrigation at 5mm CPE), and I4(UPTR+irrigation at 7mm CPE) and replicated thrice. Higher growth and yield parameters and economics were observed in G1, followed by G2, and the lowest were in G0 . Among irrigation schedules, I2 showed the highest growth attributes, grain yield (7570 kg ha-1), biological yield (18680 kg ha-1), and economics, followed by I1 and I0. Wider irrigation intervals (I3 and I4 ) reduced growth and yield attributes. Water productivity was the highest in I2 and I1. Treatments I0 and I1remain at par in grain yield, but water consumption in I0 was higher, indicating water conservation in I1 without reduction in yield. Interactions between green manuring and irrigation scheduling show that the combinations of green manures with I2 at UPTR improve water use efficiency and water productivity.