Abstract

Groundwater level declination is a grave concern in various regions of Bangladesh, primarily due to intensive irrigation. To address this growing problem, a potential solution is to shift from cultivating water-intensive crops to less water-demanding crops like chickpeas in water-scarce areas, which could prove to be an effective strategy. With this view, a 3-year long (from 2015 to 2018) experiment was done in two different locations (Gazipur and Rajshahi) to investigate the response of the growth, yield, and water use of chickpeas to irrigation regimes. There were four treatments (each has three replications), namely, T1 = rainfed, T2 = one irrigation at post-sowing (20-22 days after sowing (DAS)), T3 = one irrigation at pod development (80-85 DAS) stage, and T4 = two irrigations applied at post-sowing and pod development stages. The results showed that relying solely on rainfall was insufficient for satisfactory chickpea yield in Gazipur and Rajshahi, emphasizing the need for irrigation. Applying irrigation twice (at the post-sowing and pod-filling stage, approximately 39.43 mm) in Gazipur and once (at the pod-filling stage, approximately 42.84 mm) in Rajshahi resulted in enhanced growth and yield of chickpeas. The study findings indicate that chickpeas can be effectively cultivated with no or minimum irrigation. About 92-98 % less consumptive water use in chickpeas than that of rice recommends that its expansion in the water-stressed regions has the potential to minimize ongoing water table declination.

Key words: • Biomass, water productivity, water use, effective rainfall