Agricultural Water Management 152 (2015) 243–250 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Agricultural Water Management jou rn al hom ep age: www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat Soil salinity management on raised beds with different furrow irrigation modes in salt-affected lands M. Devkota a,b,∗ , R.K. Gupta c , C. Martius b,d , J.P.A. Lamers b , K.P. Devkota e , K.D. Sayre f , P.L.G. Vlek b a International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Kathmandu, Nepal b Center for Development Research (ZEF), Walter Flex-Str. 3, 53113 Bonn, Germany c Borlaug Institute for South Asia/CIMMYT, NASC Complex, CG Block, Pusa, New Delhi, India d Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Bogor, Indonesia e International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), DAPO Box 7777, Manila, Philippines f International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Texcoco, Mexico a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 27 December 2013 Received in revised form 9 January 2015 Accepted 17 January 2015 Keywords: Salt-leaching Raised beds Furrow irrigation Uzbekistan a b s t r a c t Mismanagement of irrigation water and the ensuing secondary salinization are threatening the sus- tainability of irrigated agriculture especially in many dryland regions. The permanent raised-bed/furrow system, a water-wise conservation agriculture-based practice, is gaining importance for row- and high value-crops in irrigated agriculture. However, because of additional surface exposure and elevation, raised beds may be more prone to salt accumulation especially under shallow water table conditions. A field study was carried out in 2008 and 2009 in the Khorezm region, Central Asia, to investigate the effect of three furrow irrigation methods on salt dynamics of the soil and the performance of the cot- ton crop on the raised bed-furrow system. The irrigation methods compared included (i) Conventional furrow irrigation wherein every furrow was irrigated (EFI) at each irrigation event; (ii) Alternate skip furrow irrigation (ASFI where one of two neighbouring furrows were alternately irrigated during con- secutive irrigations events; and (iii) Permanent skip furrow irrigation (PSFI) during which irrigation was permanently skipped in one of the two neighbouring furrows during all irrigation events. For salinity management with PSFI a ‘managed salt accumulation and effective leaching’ approach was pursued. The EFI method increased salt accumulation on the top of the raised beds. In contrast, the PSFI method allowed an effective salt leaching from the top of the raised beds. After leaching, salinity on top of the beds under PSFI was reduced to <3 dS m -1 compared to 5–6 dS m -1 under ASFI and EFI indicating an effective leaching with the PSFI method. Raw cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L., cv. Khorezm 127) yield was higher under the PSFI (2003 kg ha -1 ) method having yield increases of 984 kg ha -1 (96% higher) and 787 kg ha -1 (64% higher) than under EFI (1216 kg ha -1 ) and ASFI (1019 kg ha -1 ) methods, respectively. Better crop performance with PSFI was linked with the lesser salinization of the raised beds and a larger salt free root zone before the leaching events. In addition, the PSFI method reduced irrigation water demand contributed thus to minimizing secondary soil salinization. Thus, PSFI could be an effective method to manage the salt under raised beds in salt-affected irrigated arid regions. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The expansion of irrigated agriculture in Central Asia has increased the water demand and use up to 12000–14,000 m 3 ha -1 yr -1 (Nazirov, 2005). But the productivity of the drylands in this region is still constrained by frequent water shortages and ∗ Corresponding author at: CIMMYT International, P.O. Box: 5186, Singh Durbar Plaza Marg, Kathmandu, Nepal. Tel.: +977 1 4269564, 4269567; fax: +977 1 4229804. E-mail address: m.devkota@cgiar.org (M. Devkota). continuous deteriorations in water quality due to reduced water flows in the Syr- and Amu-Darya rivers and the steady increase in the volumes of drainage water discharged back into these river systems (Qadir et al., 2009). In turn, average salt accumu- lation rate (5.3 t ha -1 yr -1 ) in the Syr-Darya Basin is 5–10 times higher than in the Indus Basin (Qureshi et al., 2008). In addition to the deterioration in irrigation water quality and excessive water allowances for leaching soil salinity problems in the Syr Darya basin are rooted in poor on-farm water management practices. Conse- quently, crop production in the lower reaches of the Syr-Darya Basin seriously suffers from secondary salinization and associated http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2015.01.013 0378-3774/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.