Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Irrigation water-use efficiency is the ratio of water stored in the crop root zone to the total water delivered to the farm.
Different irrigation methods vary significantly in their efficiency based on their design and water losses.
Detailed Explanation:
Let us evaluate the average water application efficiencies of the given methods:
- (D) Flood irrigation: Uncontrolled wild flooding has the lowest efficiency ($30\%$-$40\%$) due to high evaporation, runoff, and deep percolation losses.
- (A) Border irrigation: A controlled surface irrigation method where fields are divided into strips. Its efficiency is slightly higher than wild flooding ($50\%$-$65\%$).
- (B) Sprinkler irrigation: Pressurized spray networks distribute water like rainfall, with an efficiency of $70\%$-$80\%$.
- (C) Drip irrigation: Water is applied slowly and directly to the plant roots, minimizing evaporation and percolation. This method has the highest efficiency ($90\%$-$95\%$).
Arranging these from lowest to highest efficiency:
\[ \text{Flood (D)} \rightarrow \text{Border (A)} \rightarrow \text{Sprinkler (B)} \rightarrow \text{Drip (C)} \]
This corresponds to the sequence: (D), (A), (B), (C).
Step 2: Final Answer:
The correct ascending sequence corresponds to Option (B).