Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Water-saving irrigation methods are crucial in commercial, high-water-demand crops like sugarcane.
Skip furrow (or alternate furrow) irrigation is a method where water is applied to alternate furrows rather than every furrow during a single irrigation event, rotating the irrigated furrows in subsequent cycles.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Sugarcane is a long-duration, high-water-consuming crop.
Applying conventional furrow irrigation leads to significant water losses through deep percolation and surface evaporation.
Under skip furrow irrigation, only alternate furrows receive water.
This effectively reduces the surface area exposed to evaporation and limits the total volume of water applied per irrigation cycle.
Agronomic studies have shown that skip furrow irrigation is highly preferred because it maintains adequate soil moisture in the root zone while achieving substantial water savings.
It saves approximately \( 30\% \) to \( 36\% \) of water compared to conventional furrow irrigation methods.
Because the yield of sugarcane is maintained close to conventional levels while using much less water, the water use efficiency (WUE) increases by up to \( 64\% \).
Therefore, Statement (I) is correct because this method is highly recommended for water conservation in sugarcane.
Statement (II) is also correct because it accurately reflects the quantified scientific parameters of water saving and efficiency improvements.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Both Statement (I) and Statement (II) are true.