Question:
Water use efficiency in increasing order
Water use efficiency in increasing order
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Pitcher pot irrigation is an excellent, low-cost micro-irrigation technology suited for smallholder farmers growing high-value vegetables in arid and semi-arid regions with limited water supplies.
Updated On: Jul 23, 2026
- Surface Irrigation
- Sprinkler Irrigation
- Drip Irrigation
- Pitcher pot Irrigation
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The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Water Use Efficiency (WUE) is defined as the yield of marketable crop produced per unit of water consumed by the crop.
It measures the effectiveness with which an irrigation system delivers water to the plant root zone while minimizing losses due to evaporation, runoff, and deep percolation.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
Let us compare the water use efficiencies of the listed irrigation methods:
1. Surface Irrigation (A): Water is applied over the soil surface by gravity (e.g., flooding, furrow, or basin irrigation).
It is highly inefficient due to high evaporation, runoff, and deep percolation losses, with water use efficiency typically ranging between $35\%\text{ to }50\%$.
2. Sprinkler Irrigation (B): Water is sprayed into the air through nozzles, mimicking natural rainfall.
It reduces deep percolation and runoff losses but is susceptible to wind drift and canopy evaporation, achieving a water use efficiency of $60\%\text{ to }80\%$.
3. Drip Irrigation (C): Water is delivered slowly and directly to the plant root zone through emitters.
This micro-irrigation method minimizes surface evaporation and weed growth, achieving a high water use efficiency of $85\%\text{ to }90\%$.
4. Pitcher Pot Irrigation (D): An unglazed clay pot (pitcher) is buried in the soil up to its neck and filled with water.
Water oozes out slowly through the porous clay walls directly into the surrounding root zone, driven entirely by the soil's matric potential.
Because there is virtually zero evaporation, runoff, or deep percolation, this highly localized method achieves the highest water use efficiency, often exceeding $95\%$.
Thus, the increasing order of water use efficiency is (A) < (B) < (C) < (D).
Step 4: Final Answer:
The correct increasing order is (A), (B), (C), (D), corresponding to option (A).
Water Use Efficiency (WUE) is defined as the yield of marketable crop produced per unit of water consumed by the crop.
It measures the effectiveness with which an irrigation system delivers water to the plant root zone while minimizing losses due to evaporation, runoff, and deep percolation.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
Let us compare the water use efficiencies of the listed irrigation methods:
1. Surface Irrigation (A): Water is applied over the soil surface by gravity (e.g., flooding, furrow, or basin irrigation).
It is highly inefficient due to high evaporation, runoff, and deep percolation losses, with water use efficiency typically ranging between $35\%\text{ to }50\%$.
2. Sprinkler Irrigation (B): Water is sprayed into the air through nozzles, mimicking natural rainfall.
It reduces deep percolation and runoff losses but is susceptible to wind drift and canopy evaporation, achieving a water use efficiency of $60\%\text{ to }80\%$.
3. Drip Irrigation (C): Water is delivered slowly and directly to the plant root zone through emitters.
This micro-irrigation method minimizes surface evaporation and weed growth, achieving a high water use efficiency of $85\%\text{ to }90\%$.
4. Pitcher Pot Irrigation (D): An unglazed clay pot (pitcher) is buried in the soil up to its neck and filled with water.
Water oozes out slowly through the porous clay walls directly into the surrounding root zone, driven entirely by the soil's matric potential.
Because there is virtually zero evaporation, runoff, or deep percolation, this highly localized method achieves the highest water use efficiency, often exceeding $95\%$.
Thus, the increasing order of water use efficiency is (A) < (B) < (C) < (D).
Step 4: Final Answer:
The correct increasing order is (A), (B), (C), (D), corresponding to option (A).
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