Question

Which of the following crops has maximum water requirement?

• A. Rice
• B. Wheat
• C. Barly
• D. Oat

Hint:

Paddy rice has a high water requirement ($900 - 2500\text{ mm}$) due to puddling and continuous flooding, making it a highly water-intensive crop.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The water requirement of a crop is the total volume of water needed to support its growth from sowing to harvest.
This requirement includes evapotranspiration, metabolic needs, and any water losses during application.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let us compare the seasonal water requirements of the listed crops:
1. Oat and Barley: Are cool-season (rabi) cereals with low water requirements, typically ranging from $350\text{ to }400\text{ mm}$ ($35\text{ to }40\text{ cm}$).
2. Wheat: Is a rabi cereal with a moderate water requirement, typically ranging from $450\text{ to }650\text{ mm}$ ($45\text{ to }65\text{ cm}$), met through 4 to 6 irrigations at critical growth stages.
3. Rice: Is grown primarily under flooded or submerged soil conditions.
Its total water requirement is high, ranging from $900\text{ to }2500\text{ mm}$ ($90\text{ to }250\text{ cm}$) per season.
This high requirement is due to the practices of nursery preparation, puddling, and maintaining a constant depth of standing water in the field, which leads to high water losses from percolation and evaporation.
Therefore, rice has a significantly higher water requirement than the other cereal crops listed.

Step 3: Final Answer:
The crop with the maximum water requirement is Rice, which corresponds to Option (A).