Water is a vital input for agriculture. There can be no agriculture without water. In India, major water resources for agriculyure are rivers, lakes, canal, reservoir, and ground water. It is estimated that more than three fourth of the fresh water resources are currently being used for agriculture and remaining water is fulfilling the industrial and domestic requirements. In the present era of development, all the sectors are demanding larger quantities of fresh water. Thus, tremendous pressure is on agriculture sector to reduce its share of water and at the same time sustain production. The declining water table in Punjab is threatening the sustainability of agriculture. During the last decade, the average value of water table decline is from 45-50 cm per year in the central districts of Punjab. Thus efficient use of natural resources for maximising output is of paramount importance. Increasing crop productivity, enhancement of irrigated area, protection of soil from water logging and other ill effects are challenges of today's agriculture which can be addressed to larger extent by use of modern methods of irrigation. The age old conventional methods of irrigation have very low water use efficiencies. By using these methods we are not only wasting the precious ground water but also deteriorating our soils.
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