Competency of groundwater recharge of irrigated cotton field subjacent to sowing methods, plastic mulch, water productivity, and yield under climate change

Irrigated agriculture is a foremost consumer of water resources to fulfill the demand for food and fiber with an increasing population under climate changes; cotton is no exception. Depleting groundwater recharge and water productivity is critical for the sustainable cotton crop yield peculiarly in the semiarid region. This study investigated the water productivity and cotton yield under six different treatments: three sowing methods, i.e., flat, ridge, and bed planting with and without plastic mulch. Cotton bed planting without mulch showed maximum water productivity (0.24 kg.m-3) and the highest cotton yield (1946 kg.ha-1). Plastic mulching may reduce water productivity and cotton yield. HYDRUS-1D unsaturated flow model was used to access the groundwater recharge for 150 days under six treatments after model performance evaluation. Maximum cumulative recharge was observed 71 cm for the flat sowing method without plastic mulch. CanESM2 was used to predict climate scenarios for RCP 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5 for the 2050s and 2080s by statistical downscale modeling (SDSM) using historical data from 1975 to 2005 to access future groundwater recharge flux. Average cumulative recharge flux declined 36.53% in 2050 and 22.91% in 2080 compared to 2017 without plastic mulch. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that a maximum 23.78% reduction in groundwater recharge could influence future climate change. Further study may require to understand the remaining influencing factor of depleting groundwater recharge. Findings highlight the significance of climate change and the cotton sowing method while accessing future groundwater resources in irrigated agriculture.