Abstract
A research study was conducted at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad to provide empirical evidence for optimizing water use for maximum net returns form rice production. The level of use of all production inputs other than irrigation was kept similar. Four irrigation levels i.e. 6.25, 7.50, 8.75 and 10.00 cm were applied in a triplicated randomized complete block design. Relatively higher net field benefit was obtained in case of 7.50 cm depth ofwater, while in case of 8.75 and 10.00 cm depth ofwater, low net returns were obtained which could be ascribed to excessive water use causing crop lodging, resultant higher respective cost of water applied and consequent lower yields. Seven and a half centimeter depth of water W9S thus found to be an economical alternative for rice production at the farm level.
