Climate-Smart Agriculture for Water Conservation and Improving Cotton Productivity: Evidence from Bahawalpur, Pakistan

Abstract

Agriculture in many developing countries, including Pakistan, heavily relies on 
conventional farming practices. These practices attribute to low crop productivity and poor 
economic return. Climate-smart agricultural practices (CSAPs), such as laser land leveling, raised 
bed planting, and tensiometer-based irrigation, offer potential to improve yield and resource 
efficiency. In this regard, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of selected CSAPs on cotton yield, 
water savings, and economic returns. A field experiment was conducted during the 2024 cotton
growing season at Basti Jameel Abad, District Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan, using a randomized 
complete block design with four treatments: T1 (conventional practices), T2 (laser land leveling), 
T3 (laser land leveling and raised bed planting), and T4 (laser land leveling, raised bed planting and 
tensiometer-based irrigation). Cotton variety “IUB-18” was used. Results showed that T4 achieved 
the highest seed cotton yield (i.e., 1677.3 kg/ha), water savings (i.e., 42.72%), and benefit–cost ratio 
(i.e., 1.79), outperforming all other treatments. The findings demonstrate that integrating raised bed 
planting with tensiometer-based irrigation and laser land leveling can enhance water-use efficiency, 
improve economic returns, and contribute to sustainable cotton production in semi-arid regions.