RESUMEN
A field experiment was conducted on Ridge gourd during rabi season of 2021-22 and 2022-23 at the Experimental Research Plot Soil and Water Engineering, CAE, Raichur. The study aimed to assess the efficacy of a sensor and evapotranspiration based irrigation system in varying irrigation levels, comparing the performance between mulched and non-mulched conditions. The use of sensor-based irrigation at 100% field capacity under mulched has shown positive outcomes, leading to a notable enhancement in crop production by about 9.40% additionally, this approach has resulted in a significant conservation of irrigation water, with savings of approximately 12.35% compared to the treatment involving irrigation at 100% evapotranspiration under mulched, but without the use of sensors. Across the treatments, the water application efficiency ranged from 94.13 to 91.37%. The highest water use efficiency was observed in the treatment with irrigation at 100% FC under mulched condition on pooled basis (0.20 t ha-1 mm-1). The sensor based drip irrigation system under mulched is an economically viable option to be recommended among farmers in arid and semi-arid climate. Despite the higher initial setup costs, farmers can achieve significant cost savings in the long run due to lower water usage, better yields, and minimised labour requirements.