Abstract: The study aimed at improving the conventional irrigation management practices to enhance yield and water use efficiency for pre-planned irrigation scheduling of wheat and cotton crops. Five field experiments were conducted during 1990-94. A 3-year study of moisture deficit irrigation (MDI) to wheat V-85205 continued with the same irrigation schedule(s) for two years and the third year irrigation schedule(s) were modified on the basis of the preceding year's results. It indicated that the crop was most sensitive to moisture deficit at tillering stage and least sensitive at flowering stage. In the fourth experiment, three pre-selected wheat genotypes; Sarsabz, LU-26S and Pasban-90 showed different response to moisture deficit. Comparable yields to respective conventional irrigation schedule (1111) were obtained by MDI schedule (1011), (1110) and (1101) for Sarsabz, LU-26S and Pasban- 90, respectively. The fifth experiment conducted on the genetic diversity of two pre-selected cotton genotypes NIAB-86 and FH-682 subjected to moisture deficit at vegetative, generative or maturity stages yielded 7% and 9% more seed cotton at MDI (110) excess over conventional irrigation treatments (111) saving 150 mm of irrigation water. Thus, saving of 75 and 150 mm of irrigation water for wheat and cotton crops respectively was achieved by applying improved irrigation schedule without undergoing any significant yield loss.