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Impact of long term conservation agriculture on soil quality under cereal based systems of North West India

author(s) Roy, Dibakar - Datta, Ashim - Jat, HS - Choudhary, Madhu - Sharma, PC - Singh, PK - Jat, ML
from International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
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themes
regions
  • Southern Asia
  • Asia
  • World
citation

Roy, Dibakar; Datta, Ashim; Jat, HS; Choudhary, Madhu; Sharma, PC; Singh, PK; Jat, ML, 2022, "Impact of long term conservation agriculture on soil quality under cereal based systems of North West India", https://hdl.handle.net/11529/10548758, CIMMYT Research Data & Software Repository Network, V1

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Abstract

Indo Gangetic plains of India. Hence, we evaluated long-term (10 years) effect of conservation agriculture (CA)
practices on soil quality improvement under six different cropping scenarios (Sc), i.e. Sc1-represented by
transplanted puddled rice (TPR) followed by conventional tilled broadcasted wheat (CT-wheat) with residue
removal, Sc2-TPR rice followed by zero tillage (ZT) wheat and ZT-mung bean with partial residue retention, Sc3-
direct seeded rice (DSR) followed by ZT-wheat and ZT-mung bean with full residue retention, Sc4-DSR is
replaced by ZT-maize followed by ZT-wheat and ZT-mung bean, Sc5 and Sc6 were – Sc3 integrated with sub
surface drip irrigation (SDI) and Sc4 + SDI, respectively. Soil samples were collected from 0 to 5, 5–15 and
15–30 cm soil depth from each scenario after harvesting of wheat in 2019. Results showed that, reduction in bulk
density (BD), soil penetration resistance (SPR) and enhancement of water holding capacity and infiltration were
associated with CA based scenarios (Sc3–Sc6). Scenario 3 recorded lowest BD of 1.39 and 1.58 g cm􀀀 3 at 0–5 and
5–15 cm soil depth, respectively. CA based Sc6 recorded highest infiltration rate (1.48 cm hr􀀀 1) and lowest was
associated with Sc1 (0.5 cm hr􀀀 1). The enrichment of soil organic carbon (SOC) content, stock, available nitrogen
and potassium was mainly confined to upper surface soil layer (0–5 cm). The SOC content and stock in CA based
scenarios (average of Sc3 to Sc6) was 41–57 and 69–94% higher than Sc1 at 0–5 cm soil layer. Available nitrogen
was increased by 23–50 and 64–98% and available potassium increased by 13–28 and 42–71% in 0–5 and 5–15
cm soil depth, respectively in CA based scenarios over Sc1. Similarly, microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and
dehydrogenase (DHA) activity in top soil layer under CA based scenarios was increased by 177–195 and
67–107% over Sc1, respectively. The maximum SQI was registered with Sc6 (0.91) followed by Sc4 (0.89) and
least was recorded in Sc1 (0.65) at 0–5 cm soil depth. Maize-wheat based cropping system recorded higher SQI
over rice–wheat based cropping system. Sustainable yield index was strongly related with key soil quality indicators
and also positively correlated with SQI. Thus our study suggests that CA based maize-wheat-mung bean
cropping system should be recommended for better soil quality and yield sustainability in North West India.

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