Achieving Sustainability in Food Systems: Addressing Changing Climate through Real Time Nitrogen and Weed Management in a Conservation Agriculture-Based Maize–Wheat System

Kapila Shekhawat,Sanjay Singh Rathore,Rishi Raj,T K Das,Vinod K Singh

doi:10.3390/su13095010

Kapila Shekhawat, Sanjay Singh Rathore + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095010

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Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: Apr 29, 2021
Citations: 4	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Indian Agricultural Research Institute

Abstract

The proven significance of conservation agriculture (CA) in enhancing agronomic productivity and resource use efficiency across diverse agro-ecologies is often challenged by weed interference and nitrogen (N) immobilization. The collective effect of real-time N and weed management has been scarcely studied. To evaluate the appropriateness of sensor-based N management in conjunction with a broad-spectrum weed control strategy for the maize–wheat system, an experiment was conducted at ICAR—Indian Agricultural Research Institute—in New Delhi, India, during 2015–2016 and 2016–2017. Weed management in maize through Sesbania brown manure followed by post-emergence application of 2,4-D (BM + 2,4-D) in maize and tank-mix clodinafop-propargyl (60 g ha−1) and carfentrazone (20 g ha−1) (Clodi+carfentra) in wheat resulted in minimum weed infestation in both crops. It also resulted in highest maize (5.92 and 6.08 t ha−1) and wheat grain yields (4.91 and 5.4 t ha−1) during 2015–2016 and 2016–2017, respectively. Half of the N requirement, when applied as basal and the rest as guided by Optical crop sensor, resulted in saving 56 and 59 kg N ha−1 in the maize–wheat system, respectively, over 100% N application as farmers’ fertilizer practice during the two consecutive years. Interactive effect of N and weed management on economic yield of maize and wheat was also significant and maximum yield was obtained with 50% N application as basal + rest as per Optical crop sensor and weed management through BM+2,4-D in maize and Clodi+carfentra in wheat crop. The study concludes that real-time N management, complemented with appropriate weed management, improved growth, enhanced agronomic productivity and endorsed N saving under a CA-based maize–wheat system in Trans Indo-Gangetic Plains.

Highlights

Maize (Zea mays L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) system has been established as a potential alternative cropping system after rice (Oryza sativa L.)–wheat system in the IndoGangetic Plains of Indian sub-continent due to emerging challenges of unsustainability.Globally, maize and wheat are the preferred food for 0.9 and 2.5 billion people which are grown over 197 and 218 million hectares area, respectively
The study concludes that real-time N management, complemented with appropriate weed management, improved growth, enhanced agronomic productivity and endorsed N saving under a conservation agriculture (CA)-based maize–wheat system in Trans Indo-Gangetic Plains
N3 and N4 treatments, respectively, 75% and 50% of the N requirement was applied as basal, followed by split applications as guided by the Optical crop sensor (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

Maize (Zea mays L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) system has been established as a potential alternative cropping system after rice (Oryza sativa L.)–wheat system in the IndoGangetic Plains of Indian sub-continent due to emerging challenges of unsustainability. Maize and wheat are the preferred food for 0.9 and 2.5 billion people which are grown over 197 and 218 million hectares area, respectively. Together these crops add about 1.9 billion tonnes food grain [1]. Maize–wheat system occupies a 1.83-million-hectare area, contributes about 3% to the national food production and is the third most important system after rice–wheat and rice–rice systems in. The gratuitous weed interference and Sustainability 2021, 13, 5010.

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