Effect of plant waste incorporation by different methods under uninoculated and inoculated conditions on wheat crops

Abstract

A study on the effect of in situ incorporation of paddy straw in soil on improvement of wheat production was conducted for two consecutive years following different methods. In the first set of experiments, locally available waste paddy straw shredded to a convenient size (6 cm) and incorporated with and without a mesophilic cellulolytic fungal inoculum ( Aspergillus sp.) in alluvial sandy loam soil at 0, 2·5, 5·0 and 7·5 tonnes ha −1 one month prior to sowing. This benefitted the wheat crop. Application of paddy straw, particularly with an efficient microbial inoculant, in combination with two doses of nitrogenous fertilizer (N at 50 and 100 kg ha −1) produced a significant effect on the yield of wheat and substantially reduced the fertilizer nitrogen requirement. In another set of experiments, the practice of directly plowinng down the paddy plants at 7·5 tonnes ha −1, after removing the ear part at maturity, was practised with and without a microbial inoculant and with two levels of N. The treatment receiving 7·5 tonnes ha −1 paddy plants plus. Aspergillus sp. plus 50 kg N ha −1 was found to be economically the most effective.