Nitrogen and rice straw incorporation impact nitrogen use efficiency, soil nitrogen pools and enzyme activity in rice-wheat system in north-western India

Abstract

Abstract The long-term sustainability of rice-wheat system (RWS) requires robust interventions such as recycling of rice straw (RS) to improve soil health and minimal impact on environment. Therefore, the dynamic adjustments in fertilizer-N application with RS incorporation that impacts crop productivity, N availability, N use efficiency (NUE) and soil enzymatic activity are required. We investigated the long-term impacts of four rates of RS incorporation (0, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 Mg ha−1 year-1; RS0, RS5.0, RS7.5 and RS10.0) and four rates of fertilizer-N (0, 90, 120 and 150 kg N ha-1; N0, N90, N120 and N150) application in different combinations on N dynamics in soils, enzyme activity, crop yields and NUE. Results revealed that fertilizer-N application significantly (p