Abstract
Tillage practices significantly influences soil physical characteristics and crop productivity. The infiltration characteristics, bulk density, porosity, penetration resistance, grain yield of rice and wheat were measured under no-till without residue (NT), roto-tillage (RT), and no-till with residue i.e. happy seeder (HS) in rice-wheat cropping system in sandy loam (SL) and loamy sand (LS) soils. For surface soil layer (0-15 cm) highest soil bulk density (Mg m-3) was recorded in HS (1.58) followed by RT (1.56) and NT (1.55) in LS soil. Soil porosity ranged from 40.6 % to 41.2 % under HS and RT, respectively for 0-15 cm depth in SL soil. The PR (K Pa) varied from 2412 (NT) to 2539 (HS) in SL. In LS soil PR (K Pa) varied from 2433 (NT) to 2603 (RT). Final infiltration rate (FIR) varied from 0.1 to 0.3 cm hr-1 under RT and NT in SL soil, while, in LS soil FIR varied from 0.5 to 0.8 cm hr-1 in RT and HS, respectively. Maximum rice grain yield (t ha-1) was recorded in RT (8.0) followed by NT (7.5) and HS (7.0) in SL soil. The corresponding rice yield (t ha-1) in LS was 6.5, 5.8 and 5.5 in RT, NT and HS, respectively. Wheat straw yield (t ha-1) ranged from 4.9 (NT) to 5.9 (HS) in SL soil. The wheat grain yield (t ha-1) was observed to be maximum in HS (4.5), followed by RT (4.0) and NT (3.9) in SL soil, while in LS soil the wheat grain yield (t ha-1) values were observed to be 2.7, 3.0 and 3.6 in NT, RT and HS, respectively. No significant effect of tillage and residue management practices was observed on grain yield of rice and wheat, however, significant changes were observed on water transmission characteristics and straw yields.
Highlights
Management and tillage practices strongly impact physical properties of the topsoil and the characteristics of the macropore system (Kumar et al, 2014)
In no-till without residue (NT) plots wheat was sown with no-till (NT) machine by removing whole paddy straw of previous crop, in roto-till (RT) plots whole of rice residue left after combine harvesting was incorporated in soil by rotavator operations and later on wheat was sown with ordinary drill and in third treatment i.e. happy seeder (HS) (Happy Seeder) which was no-till practice with residue retention and the wheat crop was sown directly in standing rice stubbles and loose straw
Soil moisture storage was observed to maximum under HS due to mulching effect, interception of rainfall and reduction of runoff caused by loose straw and standing rice stubbles
Summary
Management and tillage practices strongly impact physical properties of the topsoil and the characteristics of the macropore system (Kumar et al, 2014). There are several practices (cover crop, mulch, residue incorporation) which reduce losses and increase moisture storage in the root zone, and happy seeder (HS) or no-till with residue is especially effective in enhancing soil moisture storage (Yuecun et al, 2008; Kumar et al, 2014). There is a strong interest and emphasis on adoption of conservation tillage like HS or no-till (NT) systems along with application of crop residue mulch for reducing soil erosion risks, improving soil quality by enhancing soil organic matter concentration and soil fertility, soil water storage capacity, infiltration rate, bio diversity, stability of ecosystem and energy use efficiency (Ogban et al, 2001; Iqbal et al, 2005; Kumar et al, 2014). Effects of tillage have been reported on penetration www.ccsenet.org/jas
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