Tillage Crop Establishment and Irrigation Methods Improve the Productivity of Wheat (Triticum aestivum): Water Use Studies, and the Biological Properties and Fertility Status of Soil

Abstract

The Crop Research Centre of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology in Meerut (U.P.), India, conducted field experiments in a randomised block design, comprising three replicates, one late sown variety (DBW-90), and eight treatments, viz.: T1 was a conventional flood irrigation (CFI); T2, furrow irrigated with gated-pipe raised beds (FIGPRB); T3, all furrow irrigation (AFI); T4, alternate furrow irrigation (Alt. FI); T5, wide bed furrow irrigation (WBFI); T6, skip furrow irrigated (SFI); T7, Sprinkler irrigation (SI); and T8, Zero-till flat-irrigated using gated pipe/controlled-flood irrigation (ZTFIGP). These field experiments were conducted during the Rabi seasons of 2017–2018 and 2018–2019. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the yield, water productivity, and soil health under different tillage crop establishment methods. Test weight, spike length, and productive tillers were all considerably enhanced in treatment T5, with the treatment’s statistical significance being similar to that of treatments T8 and T2. Treatment T5 considerably outperformed the other treatments in terms of grain yield, straw yield, biological yield (44.32, 61.88, and 106.19 q ha−1, respectively), as well as harvest index (41.73). Thirty to sixty centimetres of soil were mined for the most water, followed by fifteen to thirty centimetres, zero to fifteen centimetres, and sixty to ninety centimetres. Both water-use efficiency (2.86 q ha−1 cm) and water productivity (1.91 kg cm−3) were highest under T7 (Sprinkler irrigation). The maximum total NPK (113.69; 27.45; 127.33 kg ha−1) was found in crops grown with wide bed furrow irrigation. The data also showed that treatment T6 (skip furrow irrigated) had the highest levels of accessible NPK in soil, followed closely by treatment T4 (alternate furrow irrigated). Treatment T8 (zero-till flat-irrigated using gated-pipe/controlled flood irrigation) had the highest bacterial, fungal, and actinomycete populations, followed by T5 (wide bed furrow irrigated) and T2 (furrow irrigated with gated-pipe/elevated bed). Our research showed that there may be more options for maintaining wheat crop water productivity and soil health under different agroecological conditions, including crop productivity, conservation tillage-based establishing methods, and irrigation regimes.