Conservation Tillage Practices Research Articles

Conservation Tillage Practices and Their Role in Sustainable Farming Systems

Conservation tillage practices have become increasingly recognized as crucial strategies in the effort to achieve sustainable farming systems. These practices, which include methods such as notill, striptill, mulchtill, and ridgetill, aim to minimize soil disturbance, thereby promoting a range of environmental, economic, and agronomic benefits. This review article delves into the different types of conservation tillage practices, elaborating on their specific techniques, advantages, and potential drawbacks. It examines how these practices influence soil health by enhancing soil structure, increasing organic matter, and fostering biodiversity. Furthermore, the article discusses the impact of conservation tillage on crop productivity, highlighting both the yield benefits and the challenges related to pest and weed management. The role of conservation tillage in mitigating environmental issues such as soil erosion, water conservation, and greenhouse gas emissions is also explored in depth. Through a synthesis of recent research findings and case studies, this article provides a thorough analysis of the contributions of conservation tillage to sustainable agriculture. It also offers practical recommendations for farmers, policymakers, and researchers to optimize the adoption and effectiveness of conservation tillage practices, ultimately aiming to support a transition towards more resilient and sustainable farming systems.

Intercropping outweighs straw incorporation driving community and functional diversity of microarthropods after 5 years of tillage practices

Crop-leguminous intercropping and straw incorporation are considerable approaches to sustainable agriculture and have been widely used as a coping strategy to mitigate the negative effects caused by intensive agriculture. Yet, as a sustainable agriculture requires a deeper understanding of the impacts of conservation tillage practices on soil fauna, such as collembolans and acarid mites. These organisms are considered the most abundant and functionally critical soil fauna in many terrestrial natural, agricultural, and urban systems. In the present study, we assessed the responses of the community and functional diversity of collembolan and acarid mite assemblages to long-term intercropping and straw incorporation practices in a temperate farming land, in China. The experimental site was established with a full-factorial design of conservation managements (maize monocropping, maize-peanut intercropping, without maize straw addition, and with maize straw addition) over five consecutive years. Results showed that intercropping doubled collembolan and acarid density. Most of the enriched species in the intercropping field were euedaphic collembolans and cleptoparasitic mites. Nonetheless, the density of most phoretic species decreased, resulting in a negative effect of intercropping on acarid diversity. Despite straw incorporation additionally boosting the intercropping-induced increases in biomass, richness, and density of the collembolan community, the effects of straw incorporation on the community structure of collembolans and acarid mites were negligible. Similarly, intercropping affected the functional composition of collembolans and mites differently. Intercropping favored euedaphic collembolans characterized by less-developed furca, ocelli and sexual reproduction, but fungivorous, and benefited the cleptoparasitic mites that might be transported by their provisional hosts during pollinating peanut flowers. Moreover, intercropping decreased the functional dispersion of acarid mites, resulting in an acarid community with a homogenized ecological niche of acarid mites. In contrast, the ecological niche was more differentiated. Similar to intercropping, the ecological niche of collembolans in the field with straw was relatively higher, as well as the functional divergence, suggesting more intense resource competition between collembolans. In conclusion, intercropping has species-specific effects on the community and functional diversity of collembolans and mites and is relatively beneficial to collembolans, whereas straw incorporation has a marginal advantage on collembolans and acarid mites.

Soil quality associated with microbial community characteristics and dominant taxa across different tillage practices

AbstractDespite conservation tillage being a promising strategy to mitigate soil degradation, the intricate role of microbial communities in shaping soil quality over long‐term tillage remains poorly understood. The study aimed to investigate the microbial mechanisms governing the soil quality index (SQI) and maize yield under different tillage practices spanning 13 years, including no‐till without straw retention (NT0), no‐till with straw retention (NTSR), plough tillage with straw retention (PTSR), and rotary tillage with straw retention (RTSR). The findings revealed that NTSR improved the SQI index by 22.4% and 11.3% higher than PTSR and RTSR, respectively, within the 0–10 cm soil layer. This improvement was correlated with an increase in maize yield (R2 = 0.39, p < 0.05). PERMANOVA analysis confirmed that both soil depth and tillage practices significantly impacted the composition of microbial communities (p < 0.05). Furthermore, conservation tillage, compared to PTSR and RTSR, increased the abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis by 78.6%–460.3% but decreased the saprophytic fungal abundance by 27.5%–28.3%. Soil quality was notably influenced by the interaction between bacterial and fungal communities. The presence of bacterial‐dominated Module 2 was associated with decreased soil quality in the 0–10 cm soil depth (r = −0.47, p < 0.01). This study emphasizes the pivotal role of microbial diversity and dominant taxa in driving soil quality after long‐term conservation tillage practices. Understanding these mechanisms is crucial for establishing farmland management to achieve agricultural and ecological sustainability in the face of climate change and soil degradation challenges.

Five years of conservation tillage and weed management in a rice-chickpea rotation of northern Gangetic Plains of India: Weed growth, yield benefits and economic profitability

Cropping system diversification of cereal-cereal systems with alternative systems preferably with pulses/legumes is demand of time across the globe for sustenance of natural resources and climate resilience. Rice-chickpea has been advocated as a futuristic cropping system in rice ecologies of South Asia for diversification of dominating rice-wheat system. However, the long-term sustainability of this system with respect to weed severity/growth, crop/system productivity, profitability, and yield stability under variable tillage, crop residues, and weed management practices has not been studied elaborately. Hence, present study was undertaken for five consecutive years in split-plot design with four tillage and residue management practices in main plot (conventional and zero tillage with and without residues), and three weed control practices (pre + post emergence herbicides and manual weeding) in sub-plot. Conservation tillage system comprising zero-tilled (ZT) direct seeded rice (ZTDSR) - ZT chickpea with rice residue retention (ZTDSR-ZTC+RR) led to the lower weed density in chickpea (by 10 %) and system (by 7 %) than conventional-tilled (CT) puddled transplanted rice - CT chickpea without residues (PTR-CTC-R; farmer practice). Among weed management practices, pendimethalin 1 kg a.i. ha−1 – metsulfuron-methyl + chlorimuron ethyl (ready-mix) 4 g a.i. ha−1 in rice and oxyfluorfen 150 g a.i. ha−1 – propaquizafop 100 g a.i. ha−1 in chickpea decreased the weed density in system by 14–22 % (p < 0.05) than pendimethalin + one hand weeding. The best weed management practice (pendimethalin – metsulfuron-methyl + chlorimuron ethyl) had significantly total weed density rice (by 7 %) and system (by 10 %) than current recommendation of the Indo-Gangetic Plains region (pendimethalin - bispyribac-sodium). It suggested that rotation of bispyribac-sodium with metsulfuron-methyl+chlorimuron ethyl (mixture herbicide) could reduce weed density and increase yield over time. Mean of five years indicated a non-significant yield difference among conservation and conventional tillage systems in rice. However, conservation tillage practice (ZTDSR-ZTC+RR) had 10 % higher chickpea yield and 4 % higher system yield (five years mean) over the PTR-CTC-R (p < 0.05). Further, conservation tillage comprising ZT in both crops in system with added residues (ZTDSR-ZTC+RR) resulted in an economic benefit of INR 22,000 than the conventional tillage in both crops without residues (PTR-CTC-R). Moreover, five years sustainable yield index was 16 % higher in ZTDSR-ZTC+RR system than conventional-tilled rice-chickpea system. Thus, conservation tillage with suitable pre- + post- emergence herbicides such as pendimethalin – metsulfuron-methyl + chlorimuron ethyl in rice and oxyfluorfen – propaquizafop in chickpea can reduce the weed density and enhance the crop and system productivity over time than conventional tillage. This system can also sustain the yields of component crops and system in long-run with higher yield stability over conventional tillage without residues. This system can be adopted in the cereal-cereal based cropping system of rice ecologies to diversify the system and to reverse the weed infestation and yield decline.

Conservation tillage enhances the sequestration and iron-mediated stabilization of aggregate-associated organic carbon in Mollisols

Conservation tillage practices, which involve minimal or no soil disturbance and crop residue retention, are known to help preserve soil organic carbon (SOC). However, the mechanisms underlying the minerals-mediated chemical and physical stabilization of SOC remain unclear. Here, a long-term field experiment was initiated in 2012 to investigate the effects of tillage managements on the contents and chemical composition of SOC density fractions, iron oxides transformation and aggregate stability in Mollisols. We utilized three treatments: conventional tillage (CT) without crop residue, reduced tillage (RT) and no tillage (NT) with straw mulching. Compared to CT, RT and NT significantly increased SOC content by 13.6 % and 17.9 % in the 0–20 cm soil layer due to an increase in the aromatic compound contents. Furthermore, NT and RT increased the mean weight diameter by 17.7 % and 10.7 %, respectively, indicating increased aggregate stability compared to CT. Additionally, the contents of amorphous iron oxides (Feo) and complex iron oxides (Fep) increased under NT and RT by 10.6–14.4 % and 12.7–41.1 %, respectively, in bulk soil and silt + clay fractions within macroaggregates (>0.25 mm). The contents of Feo and Fep were strongly positively correlated with aggregate stability (p < 0.001, r2 = 0.64), and promote the physical protection of SOC. Both NT and RT enhanced the aromatic-C content and aromatic-C/aliphatic-C ratio by 13.6 %–24.6 % and 16.5 %–38.9 % in macroaggregates compared with CT. Moreover, the aromatic-C/aliphatic-C ratio increased with increasing Feo plus Fep contents (p < 0.001, r2 = 0.73), which led to an increased in the recalcitrant-C proportion, and this shift was benefit for the accumulation of mineral-associated OC. These results indicate that long-term conservation tillage can augment the accessibility of Fe for binding C, possibly by forming organo-Fe complexes, which subsequently improve soil aggregation, and thus promoted the chemical stability and long-term sequestration of SOC in Mollisols of Northeast China.

Potential of conservation tillage, cover crops, and digestate application as integrated C farming practices for processing tomato

Conventional soil management — based on intensive tillage and low input of organic material – negatively impacts soil quality via carbon (C) losses as carbon dioxide emissions (CO2), exacerbating the effect of climate change on agriculture. Carbon farming practices (CFPs), such as minimum tillage (MT) and strip tillage (ST), offer promising solutions to maintain soil fertility, sustain crop yields, and mitigate environmental impacts. However, applying CFPs in processing tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cropping presents unique challenges due to specific crop and tillage characteristics. Our two-year field study investigated the effects of conservation tillage practices (i.e., MT and ST), both combined with cover crops and digestate application, on soil quality parameters and processing tomato yield. The field studies were conducted in fields with varying soil textures (i.e., clay and silty clay loam), and aimed to evaluate responses in terms of soil C sequestration, nutrient concentrations, soil structure, and abundance of earthworms. We hypothesized that both MT and ST would enhance soil quality parameters also in tomato cropping systems, with ST potentially outperforming MT in C sequestration. Results revealed that CFPs significantly increased soil organic matter, total nitrogen, and available phosphorous compared with conventional tillage. Both MT and ST increased soil C sequestration (up to 1.06 Mg C ha−1 y−1 and 1.21 Mg C ha−1 y−1, respectively) compared with conventional tillage (CT), which lost around 0.88 Mg C ha−1 y−1 under silty-clay loam soil, and had negligible C sequestration (+0.02 Mg C ha−1 y−1) under clay soil. We found no significant difference between MT and ST when using the equivalent soil mass method for calculating C sequestration. Noteworthy, CFPs enhanced fertility parameters without a negative impact on yields, underscoring their potential for enhancing soil C sequestration, improving nutrient availability, and supporting processing tomato yield under adaptation scenarios to climate change.

The LTAR Cropland Common Experiment at the Texas Gulf.

Texas Gulf is one of the 18 regional sites that is part of the USDA-ARS Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) Network and focuses on cropland and integrated grazing land research in Central Texas, addressing challenges posed by soil characteristics, climate variability, and urbanization. This paper provides brief site descriptions of the two Cropland Common Experiments being conducted in the Texas Gulf LTAR region, emphasizing conservation tillage practices and precision agriculture techniques. The plot-scale study is located in Temple, TX, at the USDA-ARS Grassland, Soil and Water Research Laboratory and examines conventional tillage, strip tillage, and no tillage practices. The field-scale study, located in Riesel, TX, at the USDA-ARS Riesel Watersheds, assesses the impact of no tillage, cover crops, fertility management, adaptive management, and precision conservation on crop yield, profitability, and environmental footprint. Key measurements include soil and plant analyses, greenhouse gas fluxes, runoff water quantity and quality, and field operations recorded with precision agriculture equipment. Despite challenges posed by urban encroachment, future research aims to incorporate new technologies, such as unmanned ground vehicles, to enhance sustainability and productivity of the agricultural landscape. These experiments provide valuable insights for stakeholders, contributing to the development of sustainable agricultural practices tailored to the unique challenges within the Texas Gulf LTAR region.

Agricultural management could reduce soil N2O emissions while increasing grain yields via enhancing soil moisture harvesting and improving soil nutrient status

Intercropping can improve system productivity, but the effect of intercropping integrated with conservation tillage practices on soil N2O emissions remains unclear at the present stage. A 4-yr field experiment was performed in northwest China to examine soil moisture harvesting, soil nutrient status, and soil N2O emissions of wheat-maize intercropping with stubble residues and films management. We found that intercropping increased crop yields and reduced soil N2O emissions over monocultures. Across the intercropping treatments, NTSMFI (no-tillage with mulching stubbles and re-using residual films) and NTSSFI (no-tillage with standing stubbles and re-using residual films) boosted grain-yields by 13.8–17.1 % and 12.9–15.4 % over CTFI (conventional tillage without returning stubbles and mulching new films). NTSMFI and NTSSFI reduced soil N2O emissions by 18.4–28.7 % and 15.5–24.9 % compared to CTFI, respectively. So, NTSMFI and NTSSFI obtained a higher soil N2O emission efficiency than CTFI. The greater effect on soil N2O emissions reduction was detected in NTSMFI, and decreased by 5.1–5.4 % over NTSSFI. The main reason for NTSMFI to improve grain-yields and reduce soil N2O emissions was to enhance soil moisture harvesting and optimize the soil nutrient status. Compared to CTFI, NTSMFI increased the ratio of transpiration to evaporation by 14.4–32.0 %, improved soil organic carbon and total nitrogen concentrations, and soil C:N ratio of 0 to 60 cm soil depth by 14.1 %, 7.1 %, and 6.5 %, respectively. Adopting an environmentally clean strategy exemplified by NTSMFI was recommended as an effective technique for increasing-yields and reducing soil N2O emissions in arid irrigated regions.

Correlation Studies on Growth, Yield Parameters and Yield of Maize as Influenced by Conservation Tillage Practices and Site-Specific Nutrient Management in Maize (Zea mays L.)

To meet the ever increasing needs of the growing human population ensuring sustainable use of natural resources, maintaining the standards essential for competing in the global market especially in case of major cereals like rice, wheat and maize is a never ending challenge. Keeping this in mind, to increase the productivity of maize by resource conservation techniques with different nutrient management practices, an experiment was laid out at a farmer’s field of Chella, Kamarapara, West Bengal, during pre-kharif season of 2022. The treatments consisted of 2 levels of tillage practices and 7 levels of SSNM treatments. The experimental finding revealed no significant difference between grain and stover yield with different tillage treatments. Whereas significantly higher grain and stover yield `was seen with SSNM through NE, lower grain and stover yield was recorded with control. Correlation studies revealed that plant height, dry matter accumulation, crop growth rate, cob girth, cob length, number of grain rows per cob, and number of cobs were highly significant and positively correlated with grain yield.

Three-dimensional spatiotemporal variation of soil organic carbon and its influencing factors at the basin scale

The variability of soil organic carbon (SOC) extends across three dimensions. However, quantitative analyses of the factors influencing spatiotemporal variations of SOC in various soil depth is scarce. This study leverages legacy data from two soil surveys conducted in the Dongting Lake Basin during the 1980s and the 2010s, employing Random Forest models to generate three-dimensional SOC maps. Through correlation analysis and permutation importance, we identified the primary factors driving temporal and spatial changes of SOC. The results showed that in the 2010s, SOC storage up to a depth of 1 m in the Dongting Lake Basin was approximately 2.95 Pg, increasing at an average rate of 0.0047 Pg C per year since the 1980s. Regions with higher average SOC contents were predominantly found in the western, southern, and eastern parts of the basin, despite significant losses over the 30-year period. In contrast, the central and northern areas, which initially had lower SOC contents in the 1980s, exhibited increases by the 2010s. Soil depth was the most influential predictor of SOC patterns in both the 1980s and 2010s. Meanwhile, relief and organism factors were primarily responsible for spatial variations in SOC, with the influence of organism factors diminishing by the 2010s. The temporal variations of SOC were chiefly attributed to changes in soil conservation practices, extreme precipitation events, and grain production. Consequently, it is imperative to prioritize ecological restoration and conservation tillage practices to mitigate the impacts of extreme weather conditions and safeguard food security.

Harmonizing Agriculture: Nurturing Soil through Micronutrients Management and Texture Dynamics

The present review delves into the essential aspect of micronutrient management and soil texture dynamics in agriculture thus emphasizing their pivotal roles in sustaining soil health and optimizing crop productivity. Micronutrients, though required in trace amounts are critical for various physiological and biochemical processes in plants. Micronutrient deficiencies can profoundly impact plant growth and yield, necessitating effective management strategies such as soil amendments, foliar applications, and balanced fertilization practices. Additionally, the paper explores the potential of soil microbes to enhance micronutrient availability. Soil testing emerges as a crucial tool for monitoring nutrient levels and guiding nutrient application decisions. Furthermore, soil texture dynamics significantly influence nutrient availability, highlighting the importance of soil composition and structure. Conservation tillage practices, crop rotation, and the use of micronutrient fertilizers are discussed as means to promote soil health and optimize nutrient profiles. Overall, the paper underscores the importance of integrating micronutrient management and texture dynamics for harmonizing agriculture, ensuring sustainable soil health, and fostering increased crop yields.

Effect of conservation tillage and weed management practices on yield and yield attributes of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Effect of conservation tillage and weed management practices on yield and yield attributes of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Effect of conservation tillage and weed management practices on growth characterstics of plants wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Effect of conservation tillage and weed management practices on growth characterstics of plants wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Strip tillage promotes crop yield in comparison with no tillage based on a meta-analysis

Conservation tillage (e.g. no tillage, minimum tillage) is regarded as an effective way to maintain sustainable crop productivity and improve soil quality globally. However, the claim that conservation tillage could improve crop yield are still controversial. It is hypothesized that whether conservation tillage increase crop yield in comparison with conventional tillage (CT) depends on the different conservation tillage practices, for example, no tillage (NT) and strip tillage (ST), and different variables including in agronomic managements, climate conditions, and soil properties. Herein, a meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate how tillage practices affect crop yield and which factors dominate yield performance mostly. Based on the 53 published articles with 290 paired-comparisons across the world, the effects of ST vs. CT and ST vs. NT on crop yield were conducted. It was showed that crop yield under ST had an increasing trend compared to that under CT and NT. Especially, ST significantly increased crop yield by 4.81% in contrast with NT, which indicated that ST might be a promising practice of conservation tillage in terms of crop yield. Under the agronomic managements of continuous cropping, multiple cropping, graminaceous crops, and straw removing, ST significantly increased crop yields by 5.40%, 10.29%, 7.66%, and 7.60% compared to NT, respectively. ST achieved significantly higher crop yield by 5.68% on average and 11.63% as compared to NT under all soil texture and neutral soil. Concerning the climate conditions, crop yield significantly increased by 3.64% under ST as compared to NT in cooler area where mean annual temperature (MAT) was lower than 10°C. Importance analysis indicated that cropping system and MAT were the key factors affecting the performance of tillage practice on crop yield. Overall, present study revealed that ST might be a favorable conservation tillage practice in continuous and multiple cropping systems with graminaceous crop (e.g. maize) in cooler (MAT <10℃) region in terms of yield promotion. This meta-analysis study demonstrated the importance of conservation tillage optimization for food safety and sustainable development of agriculture.

Characterization of soil pores in strip-tilled and conventionally-tilled soil using X-ray computed tomography

Changes in soil pore size distribution and connectivity can affect contaminant transport. Climate, soil type, and agricultural management practices can influence these characteristics. Conservation tillage practices, such as strip tillage, have been promoted as agricultural management practices that can help reduce soil erosion and nutrient loss in runoff. However, limited information exists in the literature on the effect of strip tillage on soil pore characteristics. Thus, the objective of this research study was to assess the effects of different tillage practices i.e., conventional tillage (CT) vs. strip tillage (ST), on soil pore properties and quantify change in soil pore characteristics as a function of season. Undisturbed cylindrical soil columns (150 mm diameter and 640 mm length) were collected from a field in Alabama, USA planted with cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) under ST and CT treatments during two seasons i.e., fall 2021 and spring 2022. Soil cores were collected from CT and ST portions of the field, in the fall, following cotton harvest and before planting a cover crop (season 1), and in the spring, after the cover crop had matured (season 2). X-ray computed tomography was used to scan the soil cores and quantify soil pore characteristics. Results show that the ST treatment had significantly (p < 0.05) greater macroporosity values, network density, macropore length density, and interconnectivity compared to the CT in season 1. This was attributed to ST being a minimally disturbed treatment: thereby, it has a better chance of preserving cracks and biological activity as compared to CT, which is more prone to destruction of large macropores. The pore properties also showed a drastic decrease in values during season 2, especially for the top 200 mm of the soil profile in response to rainfall induced soil reconsolidation in both the tillage systems. Overall, this study showed that pore morphology can be affected by tillage and seasonal aspects associated with them.

High leaching potential combined with a low leaching amount of fertilizer-derived nitrate in conservation tillage cropland of Northeast China

Stover mulching in no-tillage farming has been widely proposed as an optimized agricultural management practice to increase soil carbon storage and improve fertilizer nitrogen (N) use efficiency in current agroecosystems. However, the regulation of soil internal gross N transformation dynamics on NO3−-N leaching potential in response to long-term conservation tillage practices is still lacking. Here, based on a combination of 15N-tracing incubation and in situ monitoring experiments, we investigated the effect of 9-year no-tillage and maize stover mulching on the vertical migration of fertilizer-derived NO3−-N into a deeper soil profile and the associated gross NO3−-N transformation dynamics in the Mollisol of Northeast China. The net positive NO3−-N production rates (varied from 3.14 to 6.22 mg N kg−1 d−1) were observed across all management practices in the studied Mollisol, indicating a relatively high NO3−-N leaching potential in the cropland of Northeast China, which was further confirmed by an average of 7.4 % fertilizer-derived NO3−-N being vertically transferred to the 80–100 cm soil layer after a complete maize growing period. Compared with traditional ridge tillage, long-term stover mulching in no-tillage farming significantly reduced total NO3−-N production by decreasing autotrophic nitrification while simultaneously enhancing total NO3−-N consumption by stimulating nitrate reduction and microbial NO3−-N immobilization, revealing a markedly reduction of net NO3−-N production in the no-tillage agroecosystem. Therefore, converting traditional ridge tillage toward no-tillage with maize stover mulching can effectively decrease fertilizer-derived NO3−-N leaching amounts and thus formulate targeted mitigation strategies for sustainable agriculture in Mollisols of Northeast China.

Conservation tillage and residue management practices in rice improves stress tolerance of succeeding vegetable pea by regulating physiological traits in Eastern Himalayas

The majority areas of valley lands in the Himalayan foothills remains fallow after the rice harvest. Recycling of plant biomass with conservation tillage may help in enhancing soil water availability, crop physiological function and productivity under moisture stress hill environments of this region. The present study focused on three tillage practices viz., no-till (NT), minimum tillage (MT) and conventional tillage (CT) and five nutrient management (NM) practices viz., 100 % NPK, 50 % NPK, 50 % NPK + in-situ residue retention (ISRR), 50 % NPK + weed biomass (WB) and 50 % NPK + green leaf manure (GLM) in rice and their residual effect on physio-biochemical properties, yield attributes and produce quality traits of succeeding pea varieties (Arkel and Prakash). Results revealed that total leaf chlorophyll content in vegetable pea varieties Arkel and Prakash was 12.0 and 11.5 % higher under no-till (NT) followed by 11.9 and 10.6 %, respectively under minimum tillage (MT) as compared to conventional tillage (CT) in rice. Similarly, application of 50 % NPK+ green leaf manure (GLM) and 50 % NPK+ weed biomass (WB) enhanced total leaf chlorophyll content in pea by 6.50–8.17 % and 3.93–5.48 % for pea varieties Arkel and Prakash, respectively. Photosynthetic rate and leaf dry weight were found 40.4 and 80.2 % higher under MT in Arkel whereas transpiration rate (E) and shoot dry matter were 33.1 and 19.3 % higher in Prakash under MT. Leaf water potential and root-to-shoot ratio were found 22.6 and 16.5 % higher in Prakash under MT and NT compared to CT respectively. Leaf temperature and stomatal conductance were 8.67 % lower and 9.8 % higher under MT in Prakash respectively as compared to CT, whereas 4.8 and 13.0 % higher under 50 % NPK +GLM and 50 % NPK+WB as compared 100 % NPK. Leaf cell viability was 22.5 and 20.1 % higher under MT whereas leaf MDA content was 29.9 and 28.3 % higher under MT in Arkel and Prakash respectively. Leaf relative water content was significantly higher to the tune of 25.7 and 22.4 % under NT compared to CT whereas leaf cell membrane integrity was 41.3 and 40.4 % higher under NT for Arkel and Prakash. Higher pod protein was noticed under MT along with 50 % NPK+GLM (13.1 %), whereas total soluble sugar was recorded highest under NT with 50 % NPK+GLM (21.1 %) in Prakash and MT with 50 % NPK+GLM (18.3 %) in Arkel. However, in both varieties, lower TSS was recorded under CT and with 50 % NPK (14.2 and 11.2 %) and the reducing sugar was maximum under the application of 50 % NPK+WB as compared to 100 % NPK alone. For both varieties of pea, green pod yield was recorded highest under MT (4.76 & 5.89 t/ha) as compared to CT (4.76 & 6.17 t/ha) and NT (4.76 & 5.55 t/ha). While 50 % NPK+WB has recorded significantly highest green pod yield of Arkel, 50 % NPK+ GLM has caused the highest yield of Prakash. PCA executed on physiological traits explained the total variability to the tune of 85.50 %, thereby extracting three PC's viz., PC 1 (62.63 %), 12.58 %) and 10.28 %, respectively. Thus, the adoption of MT in rice followed by NT in winter pea with the application of 50 % NPK+WB or 50 % NPK+GLM is promising for better physiological traits and subsequently favoring the grain yield of pea under stressful hill environments of Eastern Himalaya.

No-tillage enhances soil water storage, grain yield and water use efficiency in dryland wheat (Triticum aestivum) and maize (Zea mays) cropping systems: a global meta-analysis.

Climate change significantly affects crop production and is a threat to global food security. Conventional tillage (CT) is the primary tillage practice in rain-fed areas to conserve soil moisture. Despite previous research on the effect of tillage methods on different cropping systems, a comparison of tillage methods on soil water storage, crop yield and crop water use in wheat (Triticum aestivum ) and maize (Zea mays ) under different soil textures, precipitation and temperature patterns is needed. We reviewed 119 published articles and used meta-analysis to assess the effects of three conservation tillage practices (NT, no-tillage; RT, reduced tillage; ST, subsoil tillage), on precipitation storage efficiency (PSE), soil water storage at crop planting (SWSp), grain yield, evapotranspiration (ET) and water use efficiency (WUE) under varying precipitation and temperature patterns and soil textures in dryland wheat and maize, with CT as the control treatment. Conservation tillage methods increased PSE, SWSp, grain yield, ET and WUE in both winter wheat-fallow and spring maize cropping systems. More precipitation water was conserved in fine-textured soils than in medium-textured and coarse-textured soils, which improved ET. Conservation tillage increased soil water conservation and yield under high mean annual precipitation (MAP) and moderate mean annual temperature (MAT) conditions in winter wheat. However, soil water conservation and yield were greater under MAP <400mm and moderate MAT. We conclude that conservation tillage could be promising for increasing precipitation storage, soil water conservation and crop yield in regions with medium to low MAPs and medium to high MATs.

Enhancing Organic Carbon Content in Tropical Soils: Strategies for Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change Mitigation

Background: Tropical soils are characterized by low soil organic carbon (SOC) contents, which can negatively impact soil fertility, water retention, overall agricultural productivity, and food security. Objective: This paper aimed to review and synthesize the current body of literature on the restoration of SOC in tropical soils. Methods: A total of about 152 related articles were downloaded from electronic journal databases using search keywords, such as organic carbon (OC), conservation tillage, intercropping, biochar, and tropical soil. We discussed conservation tillage practices, such as reducing soil disturbance and respiration from the soils, as a means to promote soil OC sequestration. We also highlighted the importance of crop residue retention, which not only increases organic matter inputs and soil nutrients but also promotes soil water retention and reduces soil erosion. Results: Cover crops and crop rotation are identified as effective practices to cover bare ground during planting seasons, reduce erosion, and prevent nutrient losses through leaching and runoff. Additionally, we review the role of fertilizer application, manure and compost application, intercropping, agroforestry, and biochar as strategies to enhance OC content in tropical soils. We highlight the benefits of incorporating organic amendments, such as manure and compost, to improve soil structure and water-holding capacity. Furthermore, we discuss the potential of biochar, a carbon-rich material produced from biomass pyrolysis, as a strategy to sequester OC in tropical soils. Conclusion: Overall, this review provides insights into various strategies that can be implemented to increase the OC content of tropical soils, which can have multiple benefits for soil health, agricultural productivity, and climate change mitigation. Further research and implementation of these practices can contribute to mitigating climate change, conserving soil resources, and promoting sustainable agriculture in tropical regions.

Soil carbon-nutrient cycling, energetics, and carbon footprint in calcareous soils with adoption of long-term conservation tillage practices and cropping systems diversification

Calcareous soils, comprising vast areas in northern and eastern parts of India, are characterized by low soil organic carbon (SOC) with high free CaCO3 that results in low nutrient bioavailability with poor soil structure. Improvement of this soil can be achieved with conservation tillage with residue retention coupled with diversification of cropping system including legumes, and oilseeds in the system. Concerning all these, a long-term experiment was carried out in the calcareous soils having low organic carbon and high free CaCO3 (∼33 %) with varied tillage practices, viz. permanent bed with residue (PB), zero tillage with residue (ZT), and conventional tillage without residue (CT); and cropping systems viz. maize-wheat-greengram (MWGg), rice-maize (RM), and maize-mustard-greengram (MMuGg) during 2015–2021. From this study, it was observed that PB and ZT resulted in ∼25–30 % increment in SOC compared to the initial SOC, while CT showed a 4 % decrease in the SOC. Conservation tillage practices also resulted in better soil aggregation and favourable bulk density of the soil. Furthermore, PB and ZT practice exhibited 10–13 %; 15–18 %; 11–15 %; 40–60 %, 20–36 %, and 23–45 % increments in the soil available N, P, K, soil microbial biomass carbon, dehydrogenase activity, and urease activity, respectively over those under CT. Crop diversification with the inclusion of legume and oilseed crops (MMuGg, and MWGg) over cereal-dominated RM systems resulted in better soil health. Maize equivalent yield and energy use efficiency (%) were also found to be the maximum under PB, and ZT, in combination with the MMuGg system. ZT and PB also reduced the carbon footprint by 465 and 822 %, respectively over CT by elevating SOC sequestration. Hence, conservation tillage practices with residue retention coupled with diversification in maize-based cropping systems with mustard and greengram can improve soil health, system productivity, and energetics, and reduce the carbon footprint in calcareous soils.