Crop Residue Management Practices Research Articles

Growth, Productivity and Profitability of Direct Seeded Rice as Influenced by Maize Crop Residue Management Practices and Fertility Levels in Rice-Maize Sequence

Growth, Productivity and Profitability of Direct Seeded Rice as Influenced by Maize Crop Residue Management Practices and Fertility Levels in Rice-Maize Sequence

Interactive effects of long-term management of crop residue and phosphorus fertilization on wheat productivity and soil health in the rice–wheat

In the context of degradation of soil health, environmental pollution, and yield stagnation in the rice–wheat system in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia, an experiment was established in split plot design to assess the long-term effect of crop residue management on productivity and phosphorus requirement of wheat in rice–wheat system. The experiment comprised of six crop residue management practices as the main treatment factor with three levels (0, 30 and 60 kg P2O5 ha–1) of phosphorus fertilizer as sub-treatments. Significant improvement in soil aggregation, bulk density, and infiltration rate was observed under residue management (retention/incorporation) treatments compared to residue removal or residue burning. Soil organic carbon (SOC), available nutrient content (N, P, and K), microbial count, and enzyme activities were also significantly higher in conservation tillage and residue-treated plots than without residue/burning treatments. The residue derived from both crops when was either retained/incorporated improved the soil organic carbon (0.80%) and resulted in a significant increase in SOC (73.9%) in the topsoil layer as compared to the conventional practice. The mean effect studies revealed that crop residue management practices and phosphorus levels significantly influenced wheat yield attributes and productivity. The higher grain yield of wheat was recorded in two treatments, i.e. the basal application of 60 kg P2O5 ha–1 without residue incorporation and the other with half the P-fertilizer (30 kg P2O5 ha–1) with rice residue only. The grain yield of wheat where the rice and wheat residue were either retained/incorporated without phosphorus application was at par with 30 and 60 kg P2O5ha–1. Phosphorus levels also significantly affected wheat productivity and available P content in the soil. Therefore, results suggested that crop residue retention following the conservation tillage approach improved the yield of wheat cultivated in the rice–wheat cropping system.

Crop Residue Management Initiatives in Changing the Farmers Behaviour and Farm Production in Bareilly district

The study was conducted in Bareilly District of Western Uttar Pradesh from 2022 to 2023 to ascertain the impact of In-situ Crop Residue Management (CRM) initiatives in changing the farmers’ behaviour and improving the farm production on farmers’ field. A total of 81 adopted farmers were selected purposively for the study. In-situ crop residue management increased from 13.6 to 92.6 per cent. Further, the manure and fertilizer usage in major crops viz. wheat, sugarcane, and mustard were reduced significantly among the adopted farmers on whose fields the demonstrations of crop residue management were conducted. The crop yield of wheat, mustard, and sugarcane increased significantly by 24.44, 42.48, and 18.31 per cent, respectively among the adopted farmers. Also germination, tillering/branching in plants, moisture in soil, and size of the grain increased due to the in-situ management of crop residue as reported by 70 to 80 per cent of the farmers. Adoption of crop residue management practices in wheat crop reduced the cost of cultivation by 4 per cent and gross and net return increased by 26.8 and 44.3 per cent, respectively.

Influence of crop establishment method and residue management practices on productivity and economics of soybean-based cropping systems

The field experiment was conducted during kharif, 2021 at ICAR-Indian Institute of Soybean Research, Indore (MP). This experiment was initiated in kharif season of 2017, to study the effect of different cropping systems, crop establishment method and residue management practices on productivity and soil health of soybeanbased cropping systems. Significantly higher yield of soybean was registered under soybean-chickpea. Among the crop establishment techniques, permanent broad bed and furrow (PBBF) + residue retention (R) followed by PBBF + without residue retention (WR) found superior as compared to conventional tillage as per farmer practices. The increase in seed yield was 13.0 to 19.0% under PBBF technology as compared to conventional tillage as per farmers’ practices (CTFP).

Effect of Rice Crop Residue Management Practices and Fertilizer Levels on Nutrient uptake in Rice fallow Maize

Effect of Rice Crop Residue Management Practices and Fertilizer Levels on Nutrient uptake in Rice fallow Maize

Long-term Influence of Crop Residue Management and Tillage Practices on Distribution of C and N within Aggregate Size Fractions in Alluvial Soils

Aims: The goal of this experiment is to observe the variations in soil aggregate fractions and the change in percentage of carbon and nitrogen stored in the fractions due to the effect of crop residue management and tillage practices in Rice-Wheat cropping system.
 Study Design: An experiment was set up in Randomized Block Design with five treatments, i.e, T0-control, T1- zero-tillage+ no residue application, T2- zero-tillage+ residue application, T3- conventional tillage + no residue application, T4- conventional tillage+ residue application.
 Place and Duration of Study: It was conducted in a long-term experimental plot situated in University Research Farm at Pundibari in Coochbehar district of West Bengal. The data was taken in the 9th and 10th year of the experiment, i.e, 2018 and 2019.
 Methodology: Samples were collected from three different depths, i.e., 0-5 cm, 5-15 cm and 15-30 cm from four cropping seasons, i.e., wheat 2018, rice 2018, wheat 2019 and rice 2019 and were prepared and analyzed for physico-chemical factors. Dry stable aggregates were obtained by the method of sieving and change of carbon, nitrogen and C/N ratios in various fractions were observed.
 Results: Mostly for all the soil depths the total organic carbon content was highest for the treatment with zero-tillage and application of residues (T2). Total nitrogen content also followed the similar trend. Whereas in most of the crop seasons, the C/N ratio was observed to be higher in the treatment where conventional tillage was followed along with residue incorporation (T4). Within the short span of two years positive changes in total organic carbon and total nitrogen content was observed for almost all the treatments, across the depths.
 Conclusion: The optimum percentage of decrease in C/N ratio of the control as well as the treatment with zero-tillage and residue application (T2) in the large aggregate fractions (<2mm) indicates the suitability of the soil for higher productivity.

Building climate resilience through crop residue utilization: Experiences of Ghanaian smallholder farmers

AbstractA major limiting factor affecting the uptake of conservation agriculture practices in smallholder farming systems in sub‐Saharan Africa is the limited availability of sufficient crop residues for use as surface mulch. This paper assesses the trade‐offs in crop residue utilization among smallholder farmers and its implications for soil management in the face of climate change risks in northern Ghana. The paper triangulated data from 350 household surveys with participatory key informant interviews from seven selected communities in three districts of northern Ghana. The problem confrontation index (PCI) was adopted to identify and rank the challenges associated with farmers’ decision to use crop residues, while a multivariate probit model was used to analyse and predict the factors that influence farmers’ choice of crop residue management practices. Results showed that crop residues were used as cooking fuel in households (21%), livestock feed (21%), left on the farm to decompose as mulch (34%) or burned to clear the land (24%). Key challenges identified included high labour cost (PCI = 404), high labour intensity (PCI = 388), the cost and transport for collection and storage of externally sourced crop residue (PCI = 383) and the low benefit from crop residue to farm output/soil fertility (PCI = 339). Results from the multivariate probit model revealed that household and farm variables, institutional and socio‐psychological factors, and experience of some climate shocks all influence farmers’ choice of crop residue management practices. Crop residue use and management practices adopted were determined by factors including the crops being grown, challenges faced by farmers and the management options available. The study recommends the need for the Government of Ghana to empower farmers through the provision of technical knowledge and machinery for the sustainable utilization of crop residues due to the high labour intensity and cost associated with such practices.

Evaluation of Public Perception About Sustainable Crop Residue Management Practices and Health Effects in Haryana, India

Evaluation of Public Perception About Sustainable Crop Residue Management Practices and Health Effects in Haryana, India

Responses of soil enzymatic activity to rice residue management technologies and fertilizer levels in the rice rhizosphere on a clay loam

Crop residues returned to the soil can maintain or enhance soil quality and productivity through favourable effects on soil properties and life-support processes. The field experiment was conducted during the kharif season of 2021-2022 at the Agricultural College Farm, Bapatla, ANGRAU, Lam, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh to study the “Responses of soil enzymatic activity to rice residue management technologies and fertilizer levels in the rice rhizosphere on a clay loam”. The experiment was laid out in split-plot design with the rice residue management practices, assigned to the main plots and fertilizer levels to sub plots. The main plot comprised four different rice residue management practices viz; Straw burning (M1), Straw incorporation (M2), Straw incorporation + FYM @ 5.0 t ha-1 (M3) and Straw incorporation + DI (decomposing inoculum) + FYM @ 5 t ha-1 (M4). Three fertilizer levels were applied to rice viz., 75% RDF (S1), 100% RDF (S2) and 125% RDF (S3), as sub plot treatments. Enzyme activities viz., dehydrogenase, urease, acid and alkaline phosphatase activities at panicle initiation were significantly influenced by the crop residue management practices and fertilizer levels while their interactions were not significant. Straw incorporation + DI + FYM @ 5 t ha-1 showed significantly higher enzymatic activities among the residue management practices and among the fertilizer levels, 125% RDF is significantly superior over 75% RDF.

Influence of residual maize crop residue management techniques and fertilizer levels on growth and productivity of zero till maize in rice-maize sequence

A field trial was conducted on a sandy clay loam soil during rabi seasons of 2020-21 and 2021-22 at the Agricultural College Farm, Bapatla to investigate the residual effect of maize crop residue management techniques and fertilizer levels on growth and productivity of zerotill maize in rice-maize sequence. The experiment was laid out in split-split plot design with four maize crop residue management practices (M1 : Exportation of maize stover, M2 : In-situ burning of maize stover (farmers practice), M3 : Mulching maize stover with rotary mulcher and M4 : Incorporation of maize stover with rotovator) as main plot treatments and three fertility levels (100% RDF, 75% RDF and 50% RDF) as sub plot treatments applied to kharif preceded rice and three fertility levels (100% RDF, 75% RDF and 50% RDF) as sub-sub plot levels applied to succeeding maize. Results revealed that incorporation of maize stover with rotovator (M4 ) applied to preceding rice significantly improved plant height (cm), days to 50% tasseling and 50% silking, cob length (cm), cob girth (cm), test weight (g) and grain yield of maize. Mean values for fertiliser levels revealed that plant height (cm), days to 50% tasseling and 50% silking, cob length (cm), cob girth (cm), test weight (g) and grain yield were registered with application of 100% RDF (S1 ) applied to preceding rice and application of 100% RDF applied to succeeding maize. Thus, incorporation of maize stover with rotovator (M4 ) along with application of 100 % RDF applied to preceding rice and application of 100% RDF (S1 ) to succeeding maize is an optimum and sustainable approach to enhance the growth and productivity of zero till maize in rice-maize system.

Residual effect of maize crop residue management practices and fertility levels on growth and yield of zerotill maize in rice-maize sequence Authors: Billa Suresh Kumar1 , Dr. M. Martin Luther2 , Dr. K. Chandrasekhar3 , Dr. P. Venkata Subbaiah4 and Dr. K. Jayalalitha5 1Ph.D (Ag.) Scholar, Department of Agronomy, Agricultural College, Bapatla, ANGRAU 2Dean of Student Affairs, ANGRAU, Lam, Guntur

Residual effect of maize crop residue management practices and fertility levels on growth and yield of zerotill maize in rice-maize sequence Authors: Billa Suresh Kumar1 , Dr. M. Martin Luther2 , Dr. K. Chandrasekhar3 , Dr. P. Venkata Subbaiah4 and Dr. K. Jayalalitha5 1Ph.D (Ag.) Scholar, Department of Agronomy, Agricultural College, Bapatla, ANGRAU 2Dean of Student Affairs, ANGRAU, Lam, Guntur

Residual effect of maize crop residue management practices and fertility levels on growth and yield of zerotill maize in rice-maize sequence

Residual effect of maize crop residue management practices and fertility levels on growth and yield of zerotill maize in rice-maize sequence

Conservation tillage and residue management improve soil health and crop productivity—Evidence from a rice-maize cropping system in Bangladesh

The rice-maize (R-M) system is rapidly expanding in Bangladesh due to its greater suitability for diverse soil types and environments. The present conventional method of cultivating puddled transplanted rice and maize is input-intensive, decreases soil health through intense ploughing, and ultimately reduces farm profitability. There is a need to investigate alternatives. Accordingly, we conducted a replicated 2-year (2020–2021) field study to investigate the effects of conservation agriculture (CA) based tillage and crop establishment (TCE) techniques and residue management practices on the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil along with crop productivity and the profitability of rice-maize systems in the sandy loam soil of Northwest Bangladesh. Two TCE techniques Puddled transplanted rice (PTR) followed by Conventional tillage maize (CTM) and strip tillage direct-seeded rice (STDSR) followed by strip-tilled maize (STM) were assigned to the main plots and different percentages of crop residue retention (0, 25, and 50% by height) were allocated to the subplots. Results showed that a reduction in bulk density (BD), soil penetration resistance (SPR), and increased soil porosity were associated with STDSR/STM-based scenarios (strip tillage coupled with 25 and 50% residue retention). The soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions, such as dissolved organic C (DOC), light and heavy particulate organic matter C (POM-C), MAOM, and microbial biomass C (MBC) levels in the 0–10 cm layer under ST based treatments were 95, 8, 6, 2 and 45% greater, respectively, compared to CT with no residue treatment. When compared to the CT treatment, the DOC, light POM-C, heavy POM-C, and MAOM in the 10–20 cm layer with ST treatment were 8, 34, 25, 4 and 37% higher, respectively. Residue retention in ST increased average rice, maize, and system yields by 9.2, 14.0, and 14.12%, respectively, when compared to CT. The system gross margin and benefit-cost ratio (BCR) were $1,515 ha−1 and 1.90 under conventional tillage to $1,696 ha−1 and 2.15 under strip-tillage practices. Thus, our study suggests that CA could be an appropriate practice for sustaining soil fertility and crop yield under R-M systems in light-textured soils or other similar soils in Bangladesh.

Crop Residue Burning and Its Relationship between Health, Agriculture Value Addition, and Regional Finance

Crop residue burning (CRB) poses a serious threat to the climate, soil fertility, human health and wellbeing, and air quality, which increases mortality rates and slumps agricultural productivity. This study conducts a pan-India analysis of CRB burning based on the spatial characteristic of crop residue management practices and analyzes the linkage among health, agriculture value addition, and regional finance using the simultaneous equation to find the causality and panel quantile regression for direct effect and intergroup difference. We discuss some of the alternative crop residue management practices and policy interventions. Along with in situ management, this paper discusses ex situ crop residue management (CRM) solutions. The ex situ effort to manage crop residue failed due to the scarcity of the supply chain ecosystem. Force of habit and time constrain coupled with risk aversion have made farmers reluctant to adopt these solutions. Our results show that financial viability and crop residue have bidirectional causality; therefore, both the central and state governments must provide a financial solution to lure farmers into adopting residue management practices. Our analysis shows that framers are likely to adopt the management solution (farmers have some economic benefits) and are reluctant to adopt the scientific solution because the scientific solution, such as “pusa decomposer”, is constrained by the weather, temperature, and humidity, and these parameters vary throughout India.

Potential of indigenous ligno-cellulolytic microbial consortium to accelerate degradation of heterogenous crop residues.

Indigenous microbial diversity has potential for rapid decomposition of residue through enzyme activities that is alternative, effective, and environment friendly strategy to accelerate degradation of lignocellulose in agricultural residues and make composting process economically viable. Keeping this view, the main objective of the present study was isolation and characterization of lignocellulosic degrading microbial diversity from long-term residue management practice experiments and to develop potential microbial consortium for rapid degradation of lignocellulosic biomass. In this study, twenty-five bacteria, nine fungi, and four actinomycetes isolates were obtained from the soil samples of different residue management fields from Ludhiana, Punjab, India. All isolates were qualitatively and quantitatively screened for enzyme activities, i.e., cellulase, xylanase, laccase, and lignin peroxidase. On the basis of quantitative estimation of enzyme activities, 3 fungal (S1F1, S2F4, and S6F9), 2 actinomycetes (S1A1 and S6A4), and 2 bacterial strains (S6B16 and S6B17) were further selected for in vitro bio-compatibility assay. Selected bio-compatible microbial strains were identified as Streptomyces flavomacrosporus (S6A4), Aspergillus terreus (S2F4), and Bacillus altitudinis (S6B16) through 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA sequencing. Furthermore, single and developed microbial consortium (S6B16 + S6A4 + S2F4) were screened for quantitative estimation of cellulase, xylanase, laccase, and lignin peroxidase enzymes with 23 biochemically different cereal, legume, and oil seed crop residues for optimization of enzyme activities at different time intervals. Results revealed that Vigna radiata followed by Cajanus cajan and Arachis hypogaea straw residue powder @ 1% in culture broth are a promising carbon source for B. altitudinis, S. flavomacrosporus, and A. terreus to produce higher ligno-cellulolytic microbial degrading enzymes due to variable range of carbon (C):nitrogen (N) ratio and higher ligno-cellulolytic content in the studied crop residues. Thus, the application of indigenous microbial consortium with efficient lignocellulose hydrolysis enzyme machinery might be an attractive alternative for ex situ crop residue management practices under sustainable manners.

Effect of Paddy Straw Incorporation and Nitrogen Levels on Yield and Nutrient Uptake by Mustard (Brassica juncea L.)

Burning of crop residues results in immense loss to soil fertility, in addition to this burning causes greenhouse gas emissions into atmosphere thereby disturbs the environment. A Field experiment was conducted to ascertain the crop residue and fertilizer management practices on yield and nutrient uptake of mustard at Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Polasa, Jagtial situated in Northern Telangana Zone of Telangana State during rabi, 2020-21. Grain yield, nutrient content and nutrient uptake were significantly influenced by crop residue and fertilizer management practices. Highest grain and stover yield of 1194 and 2654 kg ha-1 were recorded, when 20 % excess nitrogen was applied than RDN along with residue incorporation. Nutrient uptake was significantly higher in burning treatment during initial stages of crop growth later more uptakes were observed in residue incorporation treatments. Among the treatments lowest yields and nutrient contents (N and P) were recorded in residue burning treatments. This study concluded that, instead of burning, paddy straw was to be incorporated along with 20% excess nitrogen to obtain better yields and nutrients uptake in succeding mustard crop.

Effect of various Maize Crop Residue Management Practices and Fertility Levels on Physiological Growth Parameters of Direct Seeded Rice in Rice-maize Sequence

Effect of various Maize Crop Residue Management Practices and Fertility Levels on Physiological Growth Parameters of Direct Seeded Rice in Rice-maize Sequence

Environmental and Health Impacts of Crop Residue Burning: Scope of Sustainable Crop Residue Management Practices.

The burning of crop residue in the open field has become a significant concern for climate change mitigation efforts worldwide. This practice has led to air quality impairment, smog, haze, heat waves, and different health problems. These could be avoided by adopting sustainable crop residue management practices (SCRMPs) and enabling farmers to engage in SCRMPs. Assessing the health effects at the household level is critical for understanding this problem and finding a solution. Using the primary dataset of 420 farmers from Punjab, Pakistan, we estimated the incurred impacts and costs of crop residue burning. We calculated the health and environmental benefits associated with adopting SCRMPs by comparing the two groups of farmers (adopters and non-adopters). Furthermore, we used a propensity score matching technique to measure the causal impact of SCRMPs adoption on health costs. The findings showed that a surprisingly large number of farmers are all aware of the adverse effects of residue burning, and many do not burn crop residues and instead use SCRMPs. This study found that households with chronic and non-chronic diseases become acute, and the severity increases during the burning period. They spend USD 13.37 to USD 8.79 on chronic and non-chronic diseases during the burning season, respectively. Consequently, the use of SCRMPs has a positive effect on healthcare costs. Our study findings highlight the meaningful implications for developing a new policy to promote the sustainable utilization of crop residues and enhance their adoption in Pakistan.

English

Crop residues' inappropriate management is the main constraint causing the decline in soil fertility and crop yields in Burkina Faso. This study was conducted at the Farako-Bâ Research Station from 2014 to 2019 to assess the effects of crop residue management to improve the sustainability of the cotton-cereal based production systems. The experimental design was complete randomized blocks of Fischer with four replications. Three different crop residue management practices were investigated: (i) Crop residue exportation and conventional tillage (T1); ii) Composted crop residues and conventional tillage (T2); and (iii) Crop residues used for soil mulching and no-tillage (T3). Soil chemical characteristics and crop yields were assessed as parameters in this study. Crop yields were improved by 17 to 34% on maize, from 18 to 38% on cotton and from 6 to 14% on sorghum, respectively, with residues recycled into compost (T2) and residues used for soil mulching (T3) compared to residues exported (T1). Crop residue management and soil tillage technics significantly increased the yields of maize, sorghum, and cotton after the first three years of experimentation. Soil chemical properties were not statistically influenced, except for SOM, nitrogen, and available K content. The highest decrease in soil carbon content induced by crop residue exportation (T1) should not be recommended to farmers. Key words: Crop residues, tillage, soil fertility, cotton-cereals, yield, Burkina Faso.

Spatiotemporal variation patterns and aggregation of crop residue burning at county scale in Northeast China

Crop residue burning (CRB) has been a major environmental concern in key agricultural regions of China. To reveal spatiotemporal patterns of CRB events, a county-level assessment in Northeast China was conducted using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) thermal anomalies and land cover data. The results revealed that cropland fire occurrence increased significantly from 2003 to 2019, and annual CRB occurrence from 2014 to 2019 was significantly higher than that from 2003 to 2013. The majority of detected CRB events occurred in spring and autumn, accounting for 58.50% and 28.98% of the total cropland fires, respectively. The time scan statistics showed that CRB events lasted for approximately 40 days each year and were more severe in spring than autumn. The number of cropland fires monitored by Terra and Aqua satellites was relatively more balanced, accounting for 49.74% and 50.26% of the total, respectively, indicating that farmers may intentionally burn crop residue at night. The counties with higher CRB intensity were mainly in the Songnen Plain, Sanjiang Plain, and along the main stream of the Liaohe River. The Moran’s I value of 0.054 to 0.452 for CRB intensity demonstrated a strong spatial autocorrelation at the county level. The local autocorrelation Getis-Ord showed 86 counties with significant hot spots and 91 counties with significant cold spots. The county-level temporal and spatial patterns of CRB events may be the results of policies and socio-economic conditions. This study could provide support for identifying the influencing factors of CRB and offer suggestions for crop residue management practices in this agriculture-dominant region.