Cropping System In Indo-Gangetic Plains Research Articles

Long-Term Consequences of Tillage and Residue Management on the Performance of Rice-Wheat Cropping System in Indo-Gangetic Plains of India

ABSTRACT A field experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of tillage and residue management practices on grain yield, economics, and soil fertility in a RWCS. The results inferred that wheat sown with happy seeder (full residue retained)-ZWW recorded 11.5% higher grain yield as compared to zero tillage sowing (residue removed)-ZWWO and 10.9% higher than farmer’s practice (TRWO-CWWO, residue removed and sowing with seed cum fertilizer drill after preparatory tillage). Retention or incorporation of paddy residues produced 16.0% higher grain yield than its removal or burning simultaneously improving soil health. Puddled transplanted rice (PTR) with or without wheat stubble recorded a 33.2% significantly higher yield than zero tillage direct seeded rice (ZTDSR) without wheat stubble. System productivity in TRW-ZWW treatment was 15 and 6.8% higher than zero residue treatments and only rice residue retained/incorporated treatments, respectively, and resulted in additional returns of Rs. 28,871 ha−1 as compared with conventional RWCS. There was a significant (p < .05) improvement in soil organic carbon in residue retained/incorporated plots.

Effect of Hydrogel Application on Soil Health and Crop Productivity under Soybean-Wheat Cropping System in Indo-Gangetic Plains of India

Effect of Hydrogel Application on Soil Health and Crop Productivity under Soybean-Wheat Cropping System in Indo-Gangetic Plains of India

Tillage and crop establishment effects on weeds and productivity of a rice-wheat-mungbean rotation

Weeds are one of the key threats in sustaining the productivity of the rice-wheat cropping system in the Indo-Gangetic Plains. The development of sound integrated weed management technologies requires knowledge of mechanisms that influence weed flora composition and weed seedbank dynamics. A long-term study was initiated in 2015 at Patna, Bihar, India to evaluate the effect of seven tillage and crop establishment methods on weed density, weed seedbank composition, and crop productivity in rice-wheat-mungbean rotation. All the treatments included zero-till mungbean after wheat. Tillage and crop establishment methods had differential effects on weed and weed seedbank composition. In rice, zero-till direct-seeded rice recorded 62% lower emergence of Cyperus iria, 82–90% of Echinochloa colona, and 81–83% of total weeds compared to tilled systems, but the system of rice and wheat intensification favoured E. colona. In wheat, the system of wheat intensification favoured the Phalaris minor and Solanum nigrum. Zero-till rice and wheat reduced the seedbank of Trianthema portulacastrum by 95%, and total weed seedbank by 62% compared to the system of rice and wheat intensification. Nearly, 72% of C. iria seeds, 62% of grasses, and 64% of broad-leaved weeds were in 0–15 cm soil layer. Zero-till direct-seeded rice produced a 13% lower rice grain yield than conventional puddled transplanted rice. Compared to the system of wheat intensification, zero-till wheat under triple zero-till systems produced an 11.5% higher grain yield. Managing weed seedbank is a long-term endeavour. The present study revealed that tillage and crop establishment methods influence weed density and diversity. Under zero-till rice-wheat system, rice yield decreases marginally, but the system productivity maintains due to improvement in succeeding wheat yield. This system is also helpful in reducing the weed flora density and soil weed seedbank. Regular monitoring and management of emerging pests such as armyworm (Mythimna separata) are, however, required. The study suggests that the adoption of triple zero-tillage can be a viable option for reducing the weed density and weed seedbank concurrently increasing the system productivity of the rice-wheat-mungbean cropping system in eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains.

Novel resource conservation technologies for increasing the production and productivity of rice-wheat cropping system in Indo-Gangetic plains of India

The rice-wheat cropping system (RWCS) is the predominant cropping system, covering about 13.5 million hectares area in South Asia, out of which 10.3 million hectares is in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) of India. Rice and wheat crops are the main staple food for the people of the country and considered as the backbone for food grain security. Contributing 70 per cent to total cereal production in India due to its wider adoption, it has depleted soil organic carbon status, ground water, decreased soil fertility and has overall reduced factor productivity. Efforts to sustain higher productivity with focused approach on reversing the trend in natural resource degradation by adopting resource conservation technologies (RCTs) like direct seeded rice (DSR), system of rice intensification (SRI), aerobic rice, brown manuring, crop residue incorporation, furrow irrigated raised bed system (FIRBS), zero tillage (ZT) and leaf colour chart (LCC) that not only improved the production and productivity but also maintained the soil health. The RCTs helped in soil and water conservation, weed control and nutrient supplementation with brown manuring, reduction in seepage, deep drainage losses and water saving (10-30%) with AWD, reduced global warming potential of rice-wheat system by 41 per cent as compared to conventional system under DSR-ZT wheat. Apart from this, new emerging technologies like system of wheat intensification (SWI), LCC application for nitrogen management, bed transplanting in rice followed by laser levelling in wheat with zero tillage wheat with incorporation of rice residues over conventional transplanting also showed promising results. Thus, adoption of RCTs led to sustainable improvement in RWCS by improving soil health, nutrient and water use efficiency with higher sustained yields along with reduction in cost of cultivation and also helped to minimize environmental pollution.

Sustainable alternative crop rotations to the irrigated rice-wheat cropping system of Indo-Gangetic plains of India

ABSTRACT In recent years, the sustainability of the rice-wheat cropping system in Indo-Gangetic Plains is facing many problems in various fronts viz., agricultural, ecological, environmental and economical. Therefore, to ensure long-term sustainability, the rice-wheat cropping system needs to be diversified. The present study was conducted to identify an alternative cropping system for Indo-Gangetic Plains region of India by diversifying and intensifying the current rice-wheat cropping system. Ten treatments (rice-wheat = control, rice-wheat-green gram, rice-potato-green gram, rice-wheat-cowpea fodder, rice-potato-cowpea fodder, rice-berseem fodder-maize fodder, rice-berseem fodder-cowpea fodder, rice-mustard-sudan grass fodder, rice-mustard-cowpea fodder and rice-cabbage-cowpea fodder) were compared consecutively two years in randomized block design with three replications. Diversification of rice-wheat cropping system with rice-potato-green gram resulted in increase in system productivity (142.35%), gross returns (99.57%), net returns (130.34%), profitability (130.96%), relative production efficiency (142.53%), relative economic efficiency (130.79%) and labour employment (55.73%). The inclusion of legume crops in cropping sequences was found better in improving the soil quality parameters. Our results revealed the significance of diversification and intensification of rice-wheat cropping system under irrigated ecosystem of IGP as it enhanced system productivity, profitability and soil health.

Ecological weed management approaches for wheat under rice–wheat cropping system

Weeds are one of the most important yield limiting factor in wheat cultivation, causing a yield loss of 15–50% depending on relative proportion of weed flora, weed density and period of their infestation. To control the weeds effectively, the farmers of Indo-Gangetic Plains Region (IGPR) are mainly dependent on the chemical herbicides. However, the excessive herbicide use has led to development of resistance in many weed species and shift in weed flora besides negative residual effects on the succeeding crops and food quality as well. Therefore, there is an urgent need to look for alternate methods which are economically viable and ecologically stable. Several approaches like early sowing of wheat, soil solarization, adjustment in row spacing, sowing weed free seeds, adjusting seed rate, planting densities, crop rotations, competitive cultivars, stale seed bed technique, efficient nutrient management, proper irrigation scheduling, mechanical control, mulching, residue retention and tillage methods have been found effective in wheat in numerous field studies. Looking at the potential of such ecological approaches, there is need for in-depth research on various aspects of these methods. This paper reviews the available information on different ecological weed management approaches in wheat under rice–wheat cropping system of Indo-Gangetic plains.

Herbicide combinations for management of resistance in Phalaris minor

Littleseed canarygrass (Phalaris minor Retz.) is a problematic weed of wheat under irrigated rice-wheat cropping system of Indo-Gangetic plains (IGP) of India. Due to its morphological similarity with wheat, herbicides are the best-suited method for its control. However, continuous use of same herbicide along with monocropping leads to development of multiple-herbicide resistance. To tackle this problem, an experiment was conducted at CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during 2016-17 and 2019-20 to find out the suitable herbicide combinations for management of resistance Phalaris minor, its regression and correlation studies with wheat. The finding revealed that increase in weed density and dry weight displayed a strong negative linear relationship with grain yield. Linear regression equation represented that increase in every one unit of density and dry weight of P. minor led to reduction in wheat yield by 0.027 and 0.0102 times, respectively. Among the herbicidal treatments, sequential application of pendimethalin + pyroxasulfone (tank-mix, TM) fb mesosulfuron + iodosulfuron (ready-mix, RM) (1500 + 102 g/ha) pre-emergence, (PE) fb 14.4 g/ha post-emergence, (PoE) or pendimethalin + metribuzin (TM) fb mesosulfuron + iodosulfuron (RM) (1000 + 175 g/ha) PE fb 14.4 g/ha PoE led to significantly control of P minor, broad-leaved weeds (BLWs) and total weeds. This resulted in better crop growth, higher yield attributes, 37.6-51.9% higher grain yield and 80-81% higher net return as compared to unweeded control. However, PE or PoE herbicide applied alone recorded poor efficacy towards P. minor and other weeds and resulted in poor yield. Correlation studies indicated strong positive association of grain yield with visual weed control, crop dry weight and its height and negative association with weed density and dry weight. Therefore, for effective management of resistant P. minor along with other weed flora, herbicide combination with its sequential application is of prime importance for optimum yield in wheat.

Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration and Carbon Pools in Rice Based Cropping Systems in Indo-Gangetic Plains: An Overview

Carbon sequestration in the agricultural lands is possible through different soil management strategies and could be substantial with widespread implementation. Sequestration of historic carbon emissions is now essential as mitigation alone is not enough to stabilize our atmosphere. There are numerous management strategies for drawing carbon out of the atmosphere and holding it in the soil. Effectiveness of these strategies vary across different climates, soil types, and geographies. Still, it is a controversy about the durability of sequestration in soil and about the precise conditions that maximize drawdown of carbon emissions. Carbon sequestration in soil is the potential strategy which can reduce or mitigate the impacts of the global warming. The Asian countries are having more than 90% of rice fields, they are being blamed for their contribution in the methane emission and associated climate change. A major part of rice is grown under the continuous submergence condition that may influence the active and passive pools of soil carbon besides methane emission. In this paper we have reviewed the carbon sequestration potential of rice-based soils besides discussion on the mechanisms and strategies that promote accumulation of soil carbon while minimizing carbon emissions. The strategies viz. System of Rice Intensification, Integrated Nutrient Management, promoting mycorrhizal symbiosis in aerobic rice system besides enhancement of phytolith-occluded carbon are some of the key areas facilitating better carbon sequestration in rice ecosystem.

Impact of Tillage and Residue Management on Hydro-physical Properties of Clay Soil under Rice-wheat Cropping System in Indo-Gangetic Plains of India

A field experiment on the residual impact of tillage operations and organic residues incorporation on hydro-physical properties of clay soil under the rice-wheat cropping system in split-plot design with three replications was carried out at the experimental farm of BAU, Sabour. The treatments of tillage operations and application of organic residues, along with their interactions, significantly decreased the soil strength/compaction and consequently bulk density of the soils over control. It was confirmed by the positive and highly significant correlation of soil strength with the bulk density (r = 0.802**). The maximum decrease was noted under T3 (Mould board plough) and C6 (GM + rice husk) and their interactions. A significant decrease in clod size was observed under treatments T3 and C6 and their interactions over control. The maximum increase in stable water-stable aggregates was estimated under treatments T3 and C6 and their interactions (T3 x C6) due to an increase in porosity and decrease in compaction of the soils which led to increasing in hydraulic conductivity. This was further confirmed by a positive and highly significant correlation of hydraulic conductivity with MWD (r = 0.788**) and negatively and highly significant correlation with compaction (r = -0.646**) and BD (r = -0.846**). It was revealed that the soil moisture content showed a variable increase with variable depth and observed their maximum values in T4 (28%) and C6 (29%) treatments at 45-60 cm depth of the soils. The increase in yield of wheat grain was highest under the influence of treatments (MB) T3 and C6 (GM + rice husk) and their interaction. These observations were further confirmed by the positive and highly significant correlation of yield of wheat grain with MWD (r = 0.514*) and HC (r = 0.482*) and negative and highly significant correlation with soil strength (r = -0.649**). The most effective treatments were T3 and C6 and their interactions, while minimum improvements were noted under T1 (desi plough) and C3 (paddy straw) and their interactions.

Cumulative Effect of Organic and Inorganic Sources of Nutrients on Yield, Nutrients Uptake and Economics by Rice–Wheat Cropping System in Indo-Gangetic Plains of India

ABSTRACTField experiments were conducted for 2 years in sandy loam soil, to study the direct effect of organic manures i.e. sewage sludge (SS), vermicompost (VC) and sesbania (SB) and chemical fertilizers on rice (Oryza sativa) and their residual effect on wheat (Triticum aestivum) grown in sequence in winter (Rabi) and summer (Kharif) season during 2015–2016 to 2016–2017 at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Residual effect of organic sources of nutrients as SS, VC and SB were monitored up to fourth crop (II wheat) in sequence applied in conjunction with 75% recommended dose of fertilize (RDF). Among the nutrient sources, the maximum grain yield in I rice (4.89 t ha−1), II rice (4.95 t ha−1), was recorded in treatment T3 (100% RDF with S, Zn, B) whereas in I wheat (4.68 t ha−1) and II wheat (4.59 t ha−1), it was recorded in T4 (customized fertilizer). The maximum straw yield during all four crops was recorded in T3 (100% RDF with S, Zn, B) in rice and T4 (customized fertilizer) in wheat crop, which showed 25, 32, 23 and 28% increase over 100% RDF (T2). Application of 100% RDF along with S, Zn, B and customized fertilizer increased the total uptake of N, P, K, S and B and also in net returns and B:C ratio followed by organic treatments.

Viable Options for Diversification of Rice in Non-conventional Rice–conventional Wheat Cropping System in Indo-Gangetic Plains

Viable Options for Diversification of Rice in Non-conventional Rice–conventional Wheat Cropping System in Indo-Gangetic Plains

Phosphorus skipping effect on productivity, profitability and sustainability of rice-wheat cropping systems in Indo-Gangetic plains of India

ABSTRACTA field experiment was conducted for eight years at ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research, Karnal, Haryana, India to study the skipping effect of P application on productivity, profitability and sustainability of rice-wheat cropping system. Rice yield and biomass were 8.35% and 6.6% higher where cowpea was grown after wheat compared to rice-vegetable pea-wheat crop sequence, respectively. Phosphorus application to rice or wheat or both crops exhibited at par rice grain yield, biomass, harvest index. Phosphorus application to both crops or only in rice crop produced maximum and significantly higher wheat yield (4.62 t ha−1) as compared to P application only to wheat (4.48 t ha−1). Eight years growing of green gram, cowpea and vegetable pea increased the organic carbon content 42.89, 16.38 and 4.57 %, respectively compared to the initial level. Skipping of P to either crop, by considering 13.5 million ha rice-wheat area, will save approximately Rs 40,500 million (Rs = Indian rupee) or US $ 623 million ($ = Rs 65) per year. Air pollution may be checked, due to saving on diesel in transportation of P fertilizer, to the tune of 60,383 tonnes of CO2 per year by reducing emission of one of important global warming gas.

Up-scaling nutrient, energy and system productivity of pigeonpea-wheat cropping system in Indo-Gangetic plains of India

Up-scaling nutrient, energy and system productivity of pigeonpea-wheat cropping system in Indo-Gangetic plains of India

English

English

Effects of Tillage Practices on Productivity of Wheat under the Indo-Gangetic

Field experiment was conducted for two consecutive years at the research farm of Baba Raghav Das Post Graduate College, Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, India to evaluate the effect of different tillage practices on soil health andcrop productivity of wheat under the rice-wheat cropping system of Indo-Gangetic Plains of India under the irrigated ecosystem.Results revealed thattreatment T3 produced significantly higheryield attributes in terms of number of ear bearing shoots (407)as compared to T4(390). However, it was also recorded that the grain weight per spike and test weight were significantly lower in T3 and T4over rest of the practices. The similar trends were followed in case of grain yield under the T3 (45.60) being on a par with T4 (45.50 but it was recorded significantly superior over rest of the tillage practices. With respect to the soil physical and chemical properties, it was also noticed significantly higher under the treatment T4 as compared to other treatment.

Establishment of critical limits of indicators and indices of soil quality in rice-rice cropping systems under different soil orders

Rice-rice is one of the major cropping systems in Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) of South Asia. Assessment of soil quality and identification of key indicators with their critical limits are very much important for maintaining normal functioning of the soil and productivity of crops, particularly of wet land rice. The present investigation was undertaken to identify sensitive soil quality indicators and to develop soil quality indices and establishment of their critical limits in Inceptisols, Entisols and Alfisols collected from farmers' fields with long-term rice-rice cropping system in sub-tropical India. The soil samples were analysed for 37 physical, chemical and biological properties. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to create minimum data set (MDS) of physical, chemical and biological indicators which were encompassed to develop unified soil quality index (SQI) under different soil orders. The SQI thus developed was highest in Inceptisols (0.66 to 0.89) followed by Entisols (0.23 to 0.76) and Alfisols (0.37 to 0.60). The upper and lower critical limits for key indicators as well as SQI were determined using scattered plot technique involving relative yields of rice (RY) and different soil quality indicators as well as SQI. The critical limit equivalent to 80% and 40% of relative yield were treated as upper and lower critical limits of selected key indicators and SQI. The adequacy classes for each of selected key indicator as a function of relative yield of rice were established based on the following criteria: <40% low, 40–80% moderate and >80% adequate. The upper and lower critical limits of the indicators selected under rice-rice cropping systems in Inceptisols were available Zn (1.7 and 1.2mgkg−1), bulk density (1.2 and 1.6Mgm−3), β-glucosidase activity (68 and 18μgp-nitrophenolg−1soilh−1) and urease activity (64 and 24μgNH4g−1soil2h−1), in Entisols were dehydrogenase activity (93 and 12μgTPFg−1soil24h−1), aggregate stability (66 and 11%), total organic C (11.6 and 10.7gkg−1) and pHw (5.7 and 5.3) and in Alfisols were oxidisable organic C (7.8 and 5.0gkg−1), β-glucosidase activity (51 and 15μgp-nitrophenolg−1soilh−1), aggregate stability (52 and 19%) and mineralizable C (273 and 173μgCg−1 soil), respectively. The upper and lower critical limits established for key soil quality indicators as well as soil quality indices for Inceptisols (0.85 and 0.56), Entisols (0.23 and 0.65) and Alfisols (0.37 and 0.56) could periodically be judged for maintaining/enhancing soil quality and yield sustainability through the employment of optimum management practices in rice-rice cropping systems of subtropical India.

Organic amendment influences soil quality in farmers’ field under rice-based cropping systems in Indo-gangetic plains of India

Indexing soil quality and identification of key soil indicators are essential for maintaining sustainability of agricultural soils. A minimum data set was developed for soils collected from farmers’ field under long-term rice-potato-sesame (R-P-S) and rice-wheat (R-W) cropping systems with NPK and NPK + organic amendment (FYM) under Alfisols in Indo-Gangetic Plains of India. Soil samples (40 geo-referenced) were collected at 0–0.20 m depth from the fields following the same cropping systems for the last ten years. The samples were analyzed for a large number of physical, chemical and biological attributes. The multivariate statistical analysis showed that out of the 38 attributes, organic C, aggregate ratio, microbial biomass C (Cmic), available zinc and β-glucosidase (β-glu) activity were screened as key indicators of soil quality for soils under R-P-S system; whereas, very labile C, mineralizable C and N (Cmin and Nmin), and β-glu activity were found as key indicators of soil quality for soils under R-W cropping system. The overall results indicated that oxidizable organic C and its labile fractions viz., very labile C, Cmic or Cmin and the C-cycle regulating enzyme viz., β-glu activity are the process based key master indicators for the assessment of soil quality. Application of organic amendment with inorganic fertilizer always maintained higher soil quality index for soils under long-term R-P-S and R-W cropping systems.

Soil carbon fractions under maize-wheat system: effect of tillage and nutrient management.

Soil organic carbon plays a major role in sustaining agroecosystems and maintaining environmental quality as it acts as a major source and sink of atmospheric carbon. The present study aims to assess the impact of agricultural management practices on soil organic carbon pools in a maize-wheat cropping system of Indo-Gangetic Plains, India. Soil samples from a split plot design with two tillage systems (bed planting and conventional tillage) and six nutrient treatments (T1 = control, T2 = 120 kg urea-N ha(-1), T3 = T2 (25 % N substituted by FYM), T4 = T2 (25 % N substituted by sewage sludge), T5 = T2 + crop residue, T6 = 100 % organic source (50 % FYM + 25 % biofertilizer + 25 % crop residue) were used for determining the organic carbon pools. Results show that there was a significant improvement in Walkley and Black carbon in soil under integrated and organic nutrient management treatments. KMnO4-oxidizable carbon content of soil varied from 0.63 to 1.50 g kg(-1) in soils and was found to be a better indicator for monitoring the impact of agricultural management practices on quality of soil organic carbon than microbial biomass carbon. Tillage and its interaction were found to significantly influence only those soil organic carbon fractions closely associated with aggregate stability viz, labile polysaccharides and glomalin. The highest amount of C4-derived carbon was found to be in plots receiving recommended doses of N as urea (29 %) followed by control plots (25 %). The carbon management index ranged between 82 to 195 and was better in integrated nutrient sources than ones receiving recommended doses of nutrients through mineral fertilizers alone.

Site-Specific Nutrient Management under Rice-Based Cropping Systems in Indo-Gangetic Plains: Yield, Profit and Apparent Nutrient Balance

High fertilizer use efficiency in rice (Oryza sativa L.)-based cropping systems in Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) is not achieved because farmers’ fertilizer practices (FFP) and blanket state recommendations (BSR) do not take into account the site-specific variability of nutrient availability in the soil. We evaluated the site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) option against existing FFP, blanket state recommendation (BSR), improved BSR (IBSR i.e., 25 % higher than BSR), and state soil testing laboratory recommendation (STLR) in six pre-dominant rice-based cropping systems namely wheat–rice (W–R), mustard–rice (M–R), potato–rice (P–R), garlic–rice (G–R), chickpea–rice (C–R) and berseem fodder–rice (B–R) in terms of yield gain, economics, nutrient harvest index, soil fertility, and apparent nutrient balances. System rice equivalent yield (SREY) improved by 15.7, 9.5, 13.9 and 30 %, in SSNM over BSR, IBSR, STLR and FFP, respectively. SSNM involved additional cost of ₹ 2940–5291 ha−1 over BSR and ₹ 5492–10120 ha−1 over FFP under different cropping systems but contributed higher added net return of ₹ 23236–75056 ha−1 and ₹ 39577–143899 ha−1 over BSR and FFP, respectively. The output: input ratio and nutrient harvest index for N, P, K were also highest in SSNM. At the end of the experiment, soil available N, Olsen-P and available K content were either maintained or improved over their initial values in SSNM treatments, whereas soil available K in FFP declined by −1.65 % and increased over initial content in BSR and STLR in 0–15 cm soil profile depth. After three crop cycles, apparent N and P balances were positive in all the cropping systems and fertilizer treatments; only exception was a negative N balance in C–R and B–R systems in different fertilizer treatments. The apparent K balances were negative in all the cropping systems irrespective of nutrient management options. But, the magnitude of negative balance was lower in plots received SSNM treatment as compared to other nutrient management strategies, indicating a potential for improving yields, nutrient use efficiency and farm profit without deteriorating soil fertility in different rice based systems in IGP.

Nutrient management on crop productivity and changes in soil organic carbon and fertility in a four–year-old maize-wheat cropping system in Indo-Gangetic plains of India

ABSTRACTThe aim of this investigation was to prepare and evaluate organic manures (vermicompost, compost and FYM) and mineral fertilizers on crop productivity and changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) and fertility under a four-year-old maize-wheat cropping system. The results demonstrated that yields and nutrient uptake by crops increased significantly in plots receiving manures and mineral fertilizers either alone or in combination than unfertilized control. Application of manures and fertilizers also enhanced SOC, mineral N, Olsen-P and ammonium acetate-extractable K (NH4OAc-K) after both the crops. Surface soil maintained greater build-up in SOC, mineral N, Olsen-P and NH4OAc-K than sub-surface soil. Plots amended with manures at 5 t ha−1 and 50% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) had pronounced impact on improving SOC and fertility after both the crops indicating that integrated use of manures and mineral fertilizers could be followed to improve and maintain soil fertility, increase crop productivity under intensive cropping system.