Conservation agriculture(CA)-based best-bet crop management practices may increase crop and water productivity, while conserving and sustaining natural resources. We evaluated the performance of rainy season maize dur...Conservation agriculture(CA)-based best-bet crop management practices may increase crop and water productivity, while conserving and sustaining natural resources. We evaluated the performance of rainy season maize during 2014 under an ongoing long-term trial(established in 2008) with three tillage practices, i.e., permanent bed(PB), zero tillage(ZT), and conventional tillage(CT) as main plots, and four intensified maize-based cropping systems, i.e., maize-wheat-mungbean, maize-chickpea-Sesbania(MCS), maizemustard-mungbean, and maize-maize-Sesbania) as subplot treatments. In the seventh rainy season of the experiment, maize growth parameters, yield attributes, yield, and water-and energy-use efficiency were highest at fixed plots under ZT. Maize growth parameters were significantly(P < 0.05) superior under ZT and PB compared with CT. Maize yield attributes, including cobs per m^2(7.8), cob length(0.183 m), grain rows per cob(13.8), and grains per row(35.6), were significantly higher under ZT than CT; however, no significant effect of cropping systems was found on maize growth and yield attributes. Zero tillage exhibited the highest maize productivity(4 589 kg ha^(-1)). However, among the cropping systems, MCS exhibited the highest maize productivity(4 582 kg ha^(-1)). In maize, water use was reduced by 80.2–120.9 mm ha-1under ZT and PB compared with CT, which ultimately enhanced the economic water-use efficiency by 42.0% and 36.6%, respectively. The ZT and PB showed a 3.5%–31.8% increase in soil organic carbon(SOC) at different soil depths(0–0.45 m), and a 32.3%–39.9% increase in energy productivity compared with CT. Overall, our results showed that CA-based ZT and PB practices coupled with diversified maize-based cropping systems effectively enhanced maize yield and SOC,as well as water-and energy-use efficiency, in northwestern India.展开更多
Soil microbes play critical roles in soil biogeochemistry, soil biological health and crop productivity. The current study evaluated the effects of tillage and residue management on changes in soil biochemical indicat...Soil microbes play critical roles in soil biogeochemistry, soil biological health and crop productivity. The current study evaluated the effects of tillage and residue management on changes in soil biochemical indicators at different growth stages of wheat after 5 years of rice-wheat system. Nine treatment combinations of tillage, crop establishment and crop residue management included three main plot treatments applied to rice:(1) conventional till direct dry seeded rice(CTDSR),(2) zero till direct dry seeded rice(ZTDSR), and(3) conventional puddled manual transplanted rice(CTPTR) and three subplot treatments in subsequent wheat:(1) conventional tillage with rice residue removed(CTW-R),(2) zero tillage with rice residue removed(ZTW-R) and(3) zero tillage with rice residue retained as surface mulch(ZTW+R). Irrespective of rice treatments, ZTW+R treatment had higher soil biochemical indicators compared with ZTW-R and CTW-R at all the growth stages of wheat. Generally, all the biochemical indicators were the highest at the flowering stage of wheat. Residual effect of rice treatments was also significant on biochemical quotients in wheat, which were the highest under ZTDSR followed by CTDSR and CTPTR. The present study provided three sensitive and reliable biochemical indicators(microbial biomass, basal soil respiration and microbial quotient) which respond rapidly to change in tillage and residue management practices in RWS of South Asia.展开更多
文摘Conservation agriculture(CA)-based best-bet crop management practices may increase crop and water productivity, while conserving and sustaining natural resources. We evaluated the performance of rainy season maize during 2014 under an ongoing long-term trial(established in 2008) with three tillage practices, i.e., permanent bed(PB), zero tillage(ZT), and conventional tillage(CT) as main plots, and four intensified maize-based cropping systems, i.e., maize-wheat-mungbean, maize-chickpea-Sesbania(MCS), maizemustard-mungbean, and maize-maize-Sesbania) as subplot treatments. In the seventh rainy season of the experiment, maize growth parameters, yield attributes, yield, and water-and energy-use efficiency were highest at fixed plots under ZT. Maize growth parameters were significantly(P < 0.05) superior under ZT and PB compared with CT. Maize yield attributes, including cobs per m^2(7.8), cob length(0.183 m), grain rows per cob(13.8), and grains per row(35.6), were significantly higher under ZT than CT; however, no significant effect of cropping systems was found on maize growth and yield attributes. Zero tillage exhibited the highest maize productivity(4 589 kg ha^(-1)). However, among the cropping systems, MCS exhibited the highest maize productivity(4 582 kg ha^(-1)). In maize, water use was reduced by 80.2–120.9 mm ha-1under ZT and PB compared with CT, which ultimately enhanced the economic water-use efficiency by 42.0% and 36.6%, respectively. The ZT and PB showed a 3.5%–31.8% increase in soil organic carbon(SOC) at different soil depths(0–0.45 m), and a 32.3%–39.9% increase in energy productivity compared with CT. Overall, our results showed that CA-based ZT and PB practices coupled with diversified maize-based cropping systems effectively enhanced maize yield and SOC,as well as water-and energy-use efficiency, in northwestern India.
基金financial as well technical support of International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) through USAID and BMGF funded Cereal System Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) ProjectConsultative Group of International Agriculture Research (CGIAR) Program on wheat (CRP 3.1)
文摘Soil microbes play critical roles in soil biogeochemistry, soil biological health and crop productivity. The current study evaluated the effects of tillage and residue management on changes in soil biochemical indicators at different growth stages of wheat after 5 years of rice-wheat system. Nine treatment combinations of tillage, crop establishment and crop residue management included three main plot treatments applied to rice:(1) conventional till direct dry seeded rice(CTDSR),(2) zero till direct dry seeded rice(ZTDSR), and(3) conventional puddled manual transplanted rice(CTPTR) and three subplot treatments in subsequent wheat:(1) conventional tillage with rice residue removed(CTW-R),(2) zero tillage with rice residue removed(ZTW-R) and(3) zero tillage with rice residue retained as surface mulch(ZTW+R). Irrespective of rice treatments, ZTW+R treatment had higher soil biochemical indicators compared with ZTW-R and CTW-R at all the growth stages of wheat. Generally, all the biochemical indicators were the highest at the flowering stage of wheat. Residual effect of rice treatments was also significant on biochemical quotients in wheat, which were the highest under ZTDSR followed by CTDSR and CTPTR. The present study provided three sensitive and reliable biochemical indicators(microbial biomass, basal soil respiration and microbial quotient) which respond rapidly to change in tillage and residue management practices in RWS of South Asia.
