Medium-term impact of tillage and residue retention on soil physical and biological properties in dry-seeded rice–wheat system in north-west India
Jashanjeet Kaur Dhaliwal A , M. J. Singh B , Sandeep Sharma
A D , Naveen Gupta C and S. S. Kukal A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, India.
B Regional Research Station, Ballowal Saunkhri, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 144521, India.
C Borlaug Institute for South Asia, (BISA), CIMMYT, Ladhowal, Ludhiana 141004, India.
D Corresponding author. Email: sandyagro@pau.edu
Soil Research 58(5) 468-477 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR19238
Submitted: 6 September 2019 Accepted: 11 March 2020 Published: 30 April 2020
Abstract
Repeated puddling for rice cultivation and extensive tillage during wheat cultivation in the north-west of India has adversely affected soil health. Adoption of resource conservation technologies (RCTs) is required for long-term sustainability of conventional rice–wheat systems. However, the behaviour of these technologies is site-specific. A field study was conducted in 2016 to evaluate the medium-term impact of tillage and residue retention on soil physical and biological characteristics. Four treatments were imposed during 2011: conventionally-tilled (CT) rice followed by CT wheat all without residue retention (–M); zero-tilled (ZT) rice followed by ZT wheat and –M; CT rice followed by CT wheat and all with residue retention (+M); and ZT direct-seeded rice followed by ZT wheat and +M. In the surface layer (0–15 cm) of ZT, soil organic carbon (SOC) stock was higher by 15%, mean weight diameter (MWD) by 31.8% and bulk density (BD) by 4% compared to CT averaged across residue treatments. Irrespective of tillage, SOC stock was increased by 19% and MWD by 39% and BD decreased by 1.8% in +M compared with –M in the 0–15 cm soil layer. Infiltration rate was higher in +M than –M irrespective of tillage. Microbial biomass carbon, basal soil respiration and soil enzymatic activities were higher in ZT and +M than CT and –M respectively. Thus, medium-term adoption of RCTs such as ZT and residue retention enhanced soil physical and biological properties in this dry-seeded rice–wheat system. However, whether retaining wheat residue improves soil physical and biological properties requires further investigation.
Keywords: aggregate stability, bulk density, conventional tillage, enzymatic activities, residue retention, soil organic carbon, zero tillage.
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