Improving Wheat Yield with Zeolite and Tillage Practices under Rain-Fed Conditions

Mehmood ul Hassan, Syed Tanveer Shah, Abdul Basit, Wafaa M. Hikal, Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, Waleed Khan, Kirill G. Tkachenko (), Faiçal Brini and Hussein A. H. Said-Al Ahl ()
Additional contact information
Mehmood ul Hassan: Department of Agriculture, Hazara University, Mansehra 21300, Pakistan
Syed Tanveer Shah: Department of Agriculture, Hazara University, Mansehra 21300, Pakistan
Abdul Basit: Department of Horticultural Science, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea
Wafaa M. Hikal: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Tabuk, Tabuk 71491, Saudi Arabia
Mushtaq Ahmad Khan: Department of Agriculture, Hazara University, Mansehra 21300, Pakistan
Waleed Khan: Laboratory of Crop Production, Department of Applied Biosciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea
Kirill G. Tkachenko: Peter the Great Botanical Garden of the V.L. Komarov Botanical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg 197376, Russia
Faiçal Brini: Biotechnology and Plant Improvement Laboratory, Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax, P.O. 1177, Sfax 3018, Tunisia
Hussein A. H. Said-Al Ahl: Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research Department, Pharmaceutical and Drug Industries Research Institute, National Research Centre (NRC), 33 El-Behouth St. Dokki, Giza 12622, Egypt

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 8, 1-14

Abstract: Wheat is the most consumed crop worldwide. Zeolite application combined with good tillage practices are good combinations that provide better soil conditions for wheat crops. Zeolite also provides a good layer for carbon to be absorbed into the soil and can retain carbon for hundreds of years. The current study aimed to investigate the effect of tillage practices and zeolite treatments on soil carbon retention and wheat crop productivity. Arranging the treatments implemented according to a factorial randomized block design which includes three replications. Tillage treatments include three levels vis: T 1 = 6 tillage practices with the help of cultivator (farmer practice/control), T 2 (minimum tillage), and T 3 (2 cultivation with cultivator + Mold-board plough). The zeolite applications consist of four levels: Z 1 = 0, Z 2 = 5, Z 3 = 10 and Z 4 = 15 t ha −1 . The effect of the interaction between zeolite treatments and tillage practices on various factors related to soil and crops such as emission of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), dissolved organic carbon, soil organic carbon, and the productivity and components of wheat productivity. Zeolite applied at 10 t ha −1 in combination with minimum tillage gave significant differences in terms of CO 2 emission, dissolved organic carbon, and on soil organic carbon. The experimental results showed that minimum CO 2 emission (25.43 and 31.12 (kg CO 2 -C ha −1 h −1 ), dissolved organic carbon (4.80 and 4.90 g C kg −1 ), soil organic carbon (7.88 and 7.97 g C kg −1 ), plant height (92.14 and 92.97 cm), spike length (11.88 ad 12.11 cm), number of spikelets (20.11 and 20.98), number of tillers (278.65 and 283.93) per unit area, 1000 grain weight (50.74 and 51.54 g), biological yield (8134.87 and 8187.38 kg ha −1 ) and grain yield (2984.28 and 3028.96 kg ha −1 ) and harvest index (36.69 and 37.04%) of wheat was observed in zeolite applied at 10 t ha −1 with minimum tillage practice (T 2 × Z 3 ) compared to control and other treatments for both the years, respectively. It is therefore concluded that minimum tillage should be practiced in wheat crops with the application of zeolite at 10 t ha −1 to obtain better yield and soil carbon retention under rain-fed conditions.

Keywords: dissolved organic carbon; soil organic carbon; tillage; zeolite; wheat (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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