Sustainable Intensification of Rice Fallows with Oilseeds and Pulses: Effects on Soil Aggregation, Organic Carbon Dynamics, and Crop Productivity in Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains

Kirti Saurabh, Rakesh Kumar (), Janki Sharan Mishra, Anil Kumar Singh, Surajit Mondal, Ram Swaroop Meena, Jaipal Singh Choudhary, Ashis Kumar Biswas, Manoj Kumar, Himadri Shekhar Roy, Nongmaithem Raju Singh, Sushil Kumar Yadav, Ashutosh Upadhyaya, Hansraj Hans, Pawan Jeet, Prem Kumar Sundaram and Rohan Kumar Raman
Additional contact information
Kirti Saurabh: ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna 800 014, India
Rakesh Kumar: ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna 800 014, India
Janki Sharan Mishra: ICAR-Directorate of Weed Research, Maharajpur, Jabalpur 482 004, India
Anil Kumar Singh: ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna 800 014, India
Surajit Mondal: ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna 800 014, India
Ram Swaroop Meena: Department of Agronomy, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, India
Jaipal Singh Choudhary: ICAR-RCER, Farming System Research Centre for Hill and Plateau Region, Plandu, Ranchi 834 010, India
Ashis Kumar Biswas: ICAR-Indian Institutes of Soil Science, Bhopal 462 038, India
Manoj Kumar: ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna 800 014, India
Himadri Shekhar Roy: ICAR-Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012, India
Nongmaithem Raju Singh: ICAR-Research Complex for North Eastern Hill Region, Umiam 793 103, India
Sushil Kumar Yadav: Natural Resource Management (Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry), Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur 813 210, India
Ashutosh Upadhyaya: ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna 800 014, India
Hansraj Hans: ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna 800 014, India
Pawan Jeet: ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna 800 014, India
Prem Kumar Sundaram: ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna 800 014, India
Rohan Kumar Raman: ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna 800 014, India

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 17, 1-19

Abstract: Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices are becoming increasingly important due to their better adaptability to harsh climatic conditions (in general) and the unpredictability of monsoons in India (in particular). Conventional rice cultivation (e.g., PTR) involves intensive tilling followed by intensive puddling in standing water that destroys the soil aggregation and depletes carbon pools. Therefore, alternative crop establishment methods need to be devised for the sustainability of system productivity, and the suitabilities of potential oilseeds and pulses need to be tested for cropping intensification in rice-fallow regions. Hence, an ongoing experiment (implemented in 2016) was evaluated to identify the appropriate CSA management practices in restoring soil C and physical health under diversified cropping systems in the rice-fallow system of eastern India. Six tillage and crop establishment methods along with residue management were kept as the main plots [zero-till-direct-seeded rice (ZTDSR), conventional-till-DSR (CT-DSR), puddled transplanted rice (PTR), ZTDSR with rice residue retentions (ZTDSR R+ ), CTDSR with rice residue retention (CTDSR R+ ), PTR with rice residue retention (PTR R+ )] while five winter/post-rainy crops (oilseeds and pulses) were raised in a subplot. In the ZTDSR R+ production system, soil macro-aggregate (%), macro-aggregate-associated C, MWD, and GMD of aggregates increased by 60.1, 71.3, 42.1, and 17.1%, respectively, in comparison to conventional tillage practices (PTR). The carbon management index (CMI) was 58% more in the ZTDSR R+ production system compared to PTR. Among the winter crops, chickpeas recorded higher values of soil structural indices and C content. In the PTR production system, system productivity, in terms of rice equivalent yield, was comparable to ZTDSR R+ . ZT with residue retention in rice followed by post-rainy/winter pulses led to higher C content and structural stability of the soil. Thus, CSA management practices can improve the crop productivity as well as soil health of rice-fallow production systems of eastern India and comparable agroecotypes of South Asia.

Keywords: climate-smart agriculture (CSA); oilseeds; pulses; residue retention; rice fallow; soil health; zero-tillage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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