Influence of Residue Type and Method of Placement on Dynamics of Decomposition and Nitrogen Release in Maize-Wheat-Mungbean Cropping on Permanent Raised Beds: A Litterbag Study

Opinder Singh Sandhu, Mangi L. Jat, Rajeev Kumar Gupta, Harmeet Singh Thind, Harminder Singh Sidhu and Yadvinder Singh
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Opinder Singh Sandhu: Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, India
Mangi L. Jat: International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), New Delhi 110012, India
Rajeev Kumar Gupta: Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, India
Harmeet Singh Thind: Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, India
Harminder Singh Sidhu: Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA), CIMMYT, Ladhowal 141004, India
Yadvinder Singh: Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, India

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 2, 1-18

Abstract: Decomposition influences carbon and nutrient cycling from crop residues. The nylon-mesh-bag technique was implied to study the decomposition and N-release dynamics from different crop residues under field conditions. The four types of residues were: maize (lower than 50% below the cob), wheat (lower than 25% of wheat stubbles), a whole mung bean residue, and a mixture of wheat + mung bean residue (1:1 ratio) put on the soil surface and in below the sub-surface. Decomposition and N release from both at-surface- and below-surface-placed residues were accurately described by a single-pool first-order exponential decay function as a function of thermal time (based on the accumulative daily mean temperature). The simple first-order exponential model met the criteria of goodness of fit. Throughout the decomposition cycle (one thermal year), the rate of decomposition as measured by a decrease in residue mass and the release of total N were statistically higher from the sub-surface compared to the surface-placed residue, irrespective of the residue type. At the end of the 150-day decomposition cycle, the release of total N was highest in mung bean (32.0 kg N ha −1 ), followed by maize (31.5 kg N ha −1 ) > wheat + mung bean (16.1 kg N ha −1 ), and the minimum (6.54 kg N ha −1 ) in wheat residue. Crop residues with a wider C/N ratio such as maize and wheat, when applied on the soil surface in conservation agriculture, caused the decomposition to occur at slower rates, thereby providing long-term beneficial effects on the soil thermal regime, soil moisture conservation, and C sequestration in North-West India.

Keywords: crop residues; decomposition rate; nitrogen release; placement effect (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 complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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