Sustainable Intensification of Cropping Systems under Conservation Agriculture Practices: Impact on Yield, Productivity and Profitability of Wheat

Arun Kumar, Kulvir Singh Saini (), Hemant Dasila, Rakesh Kumar, Kavita Devi, Yashpal Singh Bisht, Manish Yadav, Shivani Kothiyal, Aaradhana Chilwal, Damini Maithani and Prashant Kaushik ()
Additional contact information
Arun Kumar: Department of Agronomy, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, India
Kulvir Singh Saini: Department of Agronomy, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, India
Hemant Dasila: Department of Microbiology, Eternal University, Baru Sahib 173101, India
Rakesh Kumar: Department of Agronomy, Eternal University, Baru Sahib 173101, India
Kavita Devi: Department of Agronomy, Eternal University, Baru Sahib 173101, India
Yashpal Singh Bisht: Department of Horticulture, Eternal University, Baru Sahib 173101, India
Manish Yadav: Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, India
Shivani Kothiyal: Department of Climate Change and Agricultural Meteorology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, India
Aaradhana Chilwal: Department of Agronomy, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, India
Damini Maithani: School of Biotechnology, IFTM University, Moradabad 244102, India
Prashant Kaushik: Independent Researcher, 46022 Valencia, Spain

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 9, 1-16

Abstract: The continuous rice–wheat cropping system in South Asia has caused irreversible environmental damage, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability of the region’s agricultural systems. To address this issue, farm experiments were conducted for two successive years (2019–20 and 2020–21) to assess the impact of different cropping systems under conservation agriculture (CA) practices on the yield, productivity, and profitability of wheat. Results showed that the highest grain yield of wheat was observed in scenarios Sc6, Sc4, and Sc2, which involved full CA permanent-bed soybean (PB)–permanent-bed wheat (PB)–permanent-bed summer moong (PB), full CA permanent-bed maize (PB)–permanent-bed wheat (PB)–permanent-bed summer moong (PB), and partial CA puddled transplanted rice–Happy Seeder wheat–zero-till summer moong (ZT). Additionally, the highest irrigation water productivity (IWP), wheat grain macronutrient uptake, net return, and benefit–cost ratio (B:C ratio) were recorded under Sc6, full CA permanent-bed soybean (PB)–permanent-bed wheat (PB)–permanent-bed summer moong (PB) compared to farmers’ practice puddled transplanted rice (PTR)–conventional-till wheat–summer moong (Sc1) during both years. The system productivity also increased in scenarios Sc2, Sc4, and Sc6 (by 9.72%, 9.65%, and 14.14% in the first year and 10.68%, 14.14%, and 15.55% in the second year) compared to Sc1—farmers’ practice puddled transplanted rice (PTR)–conventional-till wheat–summer moong, Sc3—farmers’ practice fresh-bed maize (FB)–conventional-till wheat–summer moong, and Sc5–farmers’ practice fresh-bed soybean (FB)–conventional-till wheat (CT)–summer moong. The findings suggest that the conservation agriculture soybean–wheat–summer moong (Sc6) on permanent-bed cropping systems with inclusion legumes can be a potential option to enhance yield attributes, productivity, and profitability, as well as the sustainability of natural resources in the region while decreasing environmental footprints.

Keywords: conservation agriculture (CA); sustainability; wheat; intensification and cropping systems (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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