The current cereal based systems of South Asia are under threat due to multiple challenges of dec... more The current cereal based systems of South Asia are under threat due to multiple challenges of declining water table, escalating energy and fuel prices, shortages of farm labour, deteriorating soil health with overarching effects of climatic variability making farming uneconomical and unattractive. Conservation agriculture (CA) based management practices together with cropping system optimization have demonstrated to produce more with less while restoring, conserving and sustaining natural resources. In north-western India, maize (Zea mays L.) based systems are being advocated as an alternate to rice-based systems to address the issues of resource degradation particularly water table and climate-change-induced variability in rainfall and temperature, etc. However, targeting maize systems without futuristic best-bet crop management practices suited to production systems and ecologies, may lead to other problems. Therefore, we attempted to evaluate the performance of maize in kharif 20...
In recent years, increasing water and labor scarcity & production cost, decreasing farm profitabi... more In recent years, increasing water and labor scarcity & production cost, decreasing farm profitability and climatechange- induced variability are major challenges faced by the farmers of Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) in South Asia. Conservation agriculture (CA) based best-bet crop management practices may increase crop productivity, profitability and conserve the natural resources. In a 2-year (2012-2014) study, we assessed the effects of six combinations of tillage and crop establishment (TCE) and residue management options on crop & water productivity, profitability and soil thermal and moisture regimes in maize (Zea mays)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (MW) and maize-chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) (MC) rotations in Western IGP of India. The treatments consisted of both crops sown on permanent raised beds with residue (PB+R) and without residue (PB-R); zero tilled flat with residue (ZT+R) and without residue (ZT-R) and conventional tilled flat with residue (CT+R) and without residue (CT-...
In water scarce regions of South Asia, diversification of rice with maize is being advocated towa... more In water scarce regions of South Asia, diversification of rice with maize is being advocated towards sustainability of cereal-based cropping systems. Adoption of innovative agronomic management practices, i.e., conservation agriculture (CA) and sub-surface drip irrigation (SSDI) are considered as key strategies for much needed interventions to address the challenges of water scarcity under projected climate change. Benefits from CA and SSDI concerning water economy are well-established, however, information about their complementarity and water budgeting in cereal-based systems are lacking. A field study was conducted with process-based model (HYDRUS-2D) to understand water transport, root water uptake and components of soil water balance in maize grown in rotation with wheat after five years of continuous adoption of conservation agriculture. In this study, altogether eight treatments comprising of 6 CA+ treatments (CA coupled with SSDI); permanent beds using sub-surface drip (PB-S...
Field experiments were conducted at New Delhi during the kharif season of 2012 and 2013 with maiz... more Field experiments were conducted at New Delhi during the kharif season of 2012 and 2013 with maize-wheat/Chickpea cropping systems to evaluate the effect of different tillage and crop establishment techniques, and residue management on performance of the maize grown in sequence with wheat and chickpea in terms of growth and yield. The results revealed that performance of maize in terms of two years mean growth parameters, yield attributes and yields were influenced significantly under different tillage and crop establishment techniques. ZT flat planting with residue retention resulted in significantly higher mean plant height (174.95 cm), dry matter accumulation, leaf area and leaf area index (LAI) than conventional till flat planting of maize. Mean values of days to 50% silking, days to maturity of maize were minimum in zero till flat planting under residue retention with maximum cobs/m2 (7.75). The mean maize yield attributes viz; cob length, cob girth and grain rows/cob were not...
Climate change models predict an increase in rainfall variability, leading to floods and drought ... more Climate change models predict an increase in rainfall variability, leading to floods and drought events, hence intensifying the need for reservoirs. However, up to 50% of reservoirs' capacity is lost by evaporation, affecting their function of ensuring water availability and stability. Over decades biological, chemical and physical barriers "covers" were developed for inhibiting evaporation. Such barrier's efficiency and applicability are still a matter of discussion, given their economic efficiency, environmental consequences, and operational difficulties are accounted for. In this review, we discussed the efficiency, applicability, and environmental suitability of these covers. Compared to the physical covers, the chemical and biological solutions tend to be less efficient. However, the use of physical covers is multidisciplinary, involving climate, material, and hydrological sciences, and are more efficient. Among the physical covers, the use of suspended covers and free-floating elements decreases evaporation to the tune of 85 and 80.0%, respectively. However, the economic efficiency of free-floating elements remains an open question since all studies overlooked their water footprint (water used in the manufacturing process of these covers), which was found to be very high. The use of these covers decreases heat storage, gas exchange rate, and light availability that could adversely influence dissolved oxygen, water quality, aquatic organisms, and the water ecosystem's function. These ecological consequences have not yet been investigated. The exception is the suspended covers, which have had determinate effects on dissolved oxygen and algae growth. Due to light weight, floating elements' operation is unstable and vulnerable to move due to wind effects. Therefore, such covers must be engineered to increase their stability. Free-floating elements could provide a visible and scalable solution to evaporation suppression when considering their economic visibility, environmental effects, and stability against wind and wave effects under the field conditions. However, these covers can be viable only when water availability is the limiting factor in crop production. We found that studies at reservoir scale are highly limited, therefore, investigations at reservoirs' scale emphasizing ecological aspects, cover stability and cost efficiency, are urgently needed.
The study was conducted to evaluate long-term effect of legume intensified maize based crop rotat... more The study was conducted to evaluate long-term effect of legume intensified maize based crop rotations and contrasting tillage practices and a experiment was laid out in split plot design with three tillage practices i.e. zero tillage (ZT), permanent bed (PB) and conventional tillage (CT) as main plot treatments and four legume intensified crop rotations (MWMb - maize-wheat-mungbean, MCS - maize-chickpea-Sesbania, MMuMb - maize-mustard-mungbean and MMS - maize-maize-Sesbania) as sub-plot treatments. Adoption of CA based tillage practices (ZT/PB) significantly improved maize protein yield (MPY). ZT/PB gave 7.7-14.2% higher MPY(Maize protein yield and 7.4-13.0% higher MPYA (maize protein yield for adults) over CT. Similarly, the MPY and MPYA under legume intensified cereal based rotations were invariably higher in MCS and MWMb systems compared to MMuMb and MMS rotations.The total soil nitrogen (TSN) content increased by 15.4-17.4 and 20.32-20.91% with ZT and PB over CT in 0-15 and 15-3...
Under limited moisture conditions integrated nutrient management and conservation agriculture (CA... more Under limited moisture conditions integrated nutrient management and conservation agriculture (CA) practices plays a vital role. Information on effect of integrated nutrient management (INM) with CA practices in pearlmillet (Pennisetum glaucum) –mustard (Brassica juncea) system is lacking. The present experiment was conducted during 2005-06 and 2006-07 in rainy and winter seasons, at IARI, New Delhi, India to investigate the effect of INM and tillage on pearlmillet -mustard system under limited irrigation. Ridge and furrow (RF) sowing produced significantly higher carbon efficiency (CE), energy output, net returns and economic yield (3768 kg ha-1) of pearlmillet-mustard sequence. The application of 30 kg N + 30 kg P2O5 + FYM at 6 t/ha to pearlmillet produced significantly higher yield attributes, economic yield (3982 kg ha-1), energy output (194023 MJ ha-1) of the system and CE and net return (189.41 and 315.8 US$ ha-1) of pearlmillet and mustard individually over control, 30 kg N +...
(English) Field experiments were carried out during 2005-07 to assess the effect of land congigyr... more (English) Field experiments were carried out during 2005-07 to assess the effect of land congigyration and nutrient management in pearl millet (pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br. Emend stuntz)-Indian mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) czernjscoss) cropping system. The ...
The present study was planned to evaluate the long term effect of legume intensified maize based ... more The present study was planned to evaluate the long term effect of legume intensified maize based crop rotations and tillage practices on productivity, profitability of maize vis-a-vis soil health. The experiment consisted of three tillage practices i.e. zero tillage (ZT), permanent bed (PB) and conventional tillage (CT) as main plot treatments and four crop rotations (MWMb; maize-wheat-mungbean, MCS; maize-chickpea-Sesbania, MMuMb; maize-mustard-mungbean, MMS; maize-maize-Sesbania) as sub plot treatments. Results revealed that ZT and PB resulted into significantly (P less than 0.05) improvement in grain (7.7-14.2%) and stover yield (7.4-13.0%) of maize over CT. Similarly, maize grain and stover yield were invariably higher in MCS and MWMb systems compared to MMuMb and MMS rotations. The total soil carbon (TSC) content increased by 15.4-17.4 and 20.32-20.91% with ZT and PB over CT in 0-15 and 15-30 cm soil depths, respectively. However, MCS and MWMb rotations registered 11.3-18.0% (0...
The current cereal based systems of South Asia are under threat due to multiple challenges of dec... more The current cereal based systems of South Asia are under threat due to multiple challenges of declining water table, escalating energy and fuel prices, shortages of farm labour, deteriorating soil health with overarching effects of climatic variability making farming uneconomical and unattractive. Conservation agriculture (CA) based management practices together with cropping system optimization have demonstrated to produce more with less while restoring, conserving and sustaining natural resources. In north-western India, maize (Zea mays L.) based systems are being advocated as an alternate to rice-based systems to address the issues of resource degradation particularly water table and climate-change-induced variability in rainfall and temperature, etc. However, targeting maize systems without futuristic best-bet crop management practices suited to production systems and ecologies, may lead to other problems. Therefore, we attempted to evaluate the performance of maize in kharif 20...
In recent years, increasing water and labor scarcity & production cost, decreasing farm profitabi... more In recent years, increasing water and labor scarcity & production cost, decreasing farm profitability and climatechange- induced variability are major challenges faced by the farmers of Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) in South Asia. Conservation agriculture (CA) based best-bet crop management practices may increase crop productivity, profitability and conserve the natural resources. In a 2-year (2012-2014) study, we assessed the effects of six combinations of tillage and crop establishment (TCE) and residue management options on crop & water productivity, profitability and soil thermal and moisture regimes in maize (Zea mays)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (MW) and maize-chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) (MC) rotations in Western IGP of India. The treatments consisted of both crops sown on permanent raised beds with residue (PB+R) and without residue (PB-R); zero tilled flat with residue (ZT+R) and without residue (ZT-R) and conventional tilled flat with residue (CT+R) and without residue (CT-...
In water scarce regions of South Asia, diversification of rice with maize is being advocated towa... more In water scarce regions of South Asia, diversification of rice with maize is being advocated towards sustainability of cereal-based cropping systems. Adoption of innovative agronomic management practices, i.e., conservation agriculture (CA) and sub-surface drip irrigation (SSDI) are considered as key strategies for much needed interventions to address the challenges of water scarcity under projected climate change. Benefits from CA and SSDI concerning water economy are well-established, however, information about their complementarity and water budgeting in cereal-based systems are lacking. A field study was conducted with process-based model (HYDRUS-2D) to understand water transport, root water uptake and components of soil water balance in maize grown in rotation with wheat after five years of continuous adoption of conservation agriculture. In this study, altogether eight treatments comprising of 6 CA+ treatments (CA coupled with SSDI); permanent beds using sub-surface drip (PB-S...
Field experiments were conducted at New Delhi during the kharif season of 2012 and 2013 with maiz... more Field experiments were conducted at New Delhi during the kharif season of 2012 and 2013 with maize-wheat/Chickpea cropping systems to evaluate the effect of different tillage and crop establishment techniques, and residue management on performance of the maize grown in sequence with wheat and chickpea in terms of growth and yield. The results revealed that performance of maize in terms of two years mean growth parameters, yield attributes and yields were influenced significantly under different tillage and crop establishment techniques. ZT flat planting with residue retention resulted in significantly higher mean plant height (174.95 cm), dry matter accumulation, leaf area and leaf area index (LAI) than conventional till flat planting of maize. Mean values of days to 50% silking, days to maturity of maize were minimum in zero till flat planting under residue retention with maximum cobs/m2 (7.75). The mean maize yield attributes viz; cob length, cob girth and grain rows/cob were not...
Climate change models predict an increase in rainfall variability, leading to floods and drought ... more Climate change models predict an increase in rainfall variability, leading to floods and drought events, hence intensifying the need for reservoirs. However, up to 50% of reservoirs' capacity is lost by evaporation, affecting their function of ensuring water availability and stability. Over decades biological, chemical and physical barriers "covers" were developed for inhibiting evaporation. Such barrier's efficiency and applicability are still a matter of discussion, given their economic efficiency, environmental consequences, and operational difficulties are accounted for. In this review, we discussed the efficiency, applicability, and environmental suitability of these covers. Compared to the physical covers, the chemical and biological solutions tend to be less efficient. However, the use of physical covers is multidisciplinary, involving climate, material, and hydrological sciences, and are more efficient. Among the physical covers, the use of suspended covers and free-floating elements decreases evaporation to the tune of 85 and 80.0%, respectively. However, the economic efficiency of free-floating elements remains an open question since all studies overlooked their water footprint (water used in the manufacturing process of these covers), which was found to be very high. The use of these covers decreases heat storage, gas exchange rate, and light availability that could adversely influence dissolved oxygen, water quality, aquatic organisms, and the water ecosystem's function. These ecological consequences have not yet been investigated. The exception is the suspended covers, which have had determinate effects on dissolved oxygen and algae growth. Due to light weight, floating elements' operation is unstable and vulnerable to move due to wind effects. Therefore, such covers must be engineered to increase their stability. Free-floating elements could provide a visible and scalable solution to evaporation suppression when considering their economic visibility, environmental effects, and stability against wind and wave effects under the field conditions. However, these covers can be viable only when water availability is the limiting factor in crop production. We found that studies at reservoir scale are highly limited, therefore, investigations at reservoirs' scale emphasizing ecological aspects, cover stability and cost efficiency, are urgently needed.
The study was conducted to evaluate long-term effect of legume intensified maize based crop rotat... more The study was conducted to evaluate long-term effect of legume intensified maize based crop rotations and contrasting tillage practices and a experiment was laid out in split plot design with three tillage practices i.e. zero tillage (ZT), permanent bed (PB) and conventional tillage (CT) as main plot treatments and four legume intensified crop rotations (MWMb - maize-wheat-mungbean, MCS - maize-chickpea-Sesbania, MMuMb - maize-mustard-mungbean and MMS - maize-maize-Sesbania) as sub-plot treatments. Adoption of CA based tillage practices (ZT/PB) significantly improved maize protein yield (MPY). ZT/PB gave 7.7-14.2% higher MPY(Maize protein yield and 7.4-13.0% higher MPYA (maize protein yield for adults) over CT. Similarly, the MPY and MPYA under legume intensified cereal based rotations were invariably higher in MCS and MWMb systems compared to MMuMb and MMS rotations.The total soil nitrogen (TSN) content increased by 15.4-17.4 and 20.32-20.91% with ZT and PB over CT in 0-15 and 15-3...
Under limited moisture conditions integrated nutrient management and conservation agriculture (CA... more Under limited moisture conditions integrated nutrient management and conservation agriculture (CA) practices plays a vital role. Information on effect of integrated nutrient management (INM) with CA practices in pearlmillet (Pennisetum glaucum) –mustard (Brassica juncea) system is lacking. The present experiment was conducted during 2005-06 and 2006-07 in rainy and winter seasons, at IARI, New Delhi, India to investigate the effect of INM and tillage on pearlmillet -mustard system under limited irrigation. Ridge and furrow (RF) sowing produced significantly higher carbon efficiency (CE), energy output, net returns and economic yield (3768 kg ha-1) of pearlmillet-mustard sequence. The application of 30 kg N + 30 kg P2O5 + FYM at 6 t/ha to pearlmillet produced significantly higher yield attributes, economic yield (3982 kg ha-1), energy output (194023 MJ ha-1) of the system and CE and net return (189.41 and 315.8 US$ ha-1) of pearlmillet and mustard individually over control, 30 kg N +...
(English) Field experiments were carried out during 2005-07 to assess the effect of land congigyr... more (English) Field experiments were carried out during 2005-07 to assess the effect of land congigyration and nutrient management in pearl millet (pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br. Emend stuntz)-Indian mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) czernjscoss) cropping system. The ...
The present study was planned to evaluate the long term effect of legume intensified maize based ... more The present study was planned to evaluate the long term effect of legume intensified maize based crop rotations and tillage practices on productivity, profitability of maize vis-a-vis soil health. The experiment consisted of three tillage practices i.e. zero tillage (ZT), permanent bed (PB) and conventional tillage (CT) as main plot treatments and four crop rotations (MWMb; maize-wheat-mungbean, MCS; maize-chickpea-Sesbania, MMuMb; maize-mustard-mungbean, MMS; maize-maize-Sesbania) as sub plot treatments. Results revealed that ZT and PB resulted into significantly (P less than 0.05) improvement in grain (7.7-14.2%) and stover yield (7.4-13.0%) of maize over CT. Similarly, maize grain and stover yield were invariably higher in MCS and MWMb systems compared to MMuMb and MMS rotations. The total soil carbon (TSC) content increased by 15.4-17.4 and 20.32-20.91% with ZT and PB over CT in 0-15 and 15-30 cm soil depths, respectively. However, MCS and MWMb rotations registered 11.3-18.0% (0...
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