Quantify the soil health indicators under conservation agricultural practices in rice-wheat cropping system

Brijesh Kumar Ph.D. Student Roll No. 6392 Jiwaji University CLIFF GRANTEE 2013 Email: bps311@gmail.com Web: www.jiwaji.edu

Advisory Members: Prof. Avinash Tiwari Jiwaji University, Gwalior, India Dr. Andrew McDonald CIMMYT - Nepal

Minimum mechanical soil disturbance (the minimum soil disturbance necessary to sow the seed)

1

CA is based on three principles, applied simultaneously (FAO, 2009)

Permanent organic soil cover (retention of adequate levels of crop residues on the soil surface)

2

Diversified crop rotations including cover crops (to help moderate possible weed, disease and pest problems)

3

Important benefits of CA Increased soil organic matter Improved soil quality and sustain fertility Increased availability of nutrients for plant (in long-run) Retain soil moisture content and improves biological activities Improved crop production Reduced energy inputs Enhanced ecosystem services

Objective…on-going research

To evaluate the short to medium term impact of conservation agriculture on soil health indicators.

To compare the soil nutrient availability in between

different CA practices after three years of experiment.

Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) - A research platform placed in Haryana

Experimental site

Laboratory facilities: Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi Agro-Eco Lab, Jiwaji University, Gwalior, INDIA

A continuous Rice-Wheat cropping system for many years before the establishment of research platform (Nov, 2009) at Haryana, India (29°70′N, 76°96′E).

Treatments

Analysis • Objective 1 The soil samples (Initial baseline after uniformity of rice crop- November 2009 and after three years of long term experiment –October-November 2012) were taken from the aforementioned trials and analysed for the following parameters in IARI’s laboratory 1. pH (soil : water suspension 1:2) procedure given by Jackson (1973). 2. Electrical Conductivity (soil : water suspension 1:2) procedure given by

Jackson (1973). 3. Soil Organic Carbon determined by Walkley and Black method (1934). 4. Available Nitrogen by method of Subbiah and Asija (1956). 5. Available Potassium by method of Hanway and Heidel, (1952).

Results…pH

Results… EC

Results… Soil Organic Carbon

Results … Avl. K

Results… Avl. N

Under process outcome … ● CA practices improves soil health and its quality in terms of

sustainability as compared to conventional Agriculture. ● It enhances soil organic carbon content, nitrogen and

potassium particularly more in R-W system

Thank you for your kind aTTenTion