Performance of Wheat under Various Rice Residue Management Practices on Farmer Fields under South-Western Conditions of Punjab

Abstract

On farm trails were conducted during Rabi seasons of 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18 to evaluate the influence of different rice straw management practices on wheat productivity, yield attributes and soil fertility under south-western conditions of Punjab. Rice straw was managed by harvesting of crop using straw management system (SMS) fitted combines harvester then applied the treatment of happy seeder, mulcher, mould board plough, and zero tillage. Significant improvement in wheat productivity was observed from the field with Happy Seeder sown crop. The highest grain yield was recorded when straw was placed on surface with Happy Seeder machine and was comparable to the treatment where straw was incorporated with mulcher and MB plough treatments. The yield attribute characters of wheat (viz. numbers of effective tillers, plant height, ear length, number of grains per ear and test weight) were significantly influenced by rice residue management practices. The highest yield attributes characters of wheat were found in happy seeder treatment. The soil pH was not significantly changed due to different rice residue management treatments. The Organic Carbon (OC) was significantly increased in Happy Seeder treatment followed by mulcher and mould board plough treatments. The available phosphorus and potassium status in soil was insignificant in treatments of Happy Seeder, mulcher and mould board plough. Happy seeder which allowing rice residue as surface mulch meet the objective of producing higher yield and minimizing agriculture induced degradation of natural resources.

Keywords: Happy seeder, Mould board plough, Mulcher, Soil fertility, Wheat yield, Zero till.

Cite this Article

Parkash Singh Sidhu, Gurmeet Singh Dhillon, Jitender Singh Brar. Performance of Wheat under Various Rice Residue Management Practices on Farmer Fields under South-Western Conditions of Punjab. Research & Reviews: Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology. 2019; 8(1): 24–27p.