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Papers by C M PARIHAR

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

A field study was framed in rice crop under conservation agriculture (CA) based rice-wheat system... more A field study was framed in rice crop under conservation agriculture (CA) based rice-wheat system at experimental farm of Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA)-CIMMYT, Ladhowal, Punjab, India during kharif 2019. In the present study, nine treatments were imposed out of which four are CA-based treatments (ZT-N0, ZT-N50, ZT-N75 and ZT-N100), four are CA coupled with subsurface drip fertigation (CA+) based treatments (SSD-N0,SSD-N50, SSD-N75 and SSD-N100) and puddled transplanted rice (PTR) treatment as farmer's practice. The findings of the study showed that PTR treatment out yielded in terms of yield attributing characters and biological yield than other treatments. CA+ treatment (SSD-N100) resulted higher biological yield (2.8%) than CA-based treatments (ZT-N100). SSD-N100 dominated ZT-N100 and PTR treatment in terms of plant N content (both grain and straw), total N uptake and N harvest index. PTR treatment resulted 22-33% higher ANUE than ZT-N100 and SSD-N100 treatments.

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

The escalating labour prices have significantly increased the production cost of kharif maize in ... more The escalating labour prices have significantly increased the production cost of kharif maize in India. To addressthis, a field experiment was conducted (2017) to evaluate the efficacy of post-emergence herbicide in kharif maize(Zea mays L.) at ICAR-Indian Institute of Maize Research, Pusa Campus, New Delhi. The tank-mix post-emergenceherbicide application, viz. tembotrione (120 g/ha) or topramezone (25.2 g/ha) at 15 DAS with 75% atrazine (750 g/ha) or as a sequential application at 25 DAS after pre-emergence (PE) 75% atrazine gave significant weed control inkharif maize by reducing density and dry weight. Significantly higher weed-control efficiency, weed-control index,herbicide efficiency index and lower weed persistence index were found in weed-free check, which was at par withPE atrazine (1000 g/ha) followed by hand weeding at 25 DAS and the post-emergence herbicide application oftembotrione (120 g/ha) /topramezone (25.2 g/ha) as tank-mix with 75% atrazine dose as early post-eme...

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

Productivity and quality traits of forage crops are largely affected by agronomic management at f... more Productivity and quality traits of forage crops are largely affected by agronomic management at field conditions in different climatic strata. Therefore, the present field investigation was carried out during kharif season of 2014 and 2015 at ICAR-NDRI, Karnal to evaluate the effect of different planting densities and fertility levels on nutritive yields and quality of fodder maize (Zea mays L.). An experiment was laid out in split plot arrangement with three treatments in main-plot of planting densities of 60, 75 and 90 kg seed/ha and six treatments in subplot of nutrient levels, i.e. 0, 50, 75, 100, 125 and 150% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), i.e. 120 kg N/ha and 60 kg P2O5/ha. All the seed rates were found statistically at par for all the parameters except fiber fractions, i.e. neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) content, in which 60 kg/ha seed rate accumulated significantly lower fiber contents. However, numerically hi...

Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Jan 24, 2017

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

Relationship between zinc deficiencies in soil that inturn in crop plants, animal and ultimately ... more Relationship between zinc deficiencies in soil that inturn in crop plants, animal and ultimately in human nutrition is reported in several studies. Agronomic fortification through soil and foliar application of zinc could be viable option to improve the productivity and quality of fodder maize, which ultimately helps in alleviate zinc deficiency in animals. Therefore, we attempted to evaluate the performance of fodder maize (Zea mays L.) in two consecutive kharif seasons, i.e. 2014 and 2015. The experiment was laid out in split plot arrangement with two main-plot treatments consisting of varieties (African tall and J-1006) and six sub-plot treatments of zinc fertilization (Zn0-No zinc sulphate; Zn1-10 kg/ha ZnSO04 as basal dose ; Zn2 -20 kg/ha ZnSO04 as basal dose ; Zn3 -0.5% one foliar spray of ZnSO4 at 30 DAS ; Zn4 -0.5% two foliar spray of ZnSO4 at 30 and 45 DAS and Zn5 -10 kg/ha ZnSO4 as basal dose +0.5% one foliar spray at 30 DAS). Results shows that both the verieties tested w...

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

A field experiment was done in the long term conservation agriculture (CA)-based plots at ICAR-In... more A field experiment was done in the long term conservation agriculture (CA)-based plots at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) during 2018–19 with the treatments of nitrogen (N) point/line placement to compute the energy budgeting and soil enzymatic activity. There were four land management practices in main plots and in sub plots there were three nitrogen placement methods. Results of present study showed that the energy use efficiency was higher in the CA-based PB plots by 7.14% and 9.4% than CT plots in maize and wheat respectively. The energy output from the CA-based maize (Zea mays L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plots was significantly higher by 9.1–11.2% and 8.8–14.4% than CT plots. However, N point placement treatments i.e. NPM3 and NPM2 had 14.8% and 8.8% higher energy output than NPM1 plots in maize respectively. Similarly in wheat, NPM2 and NPM3 plots had 4.2% and 7.0% higher energy output than NPM1. The CA-based plots recorded an increase in soil...

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

Moisture and sulphur deficiency in soil are major reasons for low productivity of mustard [Brassi... more Moisture and sulphur deficiency in soil are major reasons for low productivity of mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.] in rainfed semi-arid areas. To overcome this problem a field experiment was conducted during 2013-15 to find out the effect of conservation agriculture and sulphur fertilization on productivity and resource-use efficiency of mustard under rainfed conditions. Five tillage and residue management practices, i.e. conventional tillage with 0, 2 and 4 t/ha crop residue; zero tillage with 2 and 4 t/ha crop residue were allocated to main plots and four sulphur levels (0, 15, 30 and 45 kg S/ha) in sub-plots. Result showed that zero tillage with 4 t/ha crop residue produced 24.6% higher mustard seed yield than conventional tillage without residue resulted maximum net returns (44.7 × 103 ₹/ ha). Similarly, highest water use efficiency (12.7 kg/ha mm) and total nutrient uptake were also recorded in the same treatment. Increasing levels of sulphur (S) up to 45 kg/ha significant...

Indian farming, 2014

Maize was traditionally grown as subsistence crop in rainfed ecologies till 2000 and hence there ... more Maize was traditionally grown as subsistence crop in rainfed ecologies till 2000 and hence there exist large management yield gaps in which large proportion was contributed by imbalance and inappropriate plant nutrition with multiple nutrient deficiencies. After 2005, maize grew at very faster rate in terms of area expansion in non-traditional assured ecologies replacing less remunerative crop due to higher productivity. In this context, for enhancing and sustaining higher maize productivity and profitability will be based on balanced adequate fertilization in maize systems using all available organic and inorganic sources with proper crop rotations and timing of application.

Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 2019

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-R). Overall, 2-year mean maize, wheat and chickpea grain/seed yield was found to be 17.0-23.2, 20.8-24.8 and 22-31.7% higher under CA-based PB+R/ZT+R than CT-R, but it was 5.3-10.9, 4.9-8.4 and 13.8-22.8% higher than CT+R, respectively. The yield of maize, wheat and chickpea was significantly (P<0.05) higher in CA-based PB+R and ZT+R systems compared to CT-R right from first year onwards. The MW and MC, 2-year mean system productivity (based on maize equivalent yield-MEY) was higher by 21.1-21.9 and 18.7-27.5% in CA-based systems (PB+R & ZT+R) than in the CT-R, respectively. CA-based PB+R and ZT+R practices reduced the total system water use in MW and MC rotations by 75-112 mm and 55-90 mm and resulted enhanced system water productivity (WP) compared to CT-R system. Irrespective of crop rotations and TCE practices residue management treatments enhances the soil moisture (in the range of 14.5 to 30.4% during winter and monsoon seasons) and also moderates the soil temperatures. Economic profit for MW and MC rotations was always significantly (P<0.05) higher (168-445 and 215-619 US$/ha/year) in CA-based systems than in CT-R. Findings of our study shows that MW and MC rotations under CA-based system is one of the way for improving crop productivity, WP and farm income with less risk of extreme temperature and moisture stress while sustaining the natural resources in Western IGP of India and other similar agro-ecologies of South Asia.

Pedosphere, 2017

This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service... more This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

Conservation agriculture (CA)-based practices have been promoted and recouped, as they hold the p... more Conservation agriculture (CA)-based practices have been promoted and recouped, as they hold the potential to enhance farm profits besides a consistent improvement in soil properties. A 7 years' field experiment consisting of three crop establishment practices viz., zero-till flatbed (ZTFB), permanent beds (PNB), conventional system (CT) along with the three-nutrient management; nutrient expert-based application (NE), recommended fertilization (RDF), and farmers’ fertilizer practice (FFP), was carried out from 2013 to 2020. The CA-based practices (ZTFB/PNB) produced 13.9–17.6% greater maize grain-equivalent yield (MGEY) compared to the CT, while NE and RDF had 10.7–20% greater MGEY than the FFP. PNB and ZTFB gave 28.8% and 24% additional net returns than CT, while NE and RDF had 22.8% and 17.4% greater returns, respectively over FFP. PNB and ZTFB had 2.3–4.1% (0.0–0.20 m soil layers) lower bulk density than the CT. Furthermore, microbial biomass carbon (MBC) increased by 8–19% (0...

Burleigh Dodds Series in Agricultural Science

South Asia, a home of 1.7 billion people houses the most poor and malnourished people globally. T... more South Asia, a home of 1.7 billion people houses the most poor and malnourished people globally. The region need to double its food production by 2050. Current scenario puts South Asian agriculture in a dilema facing triple challenges: to increase production to meet the food demand of growing human population with a lower environmental footprint, preserve natural resources and mitigate or adapt to the changing climatic scenarios. Conservation Agriculture offers a number of benefits such as arresting and reversing the resource degradation, decreasing cultivation costs, making agriculture more resource – use-efficient, competitive and sustainable whilst increasing resilience to climatic variability and improving livelihood incomes in South Asia. The CA approach for managing agro-ecosystems is of paramount significance in improving soil health, sustained productivity and maintaining natural biodiversity. However, there is still a large knowledge gap in understanding of nutrient and wate...

With the growing population and high farmer to extension worker ratio, there is a great need for ... more With the growing population and high farmer to extension worker ratio, there is a great need for an intuitive knowledge based system, which may suggest suitable solutions to the farmers. Expert system on maize attempts to capture the knowledge of human experts and make it available through computer programme. Maize expert system has four essential components i.e. the knowledge acquisition module, the knowledge base, the inference engine and the explanatory interface. The knowledge acquisition module consists of gathering of knowledge from the panel of experts of different field of maize e.g. varieties, insects, diseases, etc. It also stores the facts from textbooks, technical /extension /research bulletins. A knowledge engineer further processes it through programming and refinements. The inference engine is the heart of an expert system. It processes the input i.e. the problem statement. The explanatory interface allows the user to get the results in Hypertext markup language, Java script and Cascaded style sheets. This system also explains the procedure to be followed by users to get answers of queries related to maize. Thus it is very useful tool for dissemination/ accessing relevant information related to maize across the globe.

Archives of microbiology, 2021

Microbial diversity formed by ages of evolution in soils plays an important role in sustainabilit... more Microbial diversity formed by ages of evolution in soils plays an important role in sustainability of crop production by enriching soil and alleviating biotic and abiotic stresses. This diversity is as an essential part of the agro-ecosystems, which is being pushed to edges by pumping agrochemicals and constant soil disturbances. Consequently, efficiency of cropping system has been decreasing, aggravated further by the increased incidence of abiotic stresses due to changes in climatic patterns. Thus, the sustainability of agriculture is at stake. Understanding the microbiota inhabiting phyllosphere, endosphere, spermosphere, rhizosphere, and non-rhizosphere, and its utilization could be a sustainable crop production strategy. This review explores the available information on diversity of beneficial microbes in agricultural ecosystem and synthesizes their commercial uses in agriculture. Microbiota in agro-ecosystem works by nutrient acquisition, enhancing nutrient availability, water...

Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 2015

Site-specific-nutrient-management (SSNM)-nutrient expert (NE) is the recently developed precision... more Site-specific-nutrient-management (SSNM)-nutrient expert (NE) is the recently developed precision nutrient management technology guided by decision-support system software for improving crop yields, environmental-quality and overall agricultural sustainability specifically in South-Asian Indo-Gangetic Plains Region (IGPR). SSNM-NE in maize-wheat cropping system (MWCS) assumes a great-significance to restore soil-fertility and enhance farm nutrient-use efficiency with minimal deleterious effects on environment. Therefore, an attempt was made to develop and standardize SSNM-NE technology in MWCS. Results indicated that system-productivity in terms of wheatequivalent yield (WEY) with SSNM-NE + FYM @ 5 tonnes/ha (9.60 Mg/ha) and with 125% recommended NPK (RDF) (9.33 Mg/ha) was ~38.8; 12.3% and 36.8; 9.8% higher over control and 100%RDF (2 years’ av.), respectively. Among nutrient-management schedules, SSNM-NE + FYM registered highest available N, K and soil organic carbon (SOC) in 0-15 ...

Agronomy, 2020

The conventional tillage based rice-wheat system (RWS) in Indo-genetic plains (IGP) of South Asia... more The conventional tillage based rice-wheat system (RWS) in Indo-genetic plains (IGP) of South Asia is facing diverse challenges like increase in production cost and erratic climatic events. This results in stagnated crop productivity and declined farm profitability with increased emission of greenhouse gases. Therefore, 3-year multi-location farmer’s participatory research trial was conducted to assess the impact of crop establishment and residue management techniques on crop productivity, economic profitability and environmental footprints in RWS. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of combinations of improved agronomic technologies compared to farmer’s practices (FP) on crop productivity, profitability, resource use efficiency and environmental footprints. The experiment had six scenarios that is, S1-Farmer’s practice; Conventional tillage (CT) without residue; S2-CT with residue, S3- Reduced tillage (RT) with residue + Recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF); S4-RT/zero t...

With the advent of Green Revolution, food grain production in India increased substantially over ... more With the advent of Green Revolution, food grain production in India increased substantially over time and has primarily been guided by (a) the improvement of genetic potentials of crops; (b) higher application of external inputs (nutrients, water, pesticides); and (c) increased mechanization. However, agriculture in India is currently facing triple challenges of natural resource degradation, decelerating productivity growth of cereal crops, and diminishing farm income. The emerging challenges of climate change further aggravate the problem, posing a threat to future food security. Conservation agriculture (CA)-based management has emerged as a new paradigm globally, to achieve goals of sustainable agricultural production. However, the soil nutrient dynamics over time will be varied under CA compared to conventional plough-based farming practices. Conventional fertiliser recommendations (rate, time and method) calibrated under conventional tillage (CT)-based management do not necessa...

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

A field study was framed in rice crop under conservation agriculture (CA) based rice-wheat system... more A field study was framed in rice crop under conservation agriculture (CA) based rice-wheat system at experimental farm of Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA)-CIMMYT, Ladhowal, Punjab, India during kharif 2019. In the present study, nine treatments were imposed out of which four are CA-based treatments (ZT-N0, ZT-N50, ZT-N75 and ZT-N100), four are CA coupled with subsurface drip fertigation (CA+) based treatments (SSD-N0,SSD-N50, SSD-N75 and SSD-N100) and puddled transplanted rice (PTR) treatment as farmer's practice. The findings of the study showed that PTR treatment out yielded in terms of yield attributing characters and biological yield than other treatments. CA+ treatment (SSD-N100) resulted higher biological yield (2.8%) than CA-based treatments (ZT-N100). SSD-N100 dominated ZT-N100 and PTR treatment in terms of plant N content (both grain and straw), total N uptake and N harvest index. PTR treatment resulted 22-33% higher ANUE than ZT-N100 and SSD-N100 treatments.

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

The escalating labour prices have significantly increased the production cost of kharif maize in ... more The escalating labour prices have significantly increased the production cost of kharif maize in India. To addressthis, a field experiment was conducted (2017) to evaluate the efficacy of post-emergence herbicide in kharif maize(Zea mays L.) at ICAR-Indian Institute of Maize Research, Pusa Campus, New Delhi. The tank-mix post-emergenceherbicide application, viz. tembotrione (120 g/ha) or topramezone (25.2 g/ha) at 15 DAS with 75% atrazine (750 g/ha) or as a sequential application at 25 DAS after pre-emergence (PE) 75% atrazine gave significant weed control inkharif maize by reducing density and dry weight. Significantly higher weed-control efficiency, weed-control index,herbicide efficiency index and lower weed persistence index were found in weed-free check, which was at par withPE atrazine (1000 g/ha) followed by hand weeding at 25 DAS and the post-emergence herbicide application oftembotrione (120 g/ha) /topramezone (25.2 g/ha) as tank-mix with 75% atrazine dose as early post-eme...

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

Productivity and quality traits of forage crops are largely affected by agronomic management at f... more Productivity and quality traits of forage crops are largely affected by agronomic management at field conditions in different climatic strata. Therefore, the present field investigation was carried out during kharif season of 2014 and 2015 at ICAR-NDRI, Karnal to evaluate the effect of different planting densities and fertility levels on nutritive yields and quality of fodder maize (Zea mays L.). An experiment was laid out in split plot arrangement with three treatments in main-plot of planting densities of 60, 75 and 90 kg seed/ha and six treatments in subplot of nutrient levels, i.e. 0, 50, 75, 100, 125 and 150% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), i.e. 120 kg N/ha and 60 kg P2O5/ha. All the seed rates were found statistically at par for all the parameters except fiber fractions, i.e. neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) content, in which 60 kg/ha seed rate accumulated significantly lower fiber contents. However, numerically hi...

Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Jan 24, 2017

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

Relationship between zinc deficiencies in soil that inturn in crop plants, animal and ultimately ... more Relationship between zinc deficiencies in soil that inturn in crop plants, animal and ultimately in human nutrition is reported in several studies. Agronomic fortification through soil and foliar application of zinc could be viable option to improve the productivity and quality of fodder maize, which ultimately helps in alleviate zinc deficiency in animals. Therefore, we attempted to evaluate the performance of fodder maize (Zea mays L.) in two consecutive kharif seasons, i.e. 2014 and 2015. The experiment was laid out in split plot arrangement with two main-plot treatments consisting of varieties (African tall and J-1006) and six sub-plot treatments of zinc fertilization (Zn0-No zinc sulphate; Zn1-10 kg/ha ZnSO04 as basal dose ; Zn2 -20 kg/ha ZnSO04 as basal dose ; Zn3 -0.5% one foliar spray of ZnSO4 at 30 DAS ; Zn4 -0.5% two foliar spray of ZnSO4 at 30 and 45 DAS and Zn5 -10 kg/ha ZnSO4 as basal dose +0.5% one foliar spray at 30 DAS). Results shows that both the verieties tested w...

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

A field experiment was done in the long term conservation agriculture (CA)-based plots at ICAR-In... more A field experiment was done in the long term conservation agriculture (CA)-based plots at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) during 2018–19 with the treatments of nitrogen (N) point/line placement to compute the energy budgeting and soil enzymatic activity. There were four land management practices in main plots and in sub plots there were three nitrogen placement methods. Results of present study showed that the energy use efficiency was higher in the CA-based PB plots by 7.14% and 9.4% than CT plots in maize and wheat respectively. The energy output from the CA-based maize (Zea mays L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plots was significantly higher by 9.1–11.2% and 8.8–14.4% than CT plots. However, N point placement treatments i.e. NPM3 and NPM2 had 14.8% and 8.8% higher energy output than NPM1 plots in maize respectively. Similarly in wheat, NPM2 and NPM3 plots had 4.2% and 7.0% higher energy output than NPM1. The CA-based plots recorded an increase in soil...

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

Moisture and sulphur deficiency in soil are major reasons for low productivity of mustard [Brassi... more Moisture and sulphur deficiency in soil are major reasons for low productivity of mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.] in rainfed semi-arid areas. To overcome this problem a field experiment was conducted during 2013-15 to find out the effect of conservation agriculture and sulphur fertilization on productivity and resource-use efficiency of mustard under rainfed conditions. Five tillage and residue management practices, i.e. conventional tillage with 0, 2 and 4 t/ha crop residue; zero tillage with 2 and 4 t/ha crop residue were allocated to main plots and four sulphur levels (0, 15, 30 and 45 kg S/ha) in sub-plots. Result showed that zero tillage with 4 t/ha crop residue produced 24.6% higher mustard seed yield than conventional tillage without residue resulted maximum net returns (44.7 × 103 ₹/ ha). Similarly, highest water use efficiency (12.7 kg/ha mm) and total nutrient uptake were also recorded in the same treatment. Increasing levels of sulphur (S) up to 45 kg/ha significant...

Indian farming, 2014

Maize was traditionally grown as subsistence crop in rainfed ecologies till 2000 and hence there ... more Maize was traditionally grown as subsistence crop in rainfed ecologies till 2000 and hence there exist large management yield gaps in which large proportion was contributed by imbalance and inappropriate plant nutrition with multiple nutrient deficiencies. After 2005, maize grew at very faster rate in terms of area expansion in non-traditional assured ecologies replacing less remunerative crop due to higher productivity. In this context, for enhancing and sustaining higher maize productivity and profitability will be based on balanced adequate fertilization in maize systems using all available organic and inorganic sources with proper crop rotations and timing of application.

Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 2019

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-R). Overall, 2-year mean maize, wheat and chickpea grain/seed yield was found to be 17.0-23.2, 20.8-24.8 and 22-31.7% higher under CA-based PB+R/ZT+R than CT-R, but it was 5.3-10.9, 4.9-8.4 and 13.8-22.8% higher than CT+R, respectively. The yield of maize, wheat and chickpea was significantly (P<0.05) higher in CA-based PB+R and ZT+R systems compared to CT-R right from first year onwards. The MW and MC, 2-year mean system productivity (based on maize equivalent yield-MEY) was higher by 21.1-21.9 and 18.7-27.5% in CA-based systems (PB+R & ZT+R) than in the CT-R, respectively. CA-based PB+R and ZT+R practices reduced the total system water use in MW and MC rotations by 75-112 mm and 55-90 mm and resulted enhanced system water productivity (WP) compared to CT-R system. Irrespective of crop rotations and TCE practices residue management treatments enhances the soil moisture (in the range of 14.5 to 30.4% during winter and monsoon seasons) and also moderates the soil temperatures. Economic profit for MW and MC rotations was always significantly (P<0.05) higher (168-445 and 215-619 US$/ha/year) in CA-based systems than in CT-R. Findings of our study shows that MW and MC rotations under CA-based system is one of the way for improving crop productivity, WP and farm income with less risk of extreme temperature and moisture stress while sustaining the natural resources in Western IGP of India and other similar agro-ecologies of South Asia.

Pedosphere, 2017

This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service... more This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

Conservation agriculture (CA)-based practices have been promoted and recouped, as they hold the p... more Conservation agriculture (CA)-based practices have been promoted and recouped, as they hold the potential to enhance farm profits besides a consistent improvement in soil properties. A 7 years' field experiment consisting of three crop establishment practices viz., zero-till flatbed (ZTFB), permanent beds (PNB), conventional system (CT) along with the three-nutrient management; nutrient expert-based application (NE), recommended fertilization (RDF), and farmers’ fertilizer practice (FFP), was carried out from 2013 to 2020. The CA-based practices (ZTFB/PNB) produced 13.9–17.6% greater maize grain-equivalent yield (MGEY) compared to the CT, while NE and RDF had 10.7–20% greater MGEY than the FFP. PNB and ZTFB gave 28.8% and 24% additional net returns than CT, while NE and RDF had 22.8% and 17.4% greater returns, respectively over FFP. PNB and ZTFB had 2.3–4.1% (0.0–0.20 m soil layers) lower bulk density than the CT. Furthermore, microbial biomass carbon (MBC) increased by 8–19% (0...

Burleigh Dodds Series in Agricultural Science

South Asia, a home of 1.7 billion people houses the most poor and malnourished people globally. T... more South Asia, a home of 1.7 billion people houses the most poor and malnourished people globally. The region need to double its food production by 2050. Current scenario puts South Asian agriculture in a dilema facing triple challenges: to increase production to meet the food demand of growing human population with a lower environmental footprint, preserve natural resources and mitigate or adapt to the changing climatic scenarios. Conservation Agriculture offers a number of benefits such as arresting and reversing the resource degradation, decreasing cultivation costs, making agriculture more resource – use-efficient, competitive and sustainable whilst increasing resilience to climatic variability and improving livelihood incomes in South Asia. The CA approach for managing agro-ecosystems is of paramount significance in improving soil health, sustained productivity and maintaining natural biodiversity. However, there is still a large knowledge gap in understanding of nutrient and wate...

With the growing population and high farmer to extension worker ratio, there is a great need for ... more With the growing population and high farmer to extension worker ratio, there is a great need for an intuitive knowledge based system, which may suggest suitable solutions to the farmers. Expert system on maize attempts to capture the knowledge of human experts and make it available through computer programme. Maize expert system has four essential components i.e. the knowledge acquisition module, the knowledge base, the inference engine and the explanatory interface. The knowledge acquisition module consists of gathering of knowledge from the panel of experts of different field of maize e.g. varieties, insects, diseases, etc. It also stores the facts from textbooks, technical /extension /research bulletins. A knowledge engineer further processes it through programming and refinements. The inference engine is the heart of an expert system. It processes the input i.e. the problem statement. The explanatory interface allows the user to get the results in Hypertext markup language, Java script and Cascaded style sheets. This system also explains the procedure to be followed by users to get answers of queries related to maize. Thus it is very useful tool for dissemination/ accessing relevant information related to maize across the globe.

Archives of microbiology, 2021

Microbial diversity formed by ages of evolution in soils plays an important role in sustainabilit... more Microbial diversity formed by ages of evolution in soils plays an important role in sustainability of crop production by enriching soil and alleviating biotic and abiotic stresses. This diversity is as an essential part of the agro-ecosystems, which is being pushed to edges by pumping agrochemicals and constant soil disturbances. Consequently, efficiency of cropping system has been decreasing, aggravated further by the increased incidence of abiotic stresses due to changes in climatic patterns. Thus, the sustainability of agriculture is at stake. Understanding the microbiota inhabiting phyllosphere, endosphere, spermosphere, rhizosphere, and non-rhizosphere, and its utilization could be a sustainable crop production strategy. This review explores the available information on diversity of beneficial microbes in agricultural ecosystem and synthesizes their commercial uses in agriculture. Microbiota in agro-ecosystem works by nutrient acquisition, enhancing nutrient availability, water...

Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 2015

Site-specific-nutrient-management (SSNM)-nutrient expert (NE) is the recently developed precision... more Site-specific-nutrient-management (SSNM)-nutrient expert (NE) is the recently developed precision nutrient management technology guided by decision-support system software for improving crop yields, environmental-quality and overall agricultural sustainability specifically in South-Asian Indo-Gangetic Plains Region (IGPR). SSNM-NE in maize-wheat cropping system (MWCS) assumes a great-significance to restore soil-fertility and enhance farm nutrient-use efficiency with minimal deleterious effects on environment. Therefore, an attempt was made to develop and standardize SSNM-NE technology in MWCS. Results indicated that system-productivity in terms of wheatequivalent yield (WEY) with SSNM-NE + FYM @ 5 tonnes/ha (9.60 Mg/ha) and with 125% recommended NPK (RDF) (9.33 Mg/ha) was ~38.8; 12.3% and 36.8; 9.8% higher over control and 100%RDF (2 years’ av.), respectively. Among nutrient-management schedules, SSNM-NE + FYM registered highest available N, K and soil organic carbon (SOC) in 0-15 ...

Agronomy, 2020

The conventional tillage based rice-wheat system (RWS) in Indo-genetic plains (IGP) of South Asia... more The conventional tillage based rice-wheat system (RWS) in Indo-genetic plains (IGP) of South Asia is facing diverse challenges like increase in production cost and erratic climatic events. This results in stagnated crop productivity and declined farm profitability with increased emission of greenhouse gases. Therefore, 3-year multi-location farmer’s participatory research trial was conducted to assess the impact of crop establishment and residue management techniques on crop productivity, economic profitability and environmental footprints in RWS. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of combinations of improved agronomic technologies compared to farmer’s practices (FP) on crop productivity, profitability, resource use efficiency and environmental footprints. The experiment had six scenarios that is, S1-Farmer’s practice; Conventional tillage (CT) without residue; S2-CT with residue, S3- Reduced tillage (RT) with residue + Recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF); S4-RT/zero t...

With the advent of Green Revolution, food grain production in India increased substantially over ... more With the advent of Green Revolution, food grain production in India increased substantially over time and has primarily been guided by (a) the improvement of genetic potentials of crops; (b) higher application of external inputs (nutrients, water, pesticides); and (c) increased mechanization. However, agriculture in India is currently facing triple challenges of natural resource degradation, decelerating productivity growth of cereal crops, and diminishing farm income. The emerging challenges of climate change further aggravate the problem, posing a threat to future food security. Conservation agriculture (CA)-based management has emerged as a new paradigm globally, to achieve goals of sustainable agricultural production. However, the soil nutrient dynamics over time will be varied under CA compared to conventional plough-based farming practices. Conventional fertiliser recommendations (rate, time and method) calibrated under conventional tillage (CT)-based management do not necessa...