Effect of Tillage, Residue and Nitrogen Management on Soil Water Dynamics and Water Productivity of Wheat in an Inceptisol

Effect of conservation tillage on yield of spring wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i> L.) and soil mineral nitrogen and carbon content

“…Our findings demonstrated that different conservation tillage management practices significantly increased soil NO 3 --N, NH 4 + -N, and SOC at a 0-30 cm soil depth from 2016 to 2019 compared with CT soil practice as shown in Fig. 4, 5 and 6 which is consistent with the results of other researchers (Han et al, 2020;Rani et al, 2017;Jat et al, 2017;Lafond et al, 2011). There was a multi-factor explanation for improvements in soil NO 3 --N, NH 4 + -N, and SOC under CTS, NTS, and NT treatment.…”

“…Our observations suggest that conservation tillage practices improved soil NO 3 --N, NH 4 + -N, and SOC. In addition, the level of soil NO 3 --N was higher than soil NH 4 + -N. These findings are in accordance with the results of (Rani et al, 2017) who reported that straw incorporation significantly improved the level of NO 3 --N and NH 4 + -N. There is a positive correlation between surface soil NO 3 --N with the surface as well as sub-surface soil NH 4 + -N and SOC whilst a negative correlation was observed between surface NO 3 --N with sub-surface soil NO 3 --N shown in Table 5. Furthermore, a negative correlation was recorded between sub-surface soil NH 4 + -N and SOC with sub-surface soil NO 3 --N. In addition, a positive correlation was found between surface soil NH 4 + -N and surface SOC whereas a negative correlation was observed between sub-surface soil NH 4 + -N and sub-surface SOC, and this coincides with the findings observed by (Rani et al, 2017;Lafond et al, 2011).…”

“…There was a multi-factor explanation for improvements in soil NO 3 --N, NH 4 + -N, and SOC under CTS, NTS, and NT treatment. Firstly, straw can reduce nitrogen leaching and volatilization losses by minimizing the soil temperature and finally improving soil NO 3 --N and NH 4 + -N (Rani et al, 2017). In the case of SOC, the maximum SOC was due to climatic conditions which increased the crop residue decomposition (Wang et al, 2017).…”

“…However, Brennan et al (2014) indicated that crop residues did not have any notable effect on agronomic attributing factors and also found that straw incorporation caused a reduction in crop yield. Rani et al (2017) declared that residue incorporation notably increased soil NO 3 --N and NH 4 + -N content as compared with the implementation of CT.…”

“…The application of crop residues facilitate nutrient cycling and mineralization intensity and that's why nitrogen availability is lower under the no-till system as compared to straw incorporation practice. The conventional tillage system enhanced the soil temperature which increased the decomposition of organic matter and hence improved mineralization (Rani et al, 2017).…”