Yield trends and nutrient budgeting under a long-term (28 years) nutrient management in rice-wheat cropping system under subtropical climatic condition

Abstract

We measured the long-term (28 years) sustainability of rice-wheat cropping system under integrated nutrient management practices emphasizing the trends in grain yields, sustainable yield index (SYI) and nutrient budgeting. The data of long-term experiment revealed that grain yield of both rice and wheat declined under control and sub-optimal fertilizer inputs (50% or 75% recommended fertilizer NPK). Negative yield trend (slope) was observed in control plots for rice (-0.0296) and wheat (-0.0070); whereas positive yield trend was observed under treatments receiving organic supplements. The SYI values indicate that rice yields are more sustainable than wheat. Data on apparent nutrient balance showed a deficit of N (-42.2 kg/ha/year), P (-9.1 kg/ha/year) and K (-52.2 kg/ha/year) under control plots. Surprisingly, there was net depletion of K under the organic supplemented plots. Correlation study revealed that apparent balance of K was negatively correlated with SYI (r = -0.921 for rice; r = -0.914 for wheat) and yield slope (r = -0.870 for rice; r = -0.896 for wheat). If the trend of K imbalance is not reversed, the potential to improve N and P fertilizer use efficiency and crop yields will be limited.

Integrated Nutrient Management for Enhanced Yield, Nutrients Uptake and Their Use Efficiency in Rice under Intensive Rice-Wheat Cropping System

“…Integrated use of nutrient sources accelerates translocation of nutrients to the economic part of the crops, hence resulted higher grain yield with albeit no significance in straw yield (Das et al, 2014). Our study also showed coherence with the facts, that application of green manures Sesbania and Crotalaria at 10.0 t ha -1 along with NPK to rice compared to no green manure application significantly increased grain yield of rice by 1.6 and 1.1 t ha -1 , respectively.…”

“…Thus, INM approach is not only a reliable way for obtaining fairly high productivity with increased FUE but also an alternative practice towards sustainable agriculture. Modgal et al, 1995;Ladha et al, 2003;Das et al, 2014) and provides food security for 400 million of people (Ladha et al, 2000). Looking at the actual scenario in the northern alluvial belt, it seems that available resources and input use may account for higher productivity in Punjab and poor yields in Bihar (Modgal et al, 1995).…”

Integrated Nutrient Management in Rice–Wheat Cropping System: An Evidence on Sustainability in the Indian Subcontinent through Meta-Analysis

“…The study [3] analyzed apparent balances of the nutrients N, P, and K in the RWCS for an average of 28 years as influenced by a combination of organic and inorganic sources of nutrients. Apparent N balance was negative for the CO and IORA, whereas apparent N balance was positive for INM (50% recommended dose of fertilizer + 50% N straw).…”

“…Rice (Oryza sativa L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) crops are major staple foods, contributing a key portion of digestible energy and protein in human intake and occupying a premium position among all food communities [1][2][3]. The rice-wheat cropping system (RWCS) is one of the most prominent cropping systems prevailing on the Indian subcontinent and is considered to be of utmost importance for food security and livelihood [4][5][6][7].…”

Long-Term Green Manure Rotations Improve Soil Biochemical Properties, Yield Sustainability and Nutrient Balances in Acidic Paddy Soil under a Rice-Based Cropping System

“…Excessive use of inorganic fertilizers is a common practice to meet the nutrient need of high-yield varieties. Different long-term experiments have indicated that long-term continuous and excessive chemical fertilization degraded the soil quality and increased acidification, which resulted in poor crop sustainability [21,22].…”