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As part of a long-term experiment to determine the impacts of composted manure and straw amendments (replacing 50% of chemical fertilizer with composted pig manure, wheat straw return combined with chemical fertilizer, and setting no fertilizer and chemical fertilizer-only as controls) on rice-associated weeds in a rice (Oryza sativa L.)–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) rotation system, species richness, abundance, density, and biomass of weeds were assessed during years 8 and 9. Fertilization decreased the species richness and total density of rice-associated weeds but increased their total biomass. The species richness and densities of broadleaf and sedge weeds decreased with fertilization, while species richness of grass weeds increased only with straw return and density was not significantly affected. The shoot biomass per square meter of grass and broadleaf weeds was significantly higher with fertilization treatments than with the no-fertilizer control, while that of sedge weeds declined with fertilizer application. With fertilization, the densities of monarch redstem (Ammannia baccifera L.) and smallflower umbrella sedge (Cyperus difformis L.) decreased, that of Chinese sprangletop [Leptochloa chinensis (L.) Nees] increased, and those of barnyardgrass [Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv.] and monochoria [Monochoria vaginalis (Burm. f.) C. Presl ex Kunth] were not significantly affected. Ammannia baccifera was the most abundant weed species in all treatments. Whereas composted pig manure plus fertilizer resulted in higher density of A. baccifera and lower shoot biomass per plant than chemical fertilizer only, wheat straw return plus chemical fertilizer caused lower density and shoot biomass of A. baccifera. Therefore, it may be possible that fertilization strategies that suppress specific weeds could be used as improved weed management program components in rice production systems.

The Triticum pathotype of Magnaporthe oryzae (syn. Pyricularia oryzae) causes wheat blast, which has recently spread to Asia. To assess the potential risk of wheat blast in rice–wheat growing regions, we investigated the pathogenicity of 14 isolates of P. oryzae on 32 wheat cultivars, among which Oryzae pathotype of P. oryzae (MoO) isolates were completely avirulent on the wheat cultivars at 22°C but caused various degrees of infection 25°C. These reactions at 25°C were isolate and cultivar dependent, like race-cultivar specificity, which was also recognized at the heading stage and caused typical blast symptoms on spikes. Microscopic analyses indicated that a compatible MoO isolate produced appressoria and infection hyphae on wheat as on rice. When we compared transcriptomes in wheat–MoO interactions, the bulk of pathogen-related genes were upregulated or downregulated in compatible and incompatible patterns, but changes in gene transcription were more significant in a compatible pattern. These results indicate that temperature could influence the infection ratio of wheat with MoO, and some MoO strains could be potential pathogens that increase the risk of wheat blast outbreaks in wheat–rice growing regions with global warming. In addition, certain wheat cultivars exhibited resistance and are assumed to carry resistance-promoting genes to the MoO strains.

Beneficial response of application of fertilizer enriched press mud @ 15 t ha−1, rice straw compost @ 6 t ha−1, poultry manure @ 6 t ha−1 and farmyard manure @ 15 t ha−1 to rice crop was reported i...

In agroecosystems, straw return is a useful management strategy for increasing soil fertility and crop productivity. The total organic carbon (TOC), dissolved organic C (DOC), and microbial biomass C (MBC) contents all increased significantly when compared to the no straw return (N) and straw return (S) treatments, while the easily oxidizable C content remained same. The S treatment resulted in a 28–52 percent increase in soil light fraction, light fraction organic C, and particle organic C over the N treatment. When compared to the N treatment, crop straw return increased total phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA), bacterial biomass, and actinomycete biomass by 52, 75, and 56 percent, respectively. Under short-term crop straw return, MBC and TOC were the two key determinants determining microbial populations. In comparison to residue removal, residue retention (RR) enhanced SOC storage by 11.3 percent. SOC content and contribution of macro-aggregates in the 0-20 cm depth and micro-aggregates in the 20-40 cm depth rose significantly when no-tillage and straw returns were used together. When no-tillage with straw returning (NTS) was used instead of CT, SOC content, mean weight diameter (MWD), geometric mean diameter (GMD), and fractal dimensions (FD) rose by 25%, 21%, 19%, and 12%, respectively, in the 0-20 cm depth. Soil micro-aggregates were greater in the 20-40 cm depth after CTS treatment. In the 0-20 cm depth, the percentages of macro- and micro-aggregates increased by 60% and 40%, respectively, under NTS. MWD, GMD, > 5, 2-5, 1-2, and 0.25-0.5 mm aggregates all had a positive linear relationship with the SOC. Microbial biomass C (MBC) was considerably enhanced by 20.0 percent when compared to conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT), but total organic C (TOC), dissolved organic C (DOC), readily oxidizable C (EOC), and SOC of aggregates were not affected. MBC increased by 18.3% and SOC content of 2–1-mm aggregate increased by 9.4% when residue was returned. Total PLFAs grew by 9.8%, while fungal biomass increased by 40.8 percent, thanks to NT. Total PLFAs, bacterial biomass, fungal biomass, F/B, and MUFA/STFA were all increased by 31.1, 36.0, 95.9, 42.5, and 58.8 percent, respectively, while microbial stress was reduced by 45.9%. Wheat straw return had a considerable impact on the bacterial community in the soil, but not on the fungus community. It increased the relative abundance of the bacteria phylum Proteobacteria and the fungal phylum Zygomycota, while decreasing the relative richness of the bacterial phylum Acidobacteria and the fungal phylum Ascomycota. It increased the relative abundance of nitrogen-cycling bacterial taxa including Bradyrhizobium and Rhizobium, among others. This diversity includes bacteria, cyanobacteria, archaea, planctomycetes, and -proteobacteria, as well as endophytes. The system's intricacy and dynamic nature necessitate in-depth research on the three-part interactions between plants, microorganisms, and the soil-water environment.

The rice-wheat cropping system (RWCS) played a significant role in national food security. This system is having a huge potential to feed the increasing population of India. But with continuous adoption of the rice-wheat system, different issues and challenges have emerged and resulted in the decline or stagnated the productivity of this system. In these conditions’ diversification of the RWCS can be a viable option for higher productivity, profitability and efficient and sustainable use of available natural resources. This review mainly highlighted the major issues associated with the rice-wheat cropping system in India along with the alternate cropping system for crop diversification by substitution various crops viz. legume, maize, oilseed, fodder, vegetables and cash crop to tackle them. The comparison of various cropping system in term their crop productivity, economics analysis, water and nutrient productivity, and maintaining soil health.

A field trial was conducted at rice research station, Kaul (Kaithal) of CCSHAU, Hisar during the Rabi season to study theeffect of tillage practices and residue retention on nutrient content in seed and straw of different wheat varieties. The six wheat varieties viz; HD 2967, HD 3086, WH 1105, WH 711, WH 1124 and WH 1142 were grown under four tillage systems: turbo seeder with full residue retention, turbo seeder with intact residue, zero tillage with no residue and conventional tillage with no residue methods. The nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) content in seed and straw were not influenced by different sowing techniques during both the years but nitrogen content was significantly affected during second year of study. However, the maximum N, P and K content (%) in seed and straw of wheat was achieved with turbo seeder sowing wheat under full residue retention and minimum content was recorded in conventional tillage with no residue retention during both years. Among varieties, significant difference was observed in term of nitrogen and potassium content in seed and straw. WH 1105 recorded significantly higher N content (%) in grain while more N content (%) in straw was found in WH 1124 during 2018 and 2019. While K content (%) in seed was more in WH 711 which was at par with WH 1142 and WH 1105 whereas, K content(%)in straw was more in WH 1124 variety being at par with WH 1142 in both years of study. However, Phosphorus content (%) in grain and straw of different wheat varieties was not differed significantly during 2 years of experiment.In conclusion, the different sowing methods had non- significant effects on the nutrient content but varietal genotype of wheat had more influence nutrient content in seed and straw under different sowing techniques.

Food and energy security are important issues that threaten human survival and development. The rice–wheat rotation system provides a stable source of food for more than 20% of the world's population, but there have been no reports on the energy balance of different rice–wheat rotation systems. This study evaluates the energy inputs and outputs of three rice–wheat rotation systems and their energy production efficiency through the study of dry direct‐seeded, wet direct‐seeded, and transplanted rice–wheat rotation systems. The results of the study showed that the average total energy inputs in the dry direct‐seeded, wet direct‐seeded, and transplanted rice–wheat rotation systems were 58,677, 74,083, and 69,022 MJ ha−1, respectively. The production resources with more energy input in rice–wheat rotation system were all related to water and fertilizer. The energy input in the rice season accounts for more than 50.69% of the total energy input in the rice–wheat rotation system. At the same time, rice–wheat rotation production is highly dependent on nonrenewable energy. Among the three rice–wheat rotation systems, the transplanted rice–wheat rotation system had the highest total energy output and net energy, while the dry direct‐seeded rice–wheat rotation had the highest energy use efficiency, energy productivity, energy profitability, and human energy profitability. The results showed that the key to reducing the energy input in the rice–wheat rotation system is to reduce the amount of water and fertilizer. The transplanted rice–wheat rotation system is more suitable for promotion in rice–wheat rotation production areas with good irrigation conditions, while the dry direct‐seeded rice–wheat rotation system is highly compatible with the current development direction of low energy consumption and high energy efficiency in agricultural production and is suitable for promotion in rice–wheat production areas with poor irrigation conditions.

In agricultural systems, it is vital to use limited yet optimal phosphorus (P) resources, because excessive P fertilizer application leads to the accumulation of P in soil, increasing the risk of environmental pollution and causing the waste and exhaustion of P resources. In a rice-wheat rotation system, omitting P fertilizer application in the rice-growing season is a good alternative; however, how this P fertilization reduction influences changes in P in the soil-root-aboveground system is unclear. In this study, after a seven-year rice-wheat rotation at the Yixing (YX) and Changshu (CS) sampling sites, China, compared with P fertilization in rice- and wheat-growing seasons (PR+W), reduced P fertilization (no P fertilizer application in either season, P0; P fertilization only in wheat-growing seasons, PW; and P fertilization only in rice-growing seasons, PR) did not result in substantial variation in crop biomass. The PW treatment did not reduce crop total P, root iron (Fe)-plaque P, and soil Olsen-P at three stages of rice growth (seedling, booting, and harvesting stages) at the YX and CS sites. In contrast, concentrations of soil Olsen-P, aboveground crop total P, and root Fe-plaque P decreased in the P0 treatment by 45.8%–81.0%, 24.6%–30.9%, and 45.6%–73.4%, respectively. In addition, a significant negative correlation was observed between the root Fe-plaque P and crop biomass at the two sites. Significant positive correlations were also observed between root Fe-plaque P and root total P, crop total P, and soil Olsen-P. In addition, the results of a redundancy analysis revealed that soil alkaline phosphatase (ALP) played a major role in the supply of P in soil, and was closely associated with root Fe-plaque P. The results of this study will enhance the understanding of the changes in P in the soil-root-aboveground system, particularly under P fertilizer reduction regimes.

A field experiment was conducted on sandy loam soil at Crop Research Centre of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture & Technology, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh during rabi season (December 2018 to April 2019) in randomised block design with three replications. The treatments comprised of twelve tillage crop establishment methods were used for the experimentation and different observations were recorded during the crop growth period. The results indicated that the growth characters of wheat were significantly higher under wide raised bed residue retention (T9) except narrow raised bed residue retention (T7) and conventional tillage residue incorporation (T11) compared to other treatments. The grain yield, biological yield, harvest Index, yield attributes and grain weight were higher in treatments T9, T7, and T11, respectively. The improvement in grain yield with the tune of 32.09%, 28.14% and 25.49% was under treatments T9, T7 and T11 as compared to T12. It can be concluded that among crop establishment methods, wide raised bed residue retention (T9) found excellent to increase growth, yield attributes and yield for sustainability of wheat crop.

A profound consideration of soil organic carbon (SOC) and SOC pools as affected by the long-term use of fertilizer in a fixed crop sequence is essential to understand and maintain the health and pr...

Soil carbon (C) pools and biological indicator plays an important role in maintaining soil quality. Land use change from naturally undisturbed to intense cultivation had significant impact on C sto...

The residual phosphorus (P) in Hedley’s sequential fractionation procedure is considered to be a relatively stable soil P pool and unavailable for plant uptake. In the present study, we investigated the effect of wetting-drying events on the dynamics of the residual soil P fraction in a flooded rice and aerobic wheat rotation. Soils were taken from a long-term field trial after flooded (rice), and aerobic (wheat) crops were harvested. Hedley’s sequential fractionation method was used to assess the distribution of various P fractions. These changes in these P fractions were then related to Fe cycling in the soil. The residual P (H2SO4-H2O2 digested) was the dominant P fraction (37–51% of total P) in the aerobic soil under wheat, while it was decreased by 18–27% in flooded soil under rice cultivation. In contrast, the sparingly soluble Ca-bound P (HCl-Pi) increased from 25–31% under wheat cultivation to 41–50% under flooded rice (paddy) cultivation where reducing conditions are expected to prevail under submerged paddy soil conditions. The crop rotation not only altered the sparingly available P fraction but also influenced soil labile P, especially the organic P form. Compared with the rice soil, a 4-fold increase in the labile P fraction (NaHCO3-Po) was observed in wheat soil. The moderately labile P fraction (NaOH-extractable) showed a similar trend to that of labile P pool, but the increased NaOH-Po in wheat soil was relatively small. The relatively rapid change in the residual P fraction was attributed to oxidation-reduction cycles of Fe oxides between flooded (rice) and aerobic (wheat) soil conditions. Wetting and drying cycles associated with a rice-wheat crop rotation promoted the transformation of the sparingly soluble soil P fraction between crops, which was attributed to changes in soil redox conditions, particularly Fe cycling. This indicated that the rice-wheat crop rotation can draw upon the sparingly soluble P fraction for crop production, thus relying less on fertilizer-applied P.

Soil organic matter (SOM) has long been recognized as an important indicator of soil productivity. The SOM refers to the organic fraction of undecayed plant and animal residues. The preservation of SOM is crucial to ensure long-term sustainability of agricultural ecosystems. OM plays a critical role in the global carbon balance that is thought to be the major factor affecting global warming. Overall, adequate amounts of SOM maintain soil quality and reduce environmental pollution. SOC concentrations and storage to 60 cm depth are significantly influenced due to long-term fertilization. The SOC storage in 0–60 cm in NP+FYM (farmyard manure), NP+S, FYM and NP treatments were increased as compared to the CK treatment. The concentration of particulate organic carbon (POC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) in organic manure plus inorganic fertilizer treatments (NP+S and NP+FYM) in 0–60 cm depth increased linearly with increasing SOC content. Light fraction organic carbon (LFOC) was also significantly higher following the treatments including organic amendment than following applications solely of chemical fertilizers. Application solely of chemical fertilizers had no significant effects on LFOC and KMnO4C fractions compared with unfertilized control plots. Carbon pools were significantly correlated with SOC, which increased with application of organic amendments. Threshold C input of 3.3 MgCha-1 yr-1 was needed to maintain the SOC stock even at the low antecedent level. This review study will be helpful in crafting sustainable nutrient management programs in the future to enhance crop productivity with high efficiency and minimum nutrient loss. Therefore, fertilization strategies that include organic manure can increase the pool of stable C in the surface soil layer, while at the same time increasing concentrations and proportions of labile C. Organic manure use contributes to improved nutrient cycling services and higher soil quality in rice-wheat system.

Despite being a major domain of global food supply, rice–wheat (RW) cropping system is questioned for its contribution to biomass burning in Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP). Enhancing the yield and soil...

In the rice-wheat rotation area, Cd contamination affects food safety of rice and wheat. However, there have been conflicting results and different conclusions on the difference in Cd accumulation capacity of rice and wheat, and the factors that led to the difference were not clear. A field survey study was conducted by collecting 60 soil and grain samples in pairs during rice and wheat harvest in 30 long-term rice-wheat rotation areas with clean and mild Cd contamination in Jiangsu Province, China. The soil physicochemical properties, total Cd, soil available Cd, and grain Cd were determined, and the factors affecting Cd accumulation in rice and wheat were analyzed. The soil pH during wheat season (22 sampling points) was slightly higher than that during rice season; thus, soil available Cd in wheat was generally lower (with an average three times lower) than that in rice soil. The mean Cd content in rice grain was only half of that in wheat grain, and the Cd concentration in rice and bioconcentration factor of rice at 26 sampling points (86.7% of total samples) were lower than those of wheat, indicating that Cd accumulation capacity of wheat was stronger than that of rice. Pearson correlation coefficient and multivariate linear regression models revealed that the main factors affecting the difference of Cd accumulation in rice and wheat were soil pH and available Cd content in soil. The Cd accumulation capacity of wheat was higher than that of rice, especially in neutral and alkaline soil, and the Cd contents in rice and wheat grain depended on the soil pH and available Cd content. The food security risk of wheat was more noteworthy than rice in rice-wheat rotation area.

Rice–wheat (RW) cropping system in India is a major source of N2O emissions. In such system, defining N rates that deliver minimal N2O emissions and economically optimum yield would benefit both fo...

Solid waste management and soil degradation are the two main issues faced by the developing countries. The present study is the first effort to use bio-municipal solid waste (MSW) for the ameliorat...

The effects of global warming on crop production have received great attention in recent years. However, inconsistent results have been obtained with regard to major crops such as rice and wheat in rice–wheat rotation systems of China. Therefore, we undertook a comprehensive meta‐analysis of literature data. The yield response to warming differed for rice and wheat in the rice–wheat rotation system. Overall, warming significantly increased wheat yield (by 4.8%) but significantly reduced rice yield (by 14.8%). A number of factors were responsible for these observations. For example, rice yield responses varied with the temperature increase, variety and nitrogen (N) rate. Of these, N was the most important variable influencing yield responses to warming. The yield loss for rice was lower at temperature increases of 0.40–1.40°C and at a high N rate than that at temperature increases of 1.60–2.49°C and at a low N rate, respectively. The yield loss of indica rice was lower than that of japonica rice. For wheat, however, yield responses to warming varied with the warming regime, ambient temperature, temperature increases, and CO2 concentrations. Of these factors, ambient temperature was the most important variable influencing yield in response to warming. Warming increased wheat yield at a mean growth season temperature ≤10°C, temperature increases of 0.80–1.50°C, and at ambient CO2 concentrations. In addition, either daytime warming or nighttime warming significantly increased wheat yield. However, all‐day warming had no effect on wheat yields. We conclude that global warming will benefit wheat production but result in a serious loss of rice yield in rice–wheat rotations in China.

Continuous cultivation of Rice-Wheat Cropping System (RWCS) in Indo-Gangetic Plains of India is showing declining factor productivity coupled with many environmental problems. Diversifying the RWCS is one of the environmental friendly options for sustaining food production.Four crop rotations involving maize and sorghum in summer, wheat/ potato/ mustard in winter followed by short duration green gram in late spring were studied to identify the most productive and economic combination from 2017 to 2020. Ranking of treatments by Tukey’s test of significance indicated that the maize-potato-wheat (16.49 t ha-1) combination was best in terms of system productivity calculated in terms of wheat equivalent yield (WEY). Maize-wheat-green gram crop sequence was most profitable by having higher Land Use Efficiency (LUE=87.67%) and net return (NR=1577.1 $ha-1). The gross margin comparison revealed that maize-based crop sequences earned higher gross returns (23.17%), net return (93.66%), and B: C ratio (23.7%) than sorghum-based crop sequences. Soil health parameters were improved under the maize-mustard-green gram system, which increased the organic carbon content by 28.65% and available N by 34.91%. Adoption of alternate cropping sequences instead of rice-wheat, in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of India could be more sustainable, profitable, and environment friendly.

The aims of the present study were to provide scientific bases for rational use of crop straw to substitute chemical potassium (K) input and to protect the ecological environment. The effects of potassium fertilization and straw incorporation on soil K balance and K supplying in a long-term (14 years) field experiment. Five treatments were examined: no fertilization and straw (CK); fertilization with no straw return (NPK); only straw return at 6000 kg hm-2 per season (RS); fertilization with straw return at 3000 kg hm-2 per season (NPKS); and fertilization with straw return at 6000 kg hm-2 per season (NPK2S). K composition, K balance and quantity-intensity (Q/I) relationship were studied. Under no fertilization or low straw returned conditions, soil K was unbalance and deficiency seriously. Straw return at 6000 kg hm-2 per season with fertilization improved the soil potassium supply and K balance. Long-term K surplus (4 or 5 years), Compared with NPK, the NPK2S significantly increased non-special adsorption K (Knsa) and non-exchangeable K (Kne) by 5.7 to 11.2 mg kg-1 and 65.7 to 128.1 mg kg-1, respectively. Q/I relationship showed cropping without straw K or without fertilizer K resulted in lower quantity (nonspecifically and specifically held K i.e. –∆K0 and Kx) and intensity (equilibrium activity ratio i.e. CR0K) of K in tested soils. K-fertilization with straw maintain higher exchangeable K (EK0) and a higher difference between EK0 and minimum exchangeable K(EKmin), and would help to prevent depletion in non-exchangeable pool of soil K under intensive cropping. Additionally, The straw return mainly decreased potential buffering capacity for exchangeable pool (PBCKn), 43.92% to 48.22% of added K in soil might be converted to exchangeable pool while it was 25.67% to 29.19% be converted to non-exchangeable pool. The contribution of exchangeable K towards plant K uptake would be higher in the soil with straw than the soil without straw and the non-exchangeable K would be the long-term fixed K as a supplement to the potassium pool. K fertilizer with 6000 kg hm-2 straw return in each crop season increased soil available K and slowly available K. The contribution of exchangeable K towards plant K uptake was higher in the soil with straw than without straw and the non-exchangeable K would be the long-term fixed K as a supplement to the potassium pool. The findings underlined important of the straw return and contribution for sustain K supplying ability of soils.

A field experiment was carried out at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Katihar, Bihar in jurisdiction of Bihar Agricultural University Sabour, Bhagalpur during 2014 to 2018 with the objective to find out suitable crop residue management option under rice- wheat cropping system in Inceptisols of Seemanchal area of Bihar. The results after four years clearly indicates that the crop residue management practices involving incorporation of residues improved favorably and significantly the soil properties such as bulk density, infiltration rate, mean weight diameter, aggregate stability, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, bacterial and fungal population, enzyme dehydrogenase and phosphatase activity in the soil and increased the grain yields of rice and wheat crop in the system over removal or burning of crop residue practices. Due to increased availability of readily decomposable organic matter in the form of crop residue and freshly incorporated green manure, the microbial population increased dramatically when crop residues are incorporated in the soil which might be responsible for increased enzyme phosphatase and dehydrogenase activity, decrease in bulk density, increase in granulation and aggregation and thus infiltration rate. The incorporation of crop residues with or without green manuring found promising for the environmental friendly and effective utilization of the crop residues under prevailing rice wheat system in this area.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is highly energy intensive winter crop grown in rice-wheat and cotton-wheat cropping systems in north-western India. In this study, energy input-output relationships for wheat cultivation were estimated from data collected from 80 wheat producers (40 each in rice-wheat and cotton-wheat cropping system) by face-to-face survey. Energy input through irrigation water was significantly (p

Pakistan is one of those countries which are victim of climate change and is already facing many problems like poverty and food insecurity leading to threats to agriculture expansion. Climate change is ahead of all these due to decreasing agriculture production prolonged water scarcity and declined income growth. Agriculture plays a big role in economy of Pakistan and climate change is matter of serious concern. The main objective of the present study was to find out the factors affecting the strategies of farmers regarding the impact of climate change in Punjab, Pakistan. Three districts from rice-wheat cropping zone (Narowal, Sialkot and Gujranwala) were selected randomly. A total sample of four hundred eight respondents was selected by systematic random sample technique. A well-structured interview schedule was used as research instrument for data collection. Collected data were analyzed statistically. In addition, descriptive and inferential statistics were applied for the data analysis. It was found that education level of the farmers was low in the study area. Most farmers had small land holdings and were used to self-cultivation. Mean area of wheat and rice was 7.31±6.06 and 6.25±5.60 acres, respectively. It was observed that long summer and short winter season and high temperature were the main perceptions of climate change in the study area. Industrial smoke, excessive felling of forests and human activities were also perceived as the factors leading to change in environment. A vast majority of the farmers observed that climate change had negative impact on crop production and annual income. It was also found that recommended varieties (2.58±0.72), applying more industrial pesticides (2.50±0.76) and practicing crop diversification (2.36±0.81), increased use of irrigation (2.19±0.89) and integrated farming system (0 2.15±0.91) were the major coping strategies for minimizing the effect of climate changes and these strategies had positive impact on crop productivity. Binary Logistic Model showed that increase in education, income, agricultural experience, contributes in to adoption of strategies to cope climate changes of farmers. It is recommended that farmers should use approved varieties, fertilizers and practice crop diversification. Investment on improved agricultural technology by government and other stakeholders are very necessary for agriculture to be able to cope with climate change

Declining productivity of rice-wheat system in Indo–Gangetic Plains poses risk to conventional practices because of high production cost and low input use efficiency. Four crop establishment methods (CEM) and four weed management practices (WMP) were compared in a 2–year study to determine the productivity and profitability of rice-wheat system. Growth, yield traits and yields of rice was uninfluenced by CEM. Zero tillage rice (ZTR)–zero tillage wheat (ZTW) exhibited highest improvement in mean wheat yield, system productivity and profitability by 7.5%, 4.0% and 16.0%, respectively over conventional tillage rice (CTR)–conventional tillage wheat (CTW). CTR–ZTW recorded minimum total weed density and biomass in system. Post emergence application of bispyribac 25 g ha-1 + azimsulfuron 35 g ha-1 (bis + azim) in rice at 20 days after sowing (DAS)/days after transplanting (DAT); clodinofop 60 g ha-1 + carfentrazone 20 g ha-1 (clod + carf) in wheat at 30–35 DAS minimized total weed density and biomass, increased growth, productivity and profitability of the system. Results suggest that higher growth, productivity and profitability of rice–wheat system may be achieved by adoption of ZTR–ZTW with application of bis + azim in rice and clod + carf in wheat.

In this paper an experimental study was made on the effects of using Rice Straw Ash (RSA) & Wheat Straw Ash (WSA) as partial replacements of cement in mortar. The objects were to produce Nano Silica (NS) form RSA & WSA as agricultural wastes by using chemical acids. Then, control specimens with Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) was made and in other specimen’s cement were replaced with 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% of RS & WS ashes by weight of cement. The workability was measured by the slump test. The pulse velocity and the sorptivity were also computed. The compressive and tensile strengths were also estimated. Experimental result showed that it was feasible to produce silica from WSA by chemical activation method. Also, the highest compressive strength, tensile strength and sorptivity noticed at 15% WSA.

In India, especially in the state of Haryana in the northwestern parts, groundwater is the key source of water supply for domestic, industrial and agricultural uses. In recent years, the dependence on groundwater has increased drastically over the state due to speedy expansion of area under rice–wheat cultivation and therefore the states’ aquifers have started experiencing over-exploitation. The aim of this study was to compute the magnitudes of groundwater level trends and abrupt change point detections spatially and temporally based on secondary data obtained from the Groundwater Cell, Department of Agriculture, Government of Haryana with respect to 118 community development blocks for pre- and post-monsoon seasons during 1990–2013. Three statistical models, namely Mann–Kendall test, Sen’s slope estimator and simple linear regression, were applied to understand the trend and rate of change in groundwater level, whereas the abrupt change point detection analysis was carried out using Pettitt’s test, standard normal homogeneity test, Buishand’s range test and von Neumann ratio test. The results indicate that the average depth to groundwater level during pre-monsoon season in the state has ranged from 3.42 to 43.90 m below ground level (mbgl), whereas the average depth to groundwater level during post-monsoon season has ranged from 2.48 to 43.68 mbgl. The mean of groundwater level fluctuations during pre- and post-monsoon seasons was found to be − 6.0 and − 6.7 mbgl, respectively. The study highlights that the negative (falling) trends are much more pronounced (significant at 0.01% probability level) than positive (rising) ones, which corroborate the unsustainable groundwater development in the state. The abrupt change point detection analysis of groundwater levels indicates toward different change points, with maximum change points between the years 2000–2006 during pre- and post-monsoon seasons. This can be attributed to the advanced transplanting of rice crop by farmers much before the start of rainy season. In addition, both anthropogenic and climatic factors have led to groundwater depletion in the study area. These findings may be helpful for the planners and policy makers toward judicious utilization of groundwater resources in the state.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in response to long-term fertilizer management practices under jute-rice-wheat agro-ecosystem in alluvial soils was studied using a modeling approach. Fertil...

Straw ditch-buried returning is a new straw returning mode; however, the different effect of straw ditch-buried returning and frequently used straw returning modes on soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration is still unclear. A 2 yr field experiment was conducted and four treatments (CK: no straw returning; WR: wheat straw returning with rotary tillage; WP: wheat straw returning with plowing; WD: wheat straw ditch-buried returning) were set to assess the effects on SOC fractions and sequestration in rice–wheat rotation. Results indicated that WD had significantly higher total organic carbon than did WP and CK in wheat season. Soil dissolved organic carbon and easily oxidizable carbon contents were significantly increased by 21.3%, 24.3%, 38.6%, and 43.5% under WR than that under CK in rice and wheat seasons, respectively. Soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) content was highest under WP in rice season, but in wheat season, WR had significantly higher MBC than WP and WD. Soil carbon pool management index was significantly higher in WR than CK, with the increase of 41.0% and 108.6%. After 2 yr rotation, WD had a significant higher SOC stock and sequestration than WP. Therefore, WD could be an available mode to increase SOC sequestration in rice–wheat rotation system.