Research Note: Optimizing wheat productivity through improvedtechniques for in situ moisture conservation in amicro watershed under sub-tropical region of North-Western India

Manjit  S. Hadda,; Sanjay  Arora,

Research Note: Optimizing wheat productivity through improvedtechniques for in situ moisture conservation in amicro watershed under sub-tropical region of North-Western India

Abstract:

The sub-montane rainfed region of North-West India has sloping topography, poor soil structure, deep water table and suffers from uneven distribution of rainfall in space and time. In an on-farm experiment on wheat conducted in the foothill region of Punjab, soil moisture storage increased to 7.7, 12.8 and 15.4 % in treatment T2 (minor land shaping + NPK), T3 (T2 + 25 % N replacement through FYM) and T4 (T3 + ridge sowing + Zn + herbicides), respectively, over T1 (farmers' practice as control). Maximum increase in plant height of 28.7 per cent was observed in T4 followed by 19.9 % in T3 and 13.6 % in T2 treatment compared to T1. Number of grains per ear increased by 14.6, 25.1 and 33.7 % through T2, T3 and T4 treatments, respectively over that in treatment T1. The grain and straw yield of wheat significantly increased by 38.6 and 65.3 % in T2, 56.3 and 76.6 % in T3 and 63.3 and 88.2 % in T4 treatment respectively over T1 treatment (control). Maximum monetary returns were obtained in T4 treatment.

References:

ACHARYA, C.L. and K.K. BANDOPADHYAY. 2002. Efficient input management for sustainable production. Indian Farming 52 (8): 42-49.
ARORA, SANJAY and M.S. HADDA. 2003. Soil moisture conservation and nutrient management practices in maize-wheat cropping system in rainfed North-western tract of India. Indian Journal of Dryland Agricultural Research and Development 18:70-74.
COCHRAN, W.G. and G.M. COX. 1957. Experimental design. 2^nd ed. John Willey and Sons Inc., New York.
GUPTA, D.K. and S. BHAN. 1997. Effect of in-situ moisture conservation and fertilization on yield, quality and economics of maize-mustard cropping system under rainfed conditions. Indian Journal of Soil Conservation 25(2): 133-135.
HADDA, M.S., K.L. KHERA and S. ARORA. 2005. Evaluation of different soil and nutrient management practices on moisture conservation, growth and yield of maize in rainfed sub-montaneous tract of Punjab. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, India 4: 101-105.
JACKSON, M.L. 1973. Soil Chemical Analysis. Prentice Hall of India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
NAGRE, K.T. 1981. Response of kharif sorghum varieties to varying levels of NPK under rainfed conditions. Indian Journal of Agricultural Research 15 (3): 166-170.
PANDAY, A.K., V. PRAKASH, R.D. SINGH and H.S. GUPTA. 2001. Contribution and impact of production factors on growth, yield attributes, yield and economics of rainfed wheat. Indian Journal of Agronomy 46 (4): 674-681.
PATIL, S.L. and M.N. SHEELAVANTAR. 2000. Yield and yield components or rabi sorghum (Sorghum bicolour) as influenced by in situ moisture conservation practices and integrated nutrient management in vertisols of semi-arid tropics of India. Indian Journal of Agronomy 45 (1): 132-137.
PATEL, N.M., S.G. SADARIA, B.B. KANERIA, B.B. and V.D. KHANPARA. 1995. Effect of nitrogen, potassium and zinc on growth and yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum). Indian Journal of Agronomy 40 (2): 290-292.
PAWAR, D.K. and V. SHARMA. 2001. Nitrogen requirement of single hybrid maize-wheat system under rainfed conditions. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 71 (4): 252-254.
RAMESHWAR and C.M. SINGH. 1998. Effect of FYM and fertilizer on the growth and development of maize and wheat in sequence. Indian Journal of Agricultural Research 32 (1): 65-70.
RANA, D.S., M.L. KAPUR, K.N. SHARMA and BIJAY-SINGH. 1986. Fertilizer management in a maize-wheat cropping sequence. Indian Journal of Agricultural Research 20 (2): 81-84.
SEHGAL, J. L. and C. SYS. 1970. The soils of Punjab - India. III Classification and Geographic Distribution. Pedologie 20: 357-380.
SHARMA, P.D. and C.L. ACHARYA. 1987. Effect of soil management on rainfed wheat in Northern India. II. Nutrient uptake, plant growth and yield. Soil Tillage Research 9:79-89.
SHIVAKUMAR, B.G. and B.N. MISHRA. 2001. Effect of land configuration, nutrient and stover management on growth and yield of wheat under limited water supply. Annals of Agricultural Research 22 (4): 462-467.
SINGH, R.P. 1995. Efficient management of Dryland crops- principles and practices. In: Sustainable Development of Dryland Agriculture in India. Scientific Publishers, Jodhpur. pp. 285-298.
SUR, H.S. and B.S. GHUMAN. 1992. Soil and rainfall water management in medium rainfall alluvial soils. Paper presented in 57^th Annual Convention, Indian Society of Soil Science held at Hyderabad w.e.f. 26-29, Nov. 1992.
TANDON, H.L.S. 1995. Methods of analysis of soils, plants, waters and fertilizers. FDCO, New Delhi.
TIWANA, U.S., R.S. NARANG and K.S. GOSAL. 1999. Nutrient management for yield maximization of rice-wheat cropping system. Indian Journal of Agronomy 44 (1): 1-7.
TOTAWAT, K.L., L.L. SOMANI, R. SINGH and G. SINGH. 2001. Integrated nitrogen management in maize-wheat cropping sequence on Typic Haplustalfs of Western India. Annals of Arid Zone 40 (4): 439-444.