Developing water and energy smart portfolios for sustainable cereal based systems under conservation agriculture practices in North-West Indo-Gangetic plains
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Date
2019
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Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
Abstract
The present investigation entitled “Developing water and energy smart portfolios for
sustainable cereal based systems under conservation agriculture practices in North-West Indo-
Gangetic plains” was carried out at Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA), Ladhowal,
Ludhiana. The experiment was established during rabi 2015 but the actual treatments were
imposed in kharif 2016 considering rabi season a zero cycle ensuring tillage, crop
establishment and residue management effects are captured in first test crop. Six management
scenarios involving layering of cropping systems, tillage energy source for irrigation and
irrigation management were evaluated in large plot size (400 m2; 20m x 20m) in a randomized
complete block design with four replications. All the other standard management practices were
used irrespective of the management scenarios. The results reveled that conservation agriculture
based rice-wheat layered with sub-surface drip irrigation system (RWZT-SSD) resulted similar
yields as of rice-wheat conventional till system, but with saving of nearly 47.28 per cent (110 cm)
applied irrigation water, 18.3 per cent cost reduction and `18,760 ha-1 year-1 additional profit
compared to farmers practice. In maize-wheat cropping system on permanent raised bed (PB)
layered with sub-surface drip irrigation (SSD), a gain of maize- wheat system grain yield to the
tune of ~5.3 q ha-1 year-1 with 53.4 per cent less irrigation water application as compared to
conventional tillage based flood irrigation system. Maize-wheat system with conservation
agriculture based management layered with SSD produced 9.7 per cent higher system productivity
(12.93 t ha-1 year-1), `34,260 ha-1 year-1 additional profits. By switching from conventional ricewheat
system towards PB-SSD based maize-wheat system save 70.2 per cent electric energy
showing potentiality of diversification of rice-wheat system through sustainable intensification of
MW system. Using solar energy for pumping of ground water linked with sub surface drip
irrigation system have a potential to mitigate the 3971 kg of CO2 eq ha-1 year-1 and 1655 kg of
CO2 eq ha-1 year-1 in rice-wheat and maize-wheat cropping system, respectively. Layering
improved management practices offer opportunities to address the issues of crop adaptability,
productivity and profitability in rice-wheat and maize-wheat rotation under the emerging climate
risks while improving the natural resources (water, energy and soil) and reducing environmental
footprints, rather than their application in isolation.
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