Conservation Tillage and Nutrient Strategies Enhances Crop-Water Productivity and Economic Profitability of Wheat (Triticum Aestivum L)

Decline in soil fertility is one of the major constraints to sustainable crop production and profitability. To meet the increasing demand for the growing population the issue of low soil fertility needs to be addressed moreover, excessive pumping of groundwater over the years to meet the high irrigation water requirement of rice-wheat system has resulted in over exploitation of groundwater in the Indo-Gangetic plains (IGP) of India. Replacement of traditional wheat cultivation practices under conservation agriculture (CA) based management (tillage, and crop establishment management) practices are required to promote sustainable agriculture. Furthermore, inefficient nutrient management practices are responsible for low crop yields and nutrient use efficiencies in wheat under rice-wheat cropping system (RWCS). A field experiment was conducted at Crop Research Centre of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture & Technology, Meerut (U.P.), India to evaluate the effects of tillage and crop establishment (TCE) methods, and nutrient management practices on crop yields, water productivity and profitability of wheat under RWCS. The main plot treatments included four combinations of TCE [Furrow irrigated raised beds (FIRB), Roto tillage (RT), Reduced tillage (RTW) and conventional tillage (CT), with six nutrient management practices [N1 Control, N2 100% Recommend Dose of Fertilizer, N3 100% RDF + NPK consortia + Bio-stimulant, N4 75% RDF + NPK consortia + Bio-stimulant, N5 100% RDF + NPK consortia + Bio-stimulant + NPK (18:18:18) spray after II irrigation, and N6 and 75% RDF + NPK consortia + Bio-stimulant + NPK (18:18:18) spray after II irrigation]. Crop water productivity and net returns under FIRB were significantly increased by 11.7% and 13.8% compared to CT respectively, during year of experimentation. Study showed that conservation agriculture based sustainable practices (FIRB) and nutrient strategies 100% RDF + NPK consortia + Bio-stimulant + NPK (18:18:18) spray after II irrigation approach provided opportunities for enhancing crop and water productivity, and profitability of wheat crop in North-West IGP of India. Treatments with N and conservation agriculture were the most profitable. A combined use of conservation agriculture and organic and chemical fertilizers is the best bet for increasing, wheat crop yield and associated return on investment.