Zero Tillage Cultivation of lentil in lowland rice fallow

Abstract

Conservation agriculture is a new paradigm in crop production for maintaining the sustainability, improving soil health and clean environment with proper residue management. Conservation agriculture practices are designed to achieve sustainability by implementation of sustainable management practices that minimize environment degradation and conserve resources while maintaining high yielding, profitable systems, and also improve the biological functions of the agroecosystem with limited mechanical practices and judicious use of external inputs. It is possible to get about 397-513 kg/ha of lentil seed yield and extra income of 11,588–16,308/ ha to the farmer following reduced and zero tillage practice in rice fallow. The rice productivity in successive years increases due to fixation of nitrogen by leguminous crop (lentil), addition of organic matter due to better residue management and improvement in physico-chemical and biological parameters of the soils. Therefore, the practice of reduced and zero tillage lentil is a viable resource conserving technology for Tripura for increasing cropping intensity, employment, nutritional security and higher income. Realizing very good potential of reduced and zero tillage lentil in rice fallow large scale field demonstrations would be undertaken in farmers’ field.