Enhancing Productivity of Saline-Sodic Soils through Conservation Agriculture: An On-Farm Study in Rice-Wheat System
Conservation agriculture and saline-sodic environment
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Authors
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Ram Kishor Fagodiya
ICAR–Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7275-2306
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Ranbir Singh
ICAR–Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India
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Parvender Sheoran
ICAR–Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India
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Satyendra Kumar
ICAR–Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India
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Priyanka Chandra
ICAR–Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India
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Kailash Prajapat
ICAR–Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India
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Arvind Kumar Rai
ICAR–Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India
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R K Yadav
ICAR–Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India
Keywords:
Saline-sodic soils, Conservation agriculture, Sprinkler irrigation, Rice–wheat systemAbstract
Salinity and sodicity severely limit the productivity of the rice-wheat system (RWS) in the Indo-Gangetic Plains. Conservation Agriculture (CA) practices offer potential to restore soil health and sustain yields under such constraints. A five-year (2015–2020) on-farm study was conducted at four sites in Haryana, namely Geong, Sambhli, Bhaupur and Kaith, under varying saline and sodic environments. Four management scenarios (SCs) combining tillage, residue, and irrigation were evaluated namely: (Sc-1) puddled transplanted rice – conventional tillage wheat (conventional farmer’s practice; PTR–CTW), (Sc-2) PTR + wheat residue incorporation – CTW + rice residue mulch, ((Sc-3) reduce tillage direct seeded rice (RTDSR) + wheat residue incorporation – zero-tillage wheat (ZTW) + rice residue mulch under surface irrigation, and (Sc-3) RTDSR + wheat residue incorporation – ZTW + rice residue mulch under sprinkler irrigation. The salt-tolerant basmati varieties CSR 30 (rice) and KRL 210 (wheat) were used as test crop. Pooled analysis revealed that sprinkler-based RTDSR–ZTW with residue retention achieved the highest system productivity (9.6 Mg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹), outperforming the conventional practice by 15–18%. Rice and wheat yields increased by 11 and 17.8%, respectively. The findings suggest that CA-based irrigation and residue management strategies can be up-scaled through national soil health and land degradation neutrality programmes to ensure the sustainability of RWS. However, the study was limited by the absence of detailed measurements on exchangeable sodium percentage and hydraulic conductivity, which warrant future investigation.
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