Vol. 10, Special Issue 9 (2021)

Author(s):
Bipin Bihari, Ragini Kumari, Rajeev Padbhushan, Rajkishore Kumar, Gopal Kumar, Shailja Kumari and Mona Kumari

Abstract:
Today sustainable agriculture production system is facing the problem of declining in agricultural growth and factor productivity, shrinkage in cultivated area, low level of soil organic matter, soil degradation, multi-nutrient deficiencies, depleted ground water resources, increased cost of production and low farm income and increased environment pollution (Singh, 2015). For overcoming these constraints crop residue management is one of the best alternatives because of its diverse and positive effect on soil health. Crop residues management improves organic carbon and N content in soil, affects soil pH through accumulation of CO2 and organic acids produced during their decomposition in the soil, reclamation and management of saline and alkaline soil, behave as a reservoir for plant nutrients, decreases the bulk density of soil and increases the porosity of the soil, provides energy for growth and activities of microbes. We know that sustainability of the most of the cropping system depends on soil quality and improving the level of soil organic matter through incorporation of crop residues and other organic sources leads to improve soil quality and nutrient cycling and which also simultaneously provide alternative means for biomass disposal. Subsurface placement of rice residue as well as time of residue incorporation had a large impact on decomposition of rice residue (Singh et al., 2004b). The carbon and nutrient held in various soil organic matter pools are subsequently decomposed and assimilated by soil biomass resulting in additional mineralization. Immobilization process occurs simultaneously with mineralization process and the rate at which nutrients are available for plant uptake depends on net balance between mineralization and immobilization. In a long term experiment on a loamy sand soil in Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, incorporation of residues of both crop in rice-wheat rotation increased the total and available P and K content of soil over removal of residues (Beri et al., 1995). Grain yield of wheat increased when it is sown in rice residue (Sidhu et al., 2011) and when residue is incorporated into soil (Ramesh Chandra, 2011). Management of crop residues offers sustainable and ecologically sound alternatives for meeting the nutrients requirements of crops and improving crop productivity.