Agronomic productivity,nitrogen fertilizer savings and soil organic carbon in conservation agriculture: efficient nitrogen and weed management in maize-wheat system |
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| Authors: | Anthony Imoudu Oyeogbe Tapas Kumar Das Kali Kinkar Bandyopadhyay |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Agronomy and Environmental Management, Benson Idahosa University, Benin City, Nigeria;2. Division of Agronomy, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India;3. Division of Agronomy, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India;4. Division of Agricultural Physics, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India |
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| Abstract: | Conservation agriculture (CA) practice increases agronomic productivity and soil fertility, yet CA stimulate nitrogen (N) immobilization and weed interference during the early periods of implementation. This study focuses on efficient N management by soil testing and optical sensor (GreenSeekerTM) information; and weed management using brown manuring (Sesbania aculeata co-culture) and herbicide mixtures under CA-based maize (Zea mays L.) – wheat (Triticum aestivum L. emend Fiori & Paol) system in the Indo-Gangetic Plains. Fertilizer N application guided by the optical sensor increased grain yields of maize and wheat up to 20 and 14% (average of two years), respectively, compared to whole N application at sowing. Weed management using brown manuring in maize and herbicide mixtures in wheat increased the grain yields up to 10 and 21%, respectively, over the weedy check. The optical sensor-based N management saved up to 45 and 30 kg N ha–1 of the optimized N fertilizer rate in maize and wheat, respectively, over whole N application. Fertilizer N management coupled with brown manuring resulted in 5 and 4% higher soil organic carbon accumulation. Implementing efficient N fertilizer and weed management in the early years of CA can improve agronomic yield, fertilizer savings, and soil organic carbon content. |
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| Keywords: | soil test optical sensor brown manuring fertilizer savings crop yields |
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