Effect of organics and rice-crop establishment methods on yield and nutritional performance of winter-maize

Abstract

Rice and winter maize are two important crops of Bihar. The conventional method of establishment of paddy crop is by puddling and transplanting. Puddling is a time, labor and water-intensive practice which may benefit rice crop but has detrimental effects on succeeding rabi crop in terms of productivity. Therefore, puddling needs to be eliminated by substitution of proper technologies. In this background, the present investigation was carried out in sandy loam calcareous soil of Pusa in Split Plot Design replicated thrice. The main plot treatments consisted six rice crop establishment methods viz. zero tillage, dry seeded, puddled seeded using drum seeder, puddled transplanted, SRI and puddle transplanted + brown manuring while, subplot treatments involved five organic matter enrichment methods viz. mulch (rice straw) @ 10 t/ ha, vermicompost @ 3 t/ ha, 1/3rd rice crop residue incorporation, mulch @ 5 t/ ha + vermicompost @ 1.5 t/ ha, and without organic matter i.e., control. Dhaincha was used for brown manuring. Application of organics (mulch, vermicompost, a combination of mulch & vermicompost, and 1/3rd rice crop residue incorporation) significantly increased grain yield and total nutrient uptake. Results clearly point out the benefits of zero tillage and dry seeded rice as compared to puddle transplanted rice on grain yield of winter maize. Application of organic matter in form of paddy straw mulch/ vermicompost/ combination of mulch and vermicompost was of paramount importance for improving productivity of winter maize.