Moisture studies in soybean-wheat cropping system under deficit irrigation, tillage and crop residue management

Abstract

The field experiment was conducted at Post Graduate Institute Research Farm, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, Dist. Ahmednagar Maharashtra (India) at a fixed site during 2017-18 and 2018-19 on conservation agriculture for improving crop productivity and water use efficiency in soybean–wheat cropping system under deficit irrigation with four irrigation scheduling treatments in main plot and two tillage practices in sub plot during kharif soybean for both the years of experiment, while in rabi season each sub plot treatments were divided into three sub plots of residue management to wheat crop as a sub-sub plot treatments. The zero tillage practice (T1), scheduling of irrigation at 60 per cent of DASM (I1) to kharif soybean recorded higher water use efficiency and water productivity during first year, while zero tillage practice (T1) and scheduling irrigation as per critical growth stages (I4) to kharif soybean recorded higher water use efficiency and water productivity during second year of experiment. The zero tillage practice (T1) and scheduling irrigation as per critical growth stages (I4) along with application of soybean crop residue + composting culture (R3) recorded maximum water use efficiency and water productivity in wheat crop during both the years.