Agricultural Research Management Information System

Home
Research Summary
Search
About Us
- ARMIS
- Brochure
Contact Us
Report
User Request
Data Input
Help
- Operation Manual
  - PDF
  - Video
- Program Area & Commodity
We have reached 37600 number of research entries at this moment.

- Logout

Research Detail

Home
Research
Detail

Integrated Soil and Nutrient Management to Improve the Productivity of Wheat-maize- Rice Cropping System

M. A. Rahman
Wheat Research Centre, BARI

N. C. D. Barma
Wheat Research Centre, BARI

M. J. U. Sarker
Wheat Research Centre, BARI

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

A field experiment was initiated at the central research farm of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Gazipur to achieve improve and sustainable productivity of a intensive wheat-maize-rice cropping system through integrated soil and nutrient management. Four levels of soil management were tested under four levels of nutrient management in split plot design starting with wheat crop sown on 20^th November 2009. Yield and yield contributing characters of component crops in the system were measured following standard methods. To understand the treatment effect on crops some additional studies including soil moisture content, weed growth, growth analysis of roots were made duly. Also the chemical analysis of soils were carried out following standard methods to determine the nutrient contents in soil after each cropping cycle upon rice harvest. The result indicated that soil management treatments had significant effect on surface soil moisture content that contributed to stand establishment both for wheat and maize crop. Application of rice straw as mulch in bed or flat soil conditions was equally effective in conserving initial soil moisture, enhancing wheat root development and reducing weed growth and thereby positively influenced number of spikes/m² of wheat and cobs/m² of maize which ultimately contributed to yields of wheat and maize crops. However, neither nutrient management nor soil management levels alone could produce the maximum yield but the combination of recommended fertilizers with 5 t/ha cow-dung couple with rice straw mulch application in flat or bed resulted in maximum yield of wheat and maize. Rice yield was the maximum under nutrient level of IPNS and was not further increased due to further increase in nutrient levels of recommended fertilizers plus 5 t/ha cow-dung. The different soil management treatments imposed in previous wheat and maize crops had the similar residual effect on rice yield.

Keywords: Productivity, Food security, Farming system, Wheat, Maize, Rice

Location: Gazipur

Start Date: 00-00-2013

End Date: 00-00-2014

Program Area: Farming System

Commodity: Wheat, Maize, Rice

Objectives:

To achieve improved and sustainable system of productivity of wheat-maize-rice cropping system through integrated soil and nutrient management and thereby contribute to food security of the country.

Methodology:

The field experiment was initiated Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Gazipur stating with wheat crop. The soil of the experimental field belongs to AEZ 28 characterized by flood free highland, fine in texture (Silty clay loam), poor in organic matter (0.97%) and total N (0.06%) content. The annual rainfall at the research field ranged from about 3200 mm to 4000 mm of which about 90% of the total rainfall occurred in monsoon during June to September. The rest periods were dry to severely dry and generally the entire wheat growing period was dry with very negligible precipitation. Also the early growth period of maize crop was dry and the crop was irrigated twice to thrice to ensure germination and stand establishment. Later on the crop was experienced to excessive soil moisture from the late vegetative stage due to rain and no need any farther irrigation until harvest for all the years. The experiment comprises the combination of four levels of nutrient management and four levels of soil management tested in split plot design. Nutrient management treatments namely control, recommended rate of chemical fertilizers (RF), integrated plant nutrient system based fertilizers using 5 t ha^-1 cow dung (IPNS) and recommended fertilizers plus 5 t ha^-1 cow dung (RF+CD) were assigned in main plots and four soil management treatments namely sowing of wheat seed in raised bed (Bed), bed with rice straw mulching @ 3 t ha^-1 (Bed+mulch), conventionally sowing of wheat in flat soil (flat) and sowing in flat with rice straw mulching @ 3 t ha^-1 (Flat+mulch) were imposed in the subplots. The size of each sub-plot was 5m X 2m and there were gaps of 1.0, 1.5 and 1.5 m between the sub-plots, main plots and replications, respectively. Seeds of wheat variety Prodip were sown continuously in 20 cm spaced line at the rate of 120 kg ha^-1on 20^th November 2009. In case of bed planting, after a pair of rows in bed there was a distance of 40 cm between border rows. Thus there were 4 beds in each sub-plot under bed planting that consist 8 lines of wheat plants whereas in case of conventional the number of lines were 10 for each subplot. Fertilizers at the rates of 120 kg N, 30 kg P, 50 kg K, 20 kg S, and 1.5 kg B ha^-1 were applied as urea, triple super phosphate, murate of potash, gypsum, and boric acid, respectively as the RF for wheat. All fertilizers including two-third urea were uniformly applied in the field during final land preparation. The rest of urea was top dressed at the crown root initiation (CRI) stage at 21 days after sowing (DAS). The crop was irrigated uniformly to bring the soil moisture near to field capacity during 20, 50 and 75 DAS. At maturity the wheat crop was harvested between first to second weeks of March then BARI hybrid Maize was sown between mid to end of March and then BRRI Dhan 39 was transplanted following maize in mid July. Fertilizers of N₂₀₀P₅₀K₁₀₀S₄₀Zn₅B₂ and N₈₀P₃₀K₅₀S₂₀ were applied as recommended rate (RF) for maize and rice, respectively. After the harvest of wheat the experimental plots under flat and flat+mulch were prepared for maize seeding by conventional tillage but in beds, seeds were sown by opening a furrow between the two rows of wheat staple on the top of each bed and then the beds were reshaped manually. Wheat straw was used as mulch after sowing maize as per prescribe treatments. The rice crop was puddle transplanted for all the plots and crop residue was not added as mulch in rice, also cow-dung was not added. Again, during the sowing of second wheat crop, beds were prepared and treatments were imposed as in first crop. Thus direct effect of bed and mulch in wheat; effect of previous bed and applied mulch in maize and the residual effect of bed and mulch in rice were studied in present experiment. At maturity the crops were harvested from the whole sub-plots, sun dried and threshed plot wise. After threshing, the grains were dried in the atmosphere and then moisture content of grain samples were measured and the grain yields were converted to t ha^-1 at 12% moisture content in case of wheat and maize and 14% moisture content in case of rice. All the data were statistically analyzed and the mean values were tested by the least significant difference (LSD) at 5% level of significance.

Source of Information: Annual Research Report, Wheat Research Centre, BARI--2013-14

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Grain yield and all the yield components of wheat including plant height and plant population were significantly responded by the main effect of nutrient levels. Nutrient management levels of RF, IPNS and RF+CD were equally effective in improving plant height, plant population and thousand grain weight (TGW) of wheat over the control. Number of grains/spike was the maximum in RF+CD followed by IPNS and RF. Also the nutrient level of RF+ CD resulted in maximum spikes/m² and highest grain yield. The result indicated that only recommended chemical fertilizers are not enough to maximize wheat yield under the experimental soil condition. Theoretically the plots under IPNS and RF received the same amount of nutrients but a clear trend of better crop performance in IPNS compare to RF was observed which became dominant with years. The better crop performance under IPNS might be due to other benefit of added organic matter in IPNS plots compared to the plots under RF. As the grain yield of wheat is known interacted by many other environmental factors, therefore the variations in crop response to nutrients were observed among the years. But a clear declining trend in yield was noticed under the treatment control; grain yield was drastically decreased from 3.0 t/ha in the first year to 1.3 t/ha in the fifth year. The yearly yield fluctuations were also dominant under the treatment RF but the treatment RF+CD produced relatively stable and higher yield over the years. The result is consistent to the soil analysis report that suggested that most of the soil nutrient contents were declined in control plots whereas soil nutrient contents were stable or improved in the plots under the fertilizer treatment RF+CD. Initial plant population, spikes/m², numbers of grains/spike and grain yield of wheat were significantly responded by soil management levels though plant height and TGW were statistically identical for all the treatments. Initial plant population was positively responded by mulch application and was the maximum under Flat+Mulch and Bed+Mulch treatments compared to respective non-mulch treatments. Mulching reduces the evaporation loss of soil moisture and insures soil temperatures favorable for germination and stand establishment thus by influencing germination and stand establishment mulching resulted in higher plant population which finally contributed to productive spikes/m². Mulch application either in Bed or Flat was equally effective in producing higher spikes/m².The result of grain yield also indicated that wheat sowing either in bed or flat produced statistically similar grain yield resulted from statistically similar spikes/m² and grains/spike. Application of straw-mulch in beds resulted higher grain yield than beds without mulch; similarly, straw-mulching in flat performed significantly higher yield compare to flat over the last five years. However, the yield under the treatments of Bed+Mulch was statistically similar to Flat+Mulch and higher then respective non-mulch treatments. The initial soil moisture is considered as most critical factor limiting the stand establishment of wheat. Rice straw mulching could contribute to wheat yield by favoring stand establishment and thereby improving spikes/m² and also by increasing number of grains/spike.

The present field experiment aims at study the long term effect of intensive cereal cropping under various soil and nutrient management options to suggest the best combination of soil and nutrient management to achieve the improve and sustainable system productivity. The yield of wheat for last five years, response of other component crops in for the last four cropping cycles and subsequently changes in soil nutrient content demonstrated that there are the potentials of the system if cow-dung is used with recommended fertilizer and crop residue is used as mulch. Among the component crops in the system wheat and maize were responsive to higher level of fertilizer (RF+CD) whereas rice produced higher yield under IPNS.

Knowledge Management: Report/Proceedings