Land preparatory tillage effect on soil physical environment and growth and yield of rice in a Vertisol

No puddling (P0), puddling with four (P1) and eight (P2) passes of power tiller were the three land preparatory tillage treatments evaluated under same nutrient management practice on a Vertisol for two years. It was observed that increased intensity of puddling increased significantly the depth of puddled layer, the amount of easily dispersible silt + clay and total porosity, but decreased mean weight diameter. Bulk density at 15 days after puddling increased up to harvest of rice. Soil penetration resistance was near zero in puddled layer and below this layer, it was lowest in P2 followed by P1 and P0, respectively. Puddling, on an average, reduced seepage plus percolation to 5.6, 2.8 and 2.4 mm h−1 in P0, P1 and P2, respectively. The cracking pattern in soil observed after rice harvesting was more intense in puddled soil and increased with puddling intensity. Both the root length density and root surface area were higher in P1 and P2 than in P0, but the root diameter was higher in P0. The growth and yield of rice were significantly higher under puddled condition.