Impact of Conservation Tillage with Residue Retention on Soil Physico-Properties and Yield of Rice and Wheat under Rice-wheat Cropping System

A field experiment entitled “Impact of conservation tillage with residue retention on soil physico-properties and yield of rice and wheat under rice-wheat cropping system” was conducted at Norman E. Borlaug Crop Research Centre of G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar during kharif and rabi of 2012-13 and 2013-14 to observe the effect of conservation tillage and recycling of left over previous year crop residue as mulch in spite of burning on crop yield and on soil health under intensive rice-wheat cropping system. The data obtained from two years of experimentation revealed that higher grain yield of rice (5.23 t/ha) was recorded under conventional direct seeding while in case of wheat maximum grain yield (4.25 t/ha) was observed under zero tillage along with retention of residues than other tillage practices. Similarly in case of soil properties, crop residue retention on surface during winter modified the temperature of soil favourable for wheat root growth. Conservation tillage along with residue also improved the soil nutrient status like soil carbon nitrogen ratio (12.9) well as micronutrient status during the course of investigation.