Agronomic and Economic Evaluation of Mulching in Rainfed Maize—Wheat Cropping System in the Western Himalayan Region of India

Abstract

Mulching is highly beneficial for resource conservation under rainfed conditions, but non-availability of organic biomass and easy availability of fertilizers and herbicides has led to a gradual discontinuation of this practice. Various vegetative materials, including some troublesome weedy perennials, are available locally, which can be recycled for enhanced soil moisture and nutrient conservation. A field experiment was conducted at Dehradun, India, from 2001India, from -2004 to study the effect of mulching with kudzu ( Peuraria hirsuta), wild sage ( Lantana camara), and subabul ( Leucaena leucocephala) applied at 30 and 60 days of growth of maize ( Zea mays), maize harvest, and sowing of wheat ( Triticum aestivum). Application of 10 t/ha (fresh biomass) added 1.6-2.3 t dry matter through Peuraria, 2.5-3.2 t through Lantana, and 2.9-3.9 t/ha through Leuceana, kg N/ha, respectively. All mulching materials were beneficial and improved productivity of maize significantly by 16.6-20.6% over no mulching. Wheat yield also increased because of mulching in previous maize (+11.2%), and the beneficial effect was relatively greater (12.4-25.1%) when mulching was done at maize harvest or wheat sowing. Mulching showed improvement in organic C and total N status, and a 392 Mulching Effects on Crop Productivity and Profitability 393 decrease in bulk density associated with an increase in infiltration rate across three cropping cycles. Wheat gave three to five times more net profit than maize, and the net benefit-cost ratio of the system was the highest (1.34-1.35) when mulching was done at 60 days of maize growth with Peuraria and Leucaena. It was concluded that mulching with available vegetative materials in standing crop of maize or after harvest was beneficial for improving moisture conservation, productivity, and profitability of a maize-wheat cropping system under Doon valley conditions.

Management influence on maize–wheat system performance, water productivity and soil biology

“…Sharma et al . () also recorded higher net returns and B:C ratio in MWS with vegetative mulches from some perennials in Doon valley, Uttarakhand, India, and Mittal et al . () on loamy sands in India.…”

“…Residue retention was essential to maintain productivity and realize the benefits of direct drilling in PRBs in MWS (Govaerts et al, 2005), particularly in scanty rainfall years (Sur et al, 1992), and mulching with Sesbania, Jatropha and Brassica produced superior yields compared with no-mulch (Table 5). Crop residue mulch (Malik et al, 2004;Gathala et al, 2011aGathala et al, , 2011bJat et al, 2013) and organic/vegetative mulches (Mittal et al, 1992;Mafongoya et al, 1997;Sharma et al, 2005;Maggard et al, 2012) have been found to maintain higher soil moisture, suppress weed growth, moderate soil temperature (Maggard et al, 2012) and improve crop (Mittal et al, 1992;Mafongoya et al, 1997;Sharma et al, 2011). Our results are also in close agreement with the work reported by Mafongoya et al (1997) and Mittal et al (1992) with Leuceana prunings.…”

“…However, Sesbania mulching had lower lignin content (8.7%), and Jatropha had lower C:N ratio (26.7%) than the other mulches used, which resulted in higher decomposition and higher mobilization of nutrients and thus relatively more positive effect on system yields. Mulching with available vegetative materials has previously been shown to improve soil properties [BD, soil organic carbon (SOC), infiltration rate] in maize wheat systems (Sharma et al, 2011).…”

“…Sesbania, Jatropha and Brassica mulches produced higher net returns and B:C ratio as there were lower costs for labour for pruning, chopping, spreading and transport of these mulchies. Sharma et al (2011)…”

OMEGA-3 FATTY ACID IN PURSLANE (PORTULACA OLERACEA L.) INTERCROPPED WITH DRAGON’S HEAD (LALLEMANTIA IBERICA FISCHER & C.A. MEYER) AS AFFECTED BY MULCHING AND BIOFERTILIZERS

“…The highest purslane (38.31 g.m −2 ) and dragon's head (179.65 g.m −2 ) seed yields were obtained from wheat straw mulched plants (Table 3). Mulch improves the yield and yield components of plants by maintaining soil moisture, reducing soil temperature and evaporation from the soil surface (Limon-Ortega et al, 2002;Sharma et al, 2011). Most reports confirm that the yield of plants has increased due to use of mulch in comparison with nonmulch soils (Bruce et al, 2006;Zhang and Sun, 2007;Chakraborty et al, 2008).…”