A Tillage Model to Predict the Effect of Different Tillage Practices - Scope and Constraints

Soil physical conditions can be favourably altered to suit the crop yield needs by tillage and crop residue management practices. Puddling in rice field reduces percolation losses and increases rice yield. However, puddling in rice–wheat system repeated over the years has resulted in deterioration of soil structure and development of hardpan in subsurface layers. The contrasting needs of tillage for rice and wheat crops in sequence make it difficult to assess the tillage effects on soil properties and crop growth by the known deterministic procedures. Besides, the effect of crop residue management practices on the changes in soil physical properties is not well known and cannot be comprehensively studied using most of the existing models simulating soil physical processes and crop growth. This paper deals with scope and constraints in developing a simulation model to predict long-term consequences of different tillage and crop residue management strategies.