Comparative assessment of different tillage-cum-crop establishment practices and crop-residue management on crop and water productivity and profitability of rice (Oryza sativa)-wheat (Triticum aestivum) cropping system

A field experiment was conducted during the winter 2009 at Patna, Bihar, to assess the impact of the continuous practice of 4 different tillage-cum-crop establishment and 2 residue-management treatments on crop growth, productivity and profitability of rice (Oryza sativa L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cropping system (RWCS) in eastern Gangetic plains. After 5-year continuous rice-wheat rotation, crop-residue retention (∼33%) in both the crops significantly improved the rice (9.4–9.7%) and wheat (4.6–9.3%) productivity over the residue removal. Conservation tillage-based crop-establishment practices, viz. unpuddled transplanted rice followed by (fb) zero-till wheat (UPTR-ZTW), zero-till transplanted rice fb zero-till wheat (ZTTR-ZTW), zero-till direct-seeded rice, fb zerotill wheat (ZTDSR-ZTW) increased the system productivity of RWCS by 10.3, 16.1, and 23.2% respectively, over conventional puddled transplanted rice fb conventional-till wheat (PTR-CTW). Conservation tillage-based cropestablishment practices and residue retention enhanced the biomass accumulation rate in both crops, being higher in ZTDSR-ZTW fb ZTTR-ZTW. Significant up-scaling of water productivity in rice crop was evident in conservation tillage-cum-crop-establishment practices over PTR-CTW. The additional income of 24, 248, 36, 689, and 48, 553 was realized for the treatments UPTR-ZTW, ZTTR-ZTW and ZTDSR-ZTW respectively, over PTR-CTW.