Moisture retention trends during the intervening period of differently established rice-wheat cropping pattern in sandy loam soil

The objective of this study was to estimate the variation in moisture retention capacity of the surface soil (0–7.5 cm) in differently established harvested rice plots using time domain reflectrometry (TDR). Conserving moisture in surface soil for a longer period of time is the need of the hour which may further be used to grow intervening crops. A number of resource conservation technologies (RCTs) have been proposed by the researchers to uplift the declining water productivity in the region viz direct seeded rice (DSR) and mechanical transplanting (MT) under puddle, conventionally tilled (CT) and zero tilled (ZT) plots. But there is a need to look into detail that how moisture retention capacity of differently established rice plots varied if it established with different methods. This study concluded that on an average ZT plots particularly double ZT plots viz ZTW-DSRZT (ZT wheat block and DSR-ZT plots) had highest moisture retention capacity for a longer period of time as these plots retain 8.1 per cent higher straw load on the soil surface while in CT plots residues buried in the soil. It was reported that MT plots had lower moisture content than the DSR plots which may be because of higher straw load in the later plots (38%) than the former plots. CTW-DSRP plots had the maximum moisture retention capacity while CTW-MTP plots had the lowest moisture. Finally it might be revealed that ZTW-DSRZT plots retained higher amount of moisture content for a longer period of time than any other establishment method which may be used for taking any intervening crops.