Effect of Furrow and Bed Transplanted Rice (Oryza Sativa L.) with Varying Irrigation Management on Soil Bulk Density and Infiltration Rate on Sandy Loam Soil

A field experiment was carried out at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana to evaluate the effect of furrow and bed transplanted rice (Oryza sativa L.); varying irrigation management practices; and weed control on soil bulk density and infiltration rate on sandy loam soil. The experiment consisted of seven planting x irrigation and two weed control treatments. Soil bulk density was higher after harvesting as compared with that before planting. The bulk density at crop harvest, at soil depth of 0–15 cm and 15–30 cm was 1.86 and 1.24 per cent more over the bulk density before sowing in flat plots. Among rice transplanting methods, wet levelling (puddling process) in flat fields increased bulk density compared with unpuddled furrows and beds. The cumulative infiltration rate reduced after land preparation as compared to before sowing. Cumulative infiltration rate reduced by 65.6 per cent in unweeded flat plots as compared to that before sowing whereas the reduction of 63.1 per cent was observed in herbicide treated flat plots. Also, the cumulative infiltration rate was higher in bed and furrow transplanted rice (10.3–10.8 cm/min) than puddled flat treatments (5.5–5.9 cm/min).