Large amount of surplus rice residues are available in Punjab, which is being burnt indiscriminately. However, they have a potential use as a mulching material to improve crop productivity through optimising hydrothermal regime of soils. The review shows that straw mulching improved the yield of field, vegetable and horticultural crops in irrigated and rain-fed environments of Punjab. This practice also saved irrigation water and fertilizer nitrogen. The benefits of mulching are more in summer/kharif season, and on soils having low water retentivity. Benefit-cost analysis has indicated that this practice has the economic viability for sugarcane, rainfed maize, irrigated maize (on loamy sand soil), sunflower, winter maize, potato, soyabean and mentha, when the cost of mulching material is Rs. 3000 ha−1. However, when mulching material is costlier (Rs. 6000 ha−1), the practice is economical only for mentha and maize crops.
Fertilizer, Irrigation, Mulching, Rain-fed, Straw
