Performance evaluation of various sowing techniques in wheat crop

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different sowing techniques on yield of wheat crop, input energy and cost of cultivation. The sowing with zero till seed cum fertilizer drill (T2) resulted into 70.21, 65.56 and 74.59 per cent saving in operational energy over traditional seed cum fertilizer drill (T1), broadcasting (T3) and raised bed planter (T4), respectively. The soil moisture was high in T2 due to early sowing of wheat after rice harvesting. The net income was maximum in treatment T2 (Rs.19799/ha) followed by T1 (Rs.17782/ha), T3 (14707/ha) and T4 (Rs.10710/ha). The economic analysis revealed that the tillage can be eliminated and wheat can be grown just after rice cultivation without giving any tillage operation. This will save time, labour, fuel and energy and will facilitate the timely sowing of wheat crop without any delay. Therefore, farmers may be encouraged to practice zero tillage for rice-wheat system for timely sowing of wheat crop and better economic returns