Effect of tillage and water management practices on pearl millet - wheat cropping system productivity, water - balance and soil properties of alluvial soil

In arid and semi-arid tropics, pearl millet-wheat is grown as mono cropping with intensive tillage resulting in depleting system productivity, net returns (NRs) and soil properties. The objective of present study was to improve the system productivity, water use efficiency (WUE) and physico-chemical properties of pearl millet-wheat with conservation tillage (CT) and water management practices. The CT based treatments for system were traditional tillage and seeding (TTS) and zero tillage seeding (ZTS) of pearl millet and wheat. The rainwater conservation in rainy season crop pearl millet with ridge furrow (RF) in 40 cm spacing at 30 days after seeding (DAS) in standing crop as compared to without rainwater conservation farmer's practice (FP), and for winter season wheat- five critical stages irrigations as compared with four irrigations adopted by farmers. The ZTS method significantly increased the yield and its attributing characters, NRs and WUE, while decreased the weed density, cultivation cost and total water use (TWU) of pearl millet and wheat as compared with TTS. The seeding of crop with ZTS increased the grain yield of pearl millet and wheat by 9.8% and 13.4% as compared with TTS, respectively. The treatment of RF at 40 cm was increased the grain yield by 14.4%, savings TWU- 34 mm and enhancing WUE- 25.4% as compared to FP of pearl millet. Like-wise in wheat, five irrigations at critical stages were increased the grain yield by 19.8%, Nrs - 29.1% and WUE - 5.1% as compared to four irrigation levels. The results of system revealed that ZTS method significantly improvement in productivity - 12.2%, reduction production cost ₹ 10,440 ha-1, additional NRs ₹ 24,115 ha as compared with TTS. Proportionately RF at 40 cm spacing in pearl millet and five irrigation levels in wheat increased the system productivity 18.1% and additional NRs - ₹ 23,858 ha-1 as compared with FP. This study indicates that the higher yield of crops and the system, NRs, WUE and soil physicochemical properties with ZTS of crops along with RF in 40 cm spacing of pearl millet and five irrigation levels at critical stages in wheat grown in old alluvial plains.