Evaluation of Conservation Tillage System Performance for Rainfed Wheat Production in upland of Pakistan

Abstract

P is the largest rainfed tract of northern Punjab, Pakistan, where fallow-wheat rotation is the most common practice on about 80% of the area (Razzaq et al., 2002). The six-month-fallow starts from the harvest of previous wheatinMay and continues till the seeding of next wheat crop in October. The rainfall is erratic, scanty and 70% of the rain is received during monsoon (fallow period) in the form of torrential rainstorms which not only lead to water losses but also the loss of soil through erosion.Current farmer’s practices during fallow period comprise of moldboard plowing followed by 8 -12 tillage operationswithtine cultivator for moisture conservation and weed control (Zahid et al., 1991; Ishaq et al., 2003). Low crop productivity is the common feature of the agriculture of area; however, there is great potential of increasing crop productivityif efficient use of resourcesand reduced input costs are ensured. Abstract | Tillage and crop residue management practices are keyconsiderations for crop production in rainfed areas. The objective of the current study was to explorethe possibility of practicing conservation tillage systems for reducing input cost of small holder farming community of Pothwar, Pakistan. A two-year field study was carried out with a split plot design, having conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT), reduced tillage (RT) and zero tillage (ZT) systems in main plots,while residue retained (R+) and removed (R-) in sub-plots.The results showed that seedling emergence, wheat biomass and grain yield were statistically same under CT (83 plants m-2, 6.02 Mg ha-1, 3.32 Mg ha-1, respectively), MT (83 plants m-2, 5.90Mg ha-1, 3.26 Mg ha-1, respectively) and RT(72 plants m-2, 5.92 Mg ha-1,3.20Mg ha-1, respectively)tillage systemswith retention of crop residues,whilesignificantly lower values were recorded under ZT without residue return (54 plants m-2, 4.33Mg ha-1, 2.02Mg ha-1, respectively). The gross margins were highest with crop residue return under RT (Rs. 109375) followed by MT (Rs. 101800) and CT (Rs. 97840), whereas ZT without residue return gave the lowest gross margin of Rs. 7187.The study indicated that reduced tillage (chiseling) with retention of crop residue is a promising conservation tillage practicefor economical benefits and sufficient wheat yields in rainfed Pothwar, Pakistan. Muhammad Sharif1*, Shahzada Sohail Ijaz2, Muhammad Ansar3, Ijaz Ahmad4 and Syed Abdul Sadiq5