Soil moisture conservation and productivity of rainfed maize

(Zea mays) as affected by tillage and different modes of straw

mulch application in foothills of Shivaliks

Rajan Bhatt
Assistant Professor (Soil Scinece)
Krishi Vigyan Kendra,Kapurthala
rajanbhatt79@rediffmail.com
(98159-63858)

Abstract

Rainfed agriculture has the problem of low productivity due to low moisture

content in the root zone profile during the dry season. Light texture, poor fertility and

low water retentivity of such soils restrict the crop productivity. Further, among the

various challenges faced by the hilly agriculture, soil erosion is one of the most

dominating which decreases the productivity of soil. The submontaneous tract of Punjab

comprising 10% area of the state is prone to the problem of the soil erosion by water.

The soils of the area are coarse in texture, low in organic matter and poor in fertility.

High intensity rains during the monsoon season result in the fertile topsoil removal.

There is an urgent need to check the problem of soil erosion in this region so as to

improve the soil productivity. Keeping this in view, a field study to evaluate the effect of

tillage and different modes of straw mulch application on growth and yield of maize

(Zea mays) cultivar ‘Parkash’ was conducted at Zonal Research Station for Kandi Area

(ZRSKA), Ballowal-Saunkhri, district Nawanshahr (Punjab). The treatments comprised

of two levels of tillage viz. minimum (Tm) and conventional (Tc) in the main plots and

five modes of straw mulch application viz. mulch spread over whole plot (Mw), mulch

spread on lower 1/3rd of plot (M1/3rd), mulch applied in strips (Ms), vertical mulching

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(Mv) and unmulched control (Mo) in the subplots in a triplicated split plot design. The

rate of mulch application was 6 t/ha under all the modes of straw mulch applications. As

compared to the unmulched control, the application of mulch on the whole plot resulted

in 4.0 to 5.1% and 3.5 to 7.1% higher soil moisture content in 0-15 cm and in 15-30 cm

soil depth under minimum tillage, respectively. The plant height was 68.1, 44.5, 37.1 and

17.4% higher in Mw, M1/3rd, Ms and Mv respectively as compared to the control Mo while

minimum tilled plots had 4.8% higher plant heights as compared to the conventionally

tilled plots. Leaf area index in Mw plots was 79.3% higher LAI as compared to Mo plots

whereas minimum tilled plots had 32.3% higher LAI as compared to the conventionally

tilled plots. As compared to conventional tillage, the test weight of 100-grain was

observed to be 3.2% higher in the minimum tillage treatment but these differences could

not reach the level of significance. Straw mulching reduced the maximum soil

temperature and helped in conserving soil moisture thus improving the edaphic

environment and favoured the various growth parameters. Minimum tillage coupled

with straw mulch application on the whole plot was found to be highly effective in

promoting the various plant growth and yield parameters by providing maximum surface

cover and improving the physical conditions of the soil.

Key words: Mulching; tillage; LAI; Plant height; edaphic environment

Introduction

The conservation of soil and water is very essential for sustainable production,

environment preservation and balanced ecosystem. Almost 50% of our total geographical

area needs conservation measures. It is reported that during the last 40 years, about one-

third of the total arable land of the world is being lost by soil erosion and it continues to

be lost @ 10 million hectare per year (Pimental et al., 1995). Dryland area in India,

constitutes about 68% of arable land (144 millon ha) contributing about 45% of food

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grain production. Further in Punjab, this contributes about 10% of the total area of the

state. But, dryland agriculture is characterized by a higher frequency of uneven

distribution of rainfall in time and space. This often causes dry spells of even two weeks

or more resulting in moisture stress conditions. If these occur at the critical growth

period of crops, the yields are seriously impaired (Virmani et al, 1981). Thus the major

problem of establishing a rainfed crop in the dry season is the lack of adequate moisture

in the seed zone. Maize is a major kharif crop grown under rainfall conditions in

submontaneous tract of Punjab. Another hinderance in the successful cultivation of

rainfed crops is the problem of soil erosion. In India, the problem of soil erosion is quite

serious as about 18.5 % of the total soil erosion occurs here and about 5334 million

tonnes of soil is being lost annually (Dhruvanarayana and Ram Babu, 1983) along with

10 million tonnes of fertilizer (Kanwar, 1973) and other essential elements. In the

submontaenous tract of Punjab, about 0.47 million hectare of the area is suffering from

the problem of soil erosion mainly by water due to uneven topography, high soil

erodibility, low fertility of soil and high erosivity of rains (Khera and Singh, 1995). The

soils of the area are generally coarse in texture (loamy sand to sandy loam), low in

organic matter (> 0.4%), deficient in N, low to medium in available P (5.0 to 20 kgha-1)

and medium (118 to 280 kgha-1) with respect to K (Singh et al, 1984). The area receives

an average annual rainfall of 1000 + 304 mm, 80% of which is received in two and half

months of the whole year during the monsoon season. However, rains are highly erratic

in nature and are of high intensity which normally prevails for a shorter period of time.

The monsoon rains are received in 20 to 30 rainstroms, out of which 8 to 12 produce

runoff (Hadda and Sur, 1987). Flowing runoff water carries soil particles along with the

fertile nutrients. Although the positive effect of straw mulching on the plant growth and

yield is well established, only a limited number of studies have been conducted to study

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the effect of different modes of straw mulch application on the plant growth under

different tillage treatments in the rainfed region. Therefore, the present investigation was

undertaken to study the effect of tillage and different mode of straw mulch application on

the growth parameters of maize (Zea mays var. Parkash) in the submontaneous tract of

Punjab.

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

The field experiment was conducted at the Zonal Research Station for Kandi area

(ZRSKA) Ballowal-Saunkhri, district Nawanshahr, Punjab to evaluate the effect of

tillage and cover management techniques on the crop growth parameters (Fig.1). The

area is situated at a latitude of 30o-41’ to 32o-30’ N and longitude of 75o 30’ to 76o 48’ E

and is 355 m above mean sea level. The soil of the experimental site is sandy loam in

texture, neutral to alkaline in reaction (pH 8.0) and poor in fertility.

The field experiment was laid out in a split plot design with two tillage treatments

(Tm = Minimum tillage and Tc = Conventional tillage) in the main plots and five modes

of straw mulch application viz. straw mulch spread on whole plot (Mw), straw mulch

applied on lower 1/3rd of the plot (M1/3rd), straw mulch applied in strips (Ms), vertical

mulching (Mv) and no mulching (Mo) in the sub-plots of size 5 x 1.5 m2 in three

replications. Minimum tillage comprised of one disking and one cultivation whereas

conventional tillage comprised of disking twice followed by three cultivations. In the

strip application, rice straw mulch was applied in 15×5 cm strips constructed in

alternative rows and vertical mulching straw mulch was applied in vertical holes (10 cm

diameter and 15 cm deep) made with auger. Thus there were 6 strips and 17 vertical

holes per plot in the (Ms) and (Mv) treatments, respectively. Maize (Zea mays cv.

Parkash) was planted on 6th July 2002 with 45 cm row-to-row and 22.5 cm plant-to-plant

spacing. Fertilizers were applied at the recommended rates. Straw mulch @ 6 t ha -1 was

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applied as per treatment. A total of 547 mm rain was received during the monsoon

season which was much below the normal rainfall of the area. This rainfall was received

in 31 rainstorms out of which 12 were erosive. Plant growth parameters like LAI, Plant

height, 100 grain weight, Soil moisture were recorded. LAI was recorded periodically by

randomly selecting representative ten plants from each plot. The exact length and breadth

of each leaf of the selected plant were measured. From this, the area of individual leaf

was calculated, by multiplying it with 0.75 (Mckee, 1964). Thus by summing up the

areas of all the leaves, total value of leaf area was obtained. By dividing the total leaf

area by the ground area, value of leaf index area (LAI) was obtained. Soil moisture

content was recorded periodically through gravimeterically. Periodic measurements of

plant height of randomly selected 10 plants from each plot were taken. The 100 grain

weight of maize was taken after drying them at 600C.

3. RESULT AND DISCUSSIONS

(a) Plant height

The data on periodic plant height revealed that as compared to the unmulched

control, the plant height was 68.1, 45, 37.1 and 17.4 per cent higher under M w, M1/3rd, Ms

and Mv treatments, respectively. The plant height in the minimum tilled plots was

observed to be higher than under the conventionally tilled plots under all modes of straw

mulch application (Table 1). The plant height data recorded 86 days after sowing showed

significant interaction between different tillage and modes of straw mulch application

treatments. The plant height was observed to be 250 cm, 246 cm, 243 cm, 222 cm and

222 cm under Mw, M1/3rd, Ms, Mv and Mo plots, respectively under the minimum tillage

level treatment, whereas the respective plant height values were observed to be 250 cm,

245 cm, 241 cm and 195 cm under the conventional tilled plots. Thus, on an average

minimum tilled plots had 4.8% higher plant heights as compared to the conventionally

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tilled plots. Similar results were found by Weeraratna and Asghar (1990). The plant

height was observed to be significantly higher under TmMv and TmMo treatments as

compared to TcMv and TcMo combination. However, no other combination of tillage and

straw mulching was observed to improve the plant height significantly (Table 2).

(b) Leaf Area Index

Perusal of the data on periodic leaf area index (LAI) recorded on four different

dates (Fig. 2) revealed that it was significantly affected by the straw mulching and tillage

treatments. Leaf area index under minimum tilled plots was higher under all modes of

mulch application than under the conventionally tilled plots. LAI was observed to be 5.8,

5.1, 4.5, 3.6 and 3.4 respectively in Mw, M1/3rd, Ms, Mv and Mo treatments under minimum

tilled plots, whereas the respective values of LAI decreased to 4.6, 3.9, 3.3, 2.8 and 2.4 in

conventionally tilled plots (Table 3). It was reported that on an average Mw plots had

79.3% higher LAI as compared to Mo plots whereas minimum tilled plots had 32.3%

higher LAI as compared to the conventionally tilled plots. Therefore, plots fully covered

with straw mulch (Mw) had highest values of LAI as compared to the control plots (M o)

both under minimum and conventional tilled treatment. However, the values of LAI for

other modes of straw mulch application were observed to lie in between the unmulched

control and fully covered straw mulch plots. Mulched plots have greater leaf area of its

vegetation as compared to the control unmulched plots as reported by Gajera et al (1998)

and Hazara et al (1973).

(c) 100-grain weight

As compared to conventional tillage, the test weight of 100-grain was observed to

be 3.2% higher in the minimum tillage treatment but these differences could not reach

the level of significance. However, the different modes of straw mulch application

significantly affected the test weight of 100 grains (Table 4). The 100-grain weight in

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Mw, M1/3rd and Ms plots was significantly higher than the Mo plots. The interaction effect

of tillage and modes of straw mulch application was, however, observed to be

significant.

(d) Soil moisture

Soil moisture content in the surface as well as sub-surface soils was affected both

by tillage and different modes of straw mulch application. As compared to the un

mulched control, the application of straw much @ 6 t ha-1 in whole plot had 4.0 to 5.1%

and 3.5 to 7.1% higher soil moisture content in 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm soil depth,

respectively under minimum tilled plots (Tm). However, these values decreased to 2.4 to

4.3% and 2.7 to 5.6% in 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm soil depth, respectively under the

conventional tilled plots (Tc) (Fig. 2 and 3). The minimum tillage was thus observed to

be more effective in conserving soil moisture than the conventional tillage. Among

different modes of straw mulch application, the effectiveness in conserving soil moisture

was directly related to the surface cover provided by the straw mulch under a particular

mode. The conservation of soil moisture is mainly attributed to reduce evaporation

caused by application of straw mulch on the soil surface (Gupta and Gupta, 1986).

CONCLUSION

Among five different modes of mulching imposed, mulch applied on whole plot

proved to be most effective followed by mulching on lower 1/3 rd plot, strip and vertical

in promoting the growth parameters. Among tillage treatments, minimum tillage was

found to be superior over the conventional tillage in promoting the growth parameters.

However as far as interactive effect of tillage and different modes of straw mulch

application is concerned, it was reported that minimum tilled plots coupled with fully

covered plots were found to be the most effective and conventionally tilled with bare

plots was found to be the least effective in promoting the crop growth parameters.

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REFERENCES:

Dhruvanarayana, V.V. and Ram Babu, 1983. Estimation of soil erosion in India. J.
Irrigation and Drainage Engineering 109(4), 419-434.

Gajera, M.S., Ahlawat, R.P.S. and Ardashna, R.B. 1998 Effect of irrigation schedule,
tillage depth and mulch on growth and yield of winter pigeonpea (Cajanus
cajan). Indian Journal of Agronomy 43: 689-93.

Gupa, J.P. and Gupta, G.K., 1986. Effect of tillage and mulching on soil environment
and cowpea seedling growth under arid condition. Soil Tillage Res. 7, 233-240.

Hadda, M.S. and Sur, H.S. 1987. Effect of land modifying measures on erosion,
nutrients, water storage and yield of pearl millet fodder. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci.,
35, 480-486.

Hazara, C.R. Ray, S.R. and Biswas, T.D. 1973 Effect of stored soil moisture reserve
through conservation practices and supplemental irrigation on wheat yield under
dry land farming conditions. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci., 21: 16-17.

Kanwar, J.S. 1973. Soil and water conservation research in India. Soil Cons. Digest 1
(1), 1-3.

Khera, K.L. and Singh, G. 1995 Effect of paddy straw mulch and rainfall intensity on
runoff and soil loss under simulated rainfall. Indian J. Soil Cons., 23(1) : 20-23.

Mckee, G.W. 1964. A coefficient for computing leaf area in hybrid maize. Agronomy
Journal. 56 : 240-41.

Pimental, D., Harvey, C., Resosudarmo, P., Sinclair, K., Kurz, D., McNair, M., Crist, S.,
Shprit, Z.L., Fitton, L., Saffouri, R. and Blair, R. 1995 Environmental and
economic costs of soil erosion and conservation benefits. Science. 267 : 1117-24.

Singh, M. Bhatnagar, V.K. and Sur, H.S. 1984. Losses of nitrogen in surface runoff from
agricultural land as affected by soil management practices. Indian Soc. Soil
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Virmani, S.M. Willey, R.W. and Reddy, M.S. 1984. Problems, prospectus and
Technology for increasing cereals and pulse production from deep black soils.
Improving the management of India’s deep black soils. ICRISAT, Hydrabad,
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Weeraratna, C.S. and Asghur, M. 1990 Effect of grass and dadap mulches on some soil
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Samoa. Trop. Agric., 69: 83-87.

Table 2: Effect of tillage and mode of mulch application on plant height (cm) on 30th
Aug.2002.

Tillage
Mode of Mulch Application Mean
Tm Tc

Mw 251.0 249.5 250.5

M1/3rd 246.4 244.5 245.5

Ms 242.8 240.5 241.6

Mv 221.9 211.5 211.2

Mo 221.9 194.9 208.4

Mean 236.8 226.0

CD (5%) Tillage (T) = 10.5

Mulching (M) = 4.9

TxM = 6.90

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Table 3: Effect of tillage and mode of mulch application on Leaf Area Index (LAI)

Tillage
Mode of Mulch Application Mean
Tm Tc

Mw 5.8 21.0 5.2

M1/3rd 5.1 29.1 4.5

Ms 4.5 34.0 3.9

Mv 3.6 51.2 3.2

Mo 3.4 54.9 2.9

Mean 4.5 3.4

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Table 4: Effect of tillage and mode of mulch application on 100 grain weight (g).

Tillage
Mode of Mulch Application Mean
Tm Tc

Mw 21.8 20.0 20.9

M1/3rd 19.1 19.0 19.0

Ms 18.9 18.6 18.7

Mv 18.1 17.8 17.9

Mo 17.9 17.8 17.8

Mean 19.2 18.6

CD (5%) Tillage (T) = NS

Mulching (M) = 0.52

TxM = 0.73

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