Evaluation and promotion of resource-conserving tillage and crop establishment techniques in the rice-wheat system of eastern India

The current production system of rice (conventional-till puddled transplanted rice, CT-TPR) and wheat (conventional-till broadcast wheat, CT-BCW) in the Indo-Gangetic Plains is less economical as production costs have gone up due to shortages of labor and water and escalating fuel prices. Therefore, we evaluated alternative resource-conserving tillage and crop establishment methods for reducing production costs and improving productivity and farmers income in both rice and wheat in farmers, fields of eastern India. A total of 699 on-farm trials involving various improved tillage and crop establishment options were conducted from 2005 to 2008. In rice, alternative tillage and crop establishment methods provided equal or higher grain yield (3_40%), reduced crop establishment costs (20_65%), and increased farmers, net income (30_190%) compared with CT.TPR. Direct seeding on puddled soil, that is, broadcast (CT-BCW) or drum-seeded rice (CT-DrumR), and rice on beds either direct-seeded (Becl-DSR) or transplanted (Bed-TPR) had yield equivalent to that of CT-TPR. Combined analysis of three years showed that direct-seeded rice after zero-till (Zr-DSP) had 22% higher grain yield than CT-TPR but was not different from direct-seeded rice after reduced-till (RT-DSR). Similar to rice, alternative tillage and crop establishment methods in wheat had grain yield higher than (13_72%) or equivalent to that of CT-BCW, with the exception of surface-seeded wheat (Zr-BCW). Crop establishment costs in bed-planted wheat (Bed-DSW) increased by US$14_33 ha-1 but declined by $14_31 ha-1 in zero-till drill-seeded wheat (ZT-DSW). Overall, results demonstrated that added rice grain yield over the farmers practice with the introduction of ZT-DSR and PT-DSP was 0.49 and 0.47 t ha-1, respectively. Added gain in net income was $120 ha1 in RT-DSR and $147 ha-1 in ZT-DSR. Added grain yield and net income in wheat with the use of Bed-DSW and ZT-DSW were 1.4 and 0.66 t ha-1 and $261 and $175 ha-1, respectively. Although yield of surface-seeded wheat in zero-till conditions was lower (22_28%), net income was not significantly different from that of CT-BCW. In addition, training, traveling seminars, farmers, meetings, field days, and television and radio programs were organized for capacity building of national partners and for increasing awareness about resource-conserving technologies in eastern India. Results showed that ZT-, Bed-, and RT-DSR in rice and Bed- and ZT-DSW in wheat are the appropriate tillage and crop establishment options for higher resource-use efficiency and productivity and profitability of the rice-wheat system in the agro-climatic conditions of eastern India.