Detection of site specific climate resilient nutrient management practice for rice-wheat system – An empirical approach

Abstract

Identification of suitable climate resilient nutrient management practices will reduce the ill-effects of extreme climate variability on agricultural production. Rice (Oryza sativa L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) rotation is one of the major cropping system traditionally followed in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, which are responsible for the food security of the country. The relation between rice yield variability and rainfall under different nutrient management practices and the relation between wheat yield variability and maximum temperature using the yield data from the long term Integrated Nutrient Management experiment on the rice-wheat system for the last 27 years at 9 sites representing different agro-ecological zones of India were analyzed. The application of 50% recommended NPK through chemical fertilizers and 50% N through green manure resulted in an overall average higher increase of 1.5% system productivity under both excess (>750 mm) and deficit (<481 mm) rainfall years and also during the years having seasonal mean maximum temperature ≥25.6o C at Ludhiana. Thus this treatment has the adaptive capacity to withstand extreme climates and we can say this treatment is the primary climate resilient integrated nutrient management practice for rice-wheat system in Ludhiana. Application of 50% N through crop residue and 25% N through green manure along with inorganic fertilizers were found to be the secondary and tertiary climate resilient integrated nutrient management practices at Ludhiana. The primary, secondary and tertiary climate resilient integrated nutrient management practice for other sites included in the study were also identified.