Saturday, 15 July 2006
170-25

Plant Water Status and Root Dynamics of Winter Corn under Varying Natural Resource Management.

Abdhesh K. Singh1, J.P. Singh1, S.S. Singh2, and Anisur Rahman Khan3. (1) Rajendra Agricultural Univ, Pusa, Samastipur, India, (2) RWC-CIMMYT, India, ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region Floor, Walmi Campus, Patna, 801 505, India, (3) ICAR Research Complex For Eastern Region, Walmi Campus, Phulwari Sharif, Patna, 801505, India

Winter corn is very popular crop in north India due to its assured high yield as compared to other food crops. For their livelihood it is mostly grown by small and marginal farmers at high level of inputs application particularly nitrogen and irrigation. Both inputs are costly. For irrigation ground water is utilized through diesel operated system. Owing to the variation in the maturity of wetland rice, sowing of winter corn is generally delayed. Field is prepared with fine tilth for sowing the corn. Strategies to remove climatic and soil impediments for adoption of reduce tillage in humid climates include use of tillage timing and rotational tillage. Short-term no-tillage rotations for corn have significant agronomic benefits and yield stabilization, compared to monoculture. Therefore, the present study was aimed to optimize tillage practices for economizing irrigation and to increase the efficiency of nitrogen in this crop. Field experiments on winter corn were conducted in eastern India to study the influence of tillage and water management with different nitrogen levels having 27 treatment combinations under late (28th November) and timely sown (6th November) conditions at calcareous loamy sand soils for two consecutive seasons. Three levels each of tillage (main), irrigation (sub) and nitrogen (sub-sub plot) were evaluated in split-split plot design with three replications. The results revealed that the combination of Mould Board ploughed soil + irrigation at IW: CPE ratio of 1.2 and 120 kg N/ha was found the best treatment both under timely and late sown. The increases in maximum and minimum Kernel yield under timely were 82.76 and 61.02 per cent, respectively as compared to late sown condition. Most of the interactions between and among the treatments for corn yield were observed significant under timely sown which ascertained the saving of 60 kg N/ha by manipulation of these inputs but at moderate level of production.

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