Browsing by Author "Govind Makarana"

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Earthworm Population and Diversity Enhanced Under Conservation Management Practices in Intensified Rice-Fallow System of South Asia
(John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2025) Rakesh Pradeep Kumar; Jaipal Singh Choudhary; S. K. Mondal; Janki Sharan Mishra; Govind Makarana; Sushanta Kumar Naik; S. S. Mali; Bal Krishna Jha; Ram Swaroop Meena; Ashish Kumar Biswas; Kumari Shubha; Ved Prakash; Anup Das; Bhagwati Prasad Bhatt; Suresh Kumar Chaudhari
The study was conducted in eastern India's rainfed lowland rice-fallow ecosystems. It aimed to assess the impact of different crop establishment methods on system productivity, earthworm activity and diversity, and soil quality parameters for long-term sustainability. Three distinct crop establishment methods viz. zero-till direct-seeded rice (ZTDSR), conventional-till direct-seeded rice (CTDSR), and transplanted puddle rice (TPR), were employed in conjunction with various crop residue management strategies. The TPR and conventional tillage methods consistently outperformed ZTDSR in terms of grain yield and recorded a 28.9% and 15.4% higher grain yield than ZTDSR and CTDSR, respectively. However, TPR had a detrimental impact on the performance of all winter crops, resulting in a lower grain yield by 29% and 44% than CTDSR and ZTDSR, respectively. The incorporation of a legume or oilseed during the fallow period in the winter season in a rice-fallow system resulted in an increase in system productivity from 5.44 to 9.54 Mg ha−1 (75% increase) demonstrating its potential to boost the food security of the region. Importantly, the study also quantified the critical role of conservation agriculture (CA) practices in enhancing soil health and earthworm activity. The CA-based production systems (CTDSR and ZTDSR) noted a 35.6%, 27.3%, 91.9%, and 73.4% higher earthworm casting, burrows count, total earthworm count, and biomass, respectively, over the TPR system. The TPR production system was associated with increased parameters of soil cracking, including length, width, depth, and volume compared to CA-based management systems. In conclusion, adopting CA-based practices and integrating short-duration pulses and legumes can enhance crop productivity, soil health, and earthworm populations, supporting food and nutritional security in India's rice-fallow regions and similar South Asian agro-ecotypes. © 2025 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Impact of crop establishment and residue management on soil properties and productivity in rice-fallow ecosystems in India
(John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2022) Rakesh Kumar; Janki Sharan Mishra; Sushanta Kumar Naik; Surajit Mondal; Ram Swaroop Meena; Saurabh Kumar; Abhishek Kumar Dubey; Govind Makarana; Bal Krishna Jha; Santosh Sambhaji Mali; Ashis Kumar Biswas; Arbind Kumar Choudhary; Hansraj Hans; Rachana Dubey; Santosh Kumar; Prem Kumar Sundaram; Rohan Kumar Raman; Mohammad Monobrullah; Sanjeev Kumar; Ujjwal Kumar; Bhagwati Prasad Bhatt
The degradation of agricultural land, both chemical and biological, is a big concern all over the world. Crop cultivation practices that are distinctive to each location have negative consequences for agricultural production. Therefore, there is an urgent need for better crop and soil management techniques. This experiment was conducted for 5 years (2016–2020) to identify the best crop establishment-cum-residue management (CERM) practices and suitable crops for succession after the rice harvest in rice-fallow ecosystems of India. Experimentation was conducted in the split-plot design and each treatment was replicated thrice, having CERM in main-plot and post-rainy season/winter crops in sub-plot. All the CERM treatments had two variants, with crop residue (R+) and without crop residue (R−). Rice yields were markedly higher (19.1%–32.2%) in transplanted puddled rice with residue (TPR-R+) over conventional-till direct seeded rice (CTDSR) and zero-till DSR (ZTDSR) treatments. However, TPR adversely impacted the performance of all the post-rainy pulses/oilseed crops. Post-rainy season crop yields under ZTDSR/CTDSR were 14.9%–45.8% higher leading to higher system productivity as compared to TPR. ZTDSR with residue retention showed higher soil aggregation. The practice of ZTDSR increased the soil dehydrogenase activity (46.2%), urease activity (29.8%), soil microbial biomass carbon (65.4), and fluorescein diacetate activity (9.0%) in the crop root zone with 3.3- and 4.47-times higher earthworm population and earthworm biomass, respectively. The rice-pulse system showed 1.74-times more earthworm population over rice-oilseed sequences. Total soil organic carbon (SOC) stock in ZTDSR was 21.8% higher over TPR in 0–45 cm soil profile. Thus, the adoption of ZTDSR practices and diversification of rice-fallows with pulses crops is recommended for enhancing the crop productivity, increasing SOC stock, and improving soil biological properties in the rice-fallow ecosystems of India. © 2022 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.