Conservation tillage and organic nutrients management improve soil properties, productivity, and economics of a maize-vegetable pea system in the Eastern Himalayas

Abstract

Soil quality restoration and sustainable crop production in the rainfed ecosystem of the Indian Himalayas can be achieved through effective conservation tillage and organic management. Hence, a six-year (2013 to 2019) study was conducted to quantify the effect of tillage and organic nutrient management on soil properties, productivity, and profitability of the maize-vegetable pea (Pisum sativum) system. Three tillage practices [conventional (CT), reduced (RT), and no-till (NT)] and four organic nutrients management practices [(ONM)-farmyard manure @ 8 Mg ha−1 farmers practice (ONM1), 100% recommended dose of nitrogen (RDN) through manures (ONM2), 75% RDN through manures + maize/vegetable pea stover in either of the crops (ONM3), and 50% RDN through manures + maize/vegetable pea stover in either of the crops (ONM4)] were tested. The results indicated that the NT had higher soil organic carbon (SOC, 16.49 g kg−1), available N (354.5 kg ha−1), and lesser bulk density (1.31 Mg m−3) and penetration resistance (1.85 MPa) in comparison with that of CT at 0–10 cm depth. The system productivity under NT was 9.6% higher than that obtained under CT. The ONM3 had higher SOC content, plant-available N, soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC), and dehydrogenase activity (DHA) than ONM1. The integration of RT-ONM2 enhanced SMBC, DHA, maize, and vegetable pea yield by 27.2%, 35.7%, 38.0%, and 60.3%, respectively, over CT-ONM1. Thus, the study suggested that the adoption of effective conservation tillage with adequate organic nutrient management has the potential to advance the soil properties and productivity of maize-vegetable pea system in the Himalayan Region. © 2021 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.