Vol. 8, Issue 2 (2020)
Energetics and nitrogen-use efficiency of kharif maize in conservation agriculture-based maize (Zea mays)–wheat (Triticum aestivum) sequence
Author(s): RL Choudhary, UK Behera, HV Singh, MD Meena, ML Dotaniya and RS Jat
Abstract: Field experiments were conducted at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi to evaluate the effect of six combinations of tillage and crop establishment techniques, i.e. conventional tillage-flat bed (CT-F), CT-raised bed (CT-B), zero tillage-flat bed with crop residue (ZT-F+R) and without crop residue (ZT-F), ZT-raised bed with crop residue (ZT-B+R) and without crop residue (ZT-B) in conjunction with four N levels (0, 60, 120 and 180 kg N/ha) on energy relations and nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) in kharif maize (Zea mays L.) grown in sequence with wheat (Triticum aestivum L. emend. Fiori & Paol). Significant (p ≤ 0.05) effect of conservation agriculture (CA) on the energy indicators and NUE was observed during second year of the study. ZT practices saved on an average 22% input energy requirements over CT practices. The maximum input energy requirement was recorded under crop residue applied treatments followed by CT and least under ZT practices. ZT-B+R resulted the maximum gross output energy (153.7 × 103 MJ/ha) which was significantly higher (5-13%) over rest of the treatments, except CT-B. However, the maximum energy-use efficiency (EUE) was recorded under ZT-B (24.42). Different indicators of NUE was not influenced significantly, except physiological efficiency index of N (PEIN) due to different tillage and crop establishment techniques. However, in general, ZT-B+R resulted the maximum values of most of the indicators of NUE. The energy and NUE parameters were differed significantly due to N levels. The input and output energy increased significantly with each successive increase in levels of N from 0 to 120 kg N/ha, while reverse trends were observed with EUE and NUE, which were decreased significantly from 0 to 180 kg N/ha. Considering all the parameters, the study recommends that permanent raised bed system is an energy efficient and could be adopted with surface retention of crop residues to improve the NUE of applied fertilizer-N in maize.
DOI: 10.22271/chemi.2020.v8.i2s.8937
Pages: 1252-1258 | 701 Views 124 Downloads
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How to cite this article:
RL Choudhary, UK Behera, HV Singh, MD Meena, ML Dotaniya, RS Jat. Energetics and nitrogen-use efficiency of kharif maize in conservation agriculture-based maize (Zea mays)–wheat (Triticum aestivum) sequence. Int J Chem Stud 2020;8(2):1252-1258. DOI: 10.22271/chemi.2020.v8.i2s.8937