Tillage based Crop Establishment Methods and Zinc Application Enhances Productivity, Grain Quality, Profitability and Energetics of Direct-Seeded Rice in Potentially Zinc-Deficient Soil in the Subtropical Conditions of India

• Published in: Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis Vol. 53; no. 9; pp. 1085 - 1099
• Main Authors: Kumar, Sushil, Verma, S.K., Yadav, Ashok, Taria, Sukumar, Alam, Badre, Banjara, Tej Ram
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Taylor & Francis 15.05.2022; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Agricultural production; Cereal crops; conventional till-direct seeded rice; conventional till-wet direct seeded rice; Crop establishment methods; Crop yield; Crops; Economics; Energy efficiency; Grain; Labour; Methods; Nutrition; Productivity; Profitability; Rice; Soil; Soil conditions; Straw; Tillage; Tillers; Water scarcity; zero till-direct seeded rice; Zinc; Zn application
• ISSN: 0010-3624; 1532-2416; 1532-4133
• DOI: 10.1080/00103624.2022.2043340

Direct-seeded rice is becoming an alternative to puddled transplanted rice in Indo-Gangetic Plain due to looming water scarcity and shortage of labor. But poor crop establishment and zinc nutrition hinder realizing its full yield potential. Thus, an experiment on direct-seeded rice allocating three crop establishment methods in main plots and five zinc application treatments in subplots was conducted in a split-plot design with three replicates with the aim to evaluate the effect of crop establishment methods and zinc application on productivity, profitability and energetics. Conventional till-wet direct-seeded rice increased effective tillers by 16.89 and 22.98%, panicle length by 5.33 and 10.48% and panicle weight by 7.83 and 13.41% over conventional till-direct seeded rice and zero till-direct seeded rice, respectively. Furthermore, conventional till-wet direct-seeded rice yielded highest grain and straw yield. Basal application of zinc (6.0 kg ha −1 ) recorded higher grain (4.70-19.50%), straw (3.22-12.92%) and biological yield (3.82-15.51%) over the rest of the treatments. Besides, basal application of zinc (6.0 kg ha −1 ) also proved profitable and energy-efficient. Therefore, conventional till-wet direct-seeded rice with the basal application of zinc (6.0 kg ha −1 ) is suggested to realize higher productivity, profitability and energetics of direct-seeded rice in potentially zinc-deficient soils.