Abstract
Inappropriate agronomic management practices and poor soil health contribute to low yields in the rice-wheat (R-W) systems of Nepal. Findings from other South Asian countries reveal that appropriate management practices have the potential to improve soil health, increase soil sequestration, and enhance rice and wheat yields in the R-W systems. Hence, a field experiment was conducted at the National Wheat Research Program (NWRP) in Western Terai, Nepal, from 2018 to 2020 to assess the effects of various tillage methods (conventional, reduced, and zero) and residue management levels (removal and retention) on crop growth and yields, soil health, and soil carbon sequestration. A strip-split plot design with three replications was employed. Three seed rates in wheat (80, 120, and 160 kg ha⁻¹) were evaluated to identify the optimal seed rates under different tillage and residue management practices. Data on growth, yield, and yield attributes, and soil properties and soil carbon sequestration were collected and analyzed using R statistical Software. Zero tillage (ZT) and residue retention (RR) significantly reduced bulk density and increased soil carbon levels. Tillage didn’t affect the number of days to flowering and maturity, but they were delayed with lower seed rates. Wheat root mass decreased with depth, with ZT enhancing root development in the upper soil layers. Seed rate influenced root distribution, with lower rates promoting shallow roots and higher rates favoring deeper roots. RR under conventional tillage did not significantly affect growth, yield, phenology, and root distribution in either crop. ZT improved wheat growth, reduced sterility, and increased yield and yield components. In rice, however, tillage or residue management didn’t significantly influence yield and yield components. The sustainable yield index for wheat was significantly higher under ZT and with a higher seed rate. ZT wheat, followed by ZT direct-seeded rice, significantly enhanced profitability, while residue management practices had no notable effect. Results suggest the potential advantage of ZT combined with RR in terms of crop and system yields, soil carbon sequestration, and soil health. Implementing ZT, retaining residues, and using a seed rate of 120-160 kg ha⁻¹ in wheat can improve the yields of individual crops in the R-W systems while maintaining soil health and carbon sequestration in Nepal’s Western Terai, with such potentials in other parts of Nepal and other South Asian countries where these systems are practiced on a wide scale.
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Claims 18
Claim · model-written summary
Zero tillage and residue retention reduced soil bulk density.
- Taxon
- rice-wheate0
- Treatment
- Zero tillage (ZT) and residue retention (RR)e1
- Outcome
- bulk densitye1
- Direction
- reducede1
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“rice-wheat (R-W) systems”
e1“Zero tillage (ZT) and residue retention (RR) significantly reduced bulk density”
Claim · model-written summary
Zero tillage and residue retention increased soil carbon.
- Taxon
- rice-wheate0
- Treatment
- Zero tillage (ZT) and residue retention (RR)e1
- Outcome
- soil carbon levelse1
- Direction
- increasede1
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“rice-wheat (R-W) systems”
e1“Zero tillage (ZT) and residue retention (RR) significantly reduced bulk density and increased soil carbon levels”
Claim · model-written summary
Tillage did not affect days to flowering and maturity.
- Taxon
- rice-wheate0
- Treatment
- Tillagee1
- Outcome
- number of days to flowering and maturitye1
- Direction
- didn’t affecte1
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“rice-wheat (R-W) systems”
e1“Tillage didn’t affect the number of days to flowering and maturity”
Claim · model-written summary
Lower seed rates delayed flowering and maturity.
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“rice-wheat (R-W) systems”
e1“they were delayed with lower seed rates”
e2“Tillage didn’t affect the number of days to flowering and maturity”
Claim · model-written summary
Wheat root mass decreased with depth.
- Taxon
- Wheat
Triticum aestivume0 - Organ / stage
- roote0
- Outcome
- root masse0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Qualifier
- depthe0
Not reportedSetting
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Wheat root mass decreased with depth”
Claim · model-written summary
Zero tillage enhanced wheat root development in upper soil layers.
- Taxon
- WheatTriticum aestivume0
- Treatment
- ZTe0
- Outcome
- root developmente0
- Direction
- enhancinge0
- Qualifier
- upper soil layerse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Wheat root mass decreased with depth, with ZT enhancing root development in the upper soil layers”
Claim · model-written summary
Lower seed rates promoted shallow wheat roots.
- Taxon
- WheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- lower ratese0
- Outcome
- shallow rootse0
- Direction
- promotinge0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Seed rate influenced root distribution, with lower rates promoting shallow roots”
e1“Wheat root mass decreased with depth”
Claim · model-written summary
Higher seed rates favored deeper wheat roots.
- Taxon
- WheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- higher ratese0
- Outcome
- deeper rootse0
- Direction
- favoringe0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“higher rates favoring deeper roots”
e1“Wheat root mass decreased with depth”
Claim · model-written summary
Residue retention under conventional tillage did not significantly affect crop growth, yield, phenology, or root distribution.
- Taxon
- rice-wheate1
- Treatment
- RR under conventional tillagee0
- Outcome
- growth, yield, phenology, and root distributione0
- Direction
- did not significantly affecte0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“RR under conventional tillage did not significantly affect growth, yield, phenology, and root distribution in either crop”
e1“rice-wheat (R-W) systems”
Claim · model-written summary
Zero tillage improved wheat growth.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Treatment
- ZTe0
- Outcome
- wheat growthe0
- Direction
- improvede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“ZT improved wheat growth, reduced sterility, and increased yield and yield components”
Claim · model-written summary
Zero tillage reduced wheat sterility.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Treatment
- ZTe0
- Outcome
- sterilitye0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“ZT improved wheat growth, reduced sterility, and increased yield and yield components”
Claim · model-written summary
Zero tillage increased wheat yield and yield components.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Treatment
- ZTe0
- Outcome
- yield and yield componentse0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“ZT improved wheat growth, reduced sterility, and increased yield and yield components”
Claim · model-written summary
Tillage or residue management did not significantly influence rice yield and yield components.
- Taxon
- rice
Oryza sativae0 - Treatment
- tillage or residue managemente0
- Outcome
- yield and yield componentse0
- Direction
- didn’t significantly influencee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In rice, however, tillage or residue management didn’t significantly influence yield and yield components”
Claim · model-written summary
Wheat sustainable yield index was significantly higher under zero tillage.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Treatment
- ZTe0
- Outcome
- sustainable yield indexe0
- Direction
- highere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The sustainable yield index for wheat was significantly higher under ZT and with a higher seed rate”
Claim · model-written summary
Wheat sustainable yield index was significantly higher with a higher seed rate.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Treatment
- higher seed ratee0
- Outcome
- sustainable yield indexe0
- Direction
- highere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The sustainable yield index for wheat was significantly higher under ZT and with a higher seed rate”
Claim · model-written summary
Zero tillage wheat followed by zero tillage direct seeded rice significantly enhanced profitability.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Treatment
- ZT wheat, followed by ZT direct-seeded ricee0
- Outcome
- profitabilitye0
- Direction
- enhancede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“ZT wheat, followed by ZT direct-seeded rice, significantly enhanced profitability”
Claim · model-written summary
Residue management had no notable effect on profitability.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Treatment
- residue management practicese0
- Outcome
- profitabilitye0
- Direction
- no notable effecte0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“ZT wheat, followed by ZT direct-seeded rice, significantly enhanced profitability, while residue management practices had no notable effect”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors recommend zero tillage, residue retention, and 120-160 kg ha⁻¹ wheat seed rate to improve yields while maintaining soil health and carbon.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Treatment
- Implementing ZT, retaining residues, and using a seed rate of 120-160 kg ha⁻¹e0
- Outcome
- improve the yields of individual crops in the R-W systems while maintaining soil health and carbon sequestratione0
- Setting
- Nepal’s Western Teraie0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Implementing ZT, retaining residues, and using a seed rate of 120-160 kg ha⁻¹ in wheat can improve the yields of individual crops in the R-W systems while maintaining soil health and carbon sequestration in Nepal’s Western Terai”
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