Impact of zero tillage technology in wheat and summer greengram cultivation in kymore plateau and Satpura hill regions of Madhya Pradesh Singh A K*, Thomas Moni1, Nayak Siddarth, Singhai Nitin, Sharma D P2 Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) 1Institute of Agri Business Management, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India 2Directorate of Extension Services, JNKVV, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India *Corresponding Author's Email: aksjnkvv@jnkvv.org
Online published on 28 March, 2024. Abstract The Kymore Plateau and Satpura Hills region, which spans the districts of Sidhi, Rewa, Satna, Panna, Jabalpur, and Seoni, is a vertical strip that runs through the center of Madhya Pradesh. Medium to heavy cotton soils predominate in the area, while in the irrigated tracts, rice-wheat-greengram is the main cropping system. Conventional tillage techniques, such as preparing the seed bed for wheat by tillage with a cultivator and then breaking lumps with a rotavator, and preparing the seed bed for greengram by a similar procedure, further postpone the sowing by a further 12 to 15d. In 2019-20 and 2020-21, technology demonstrations on wheat and summer greengram were carried out with conventional and zero tillage while taking the aforementioned into account. ZT+R and CT-R plots showed grain yields of 51.99 and 48.77 q/ha, respectively, which were 41.55 and 32.78 per cent more than FP (36.73 q/ha). The cost of cultivation in ZT+R plots was found to be 0.63 per cent lower than in farmer's practices, but 9.57 per cent higher in CT-R. Wheat could have been sown 15-18 d earlier than with the CT-R method. With 10-12 d early sowing in ZT+R plots, greengram seed yield under ZT+R and CT-R fields was recorded to be 12.65 and 12.28 q/ha, with yield increases of 29.74 and 25.95 per cent over FP (9.75 q/ha). The cost for cultivating greengram was 0.38 perent higher in CT-R technology but 4.87 per cent lower in ZT+R technology than in FP. In the disseminated area of 6385 ha, zero tillage technique minimized 675.92 MT CO2 emissions, which was predicted to be 76% less than that of CT-R. This resulted in fuel savings of 252207 liters and decreased environmental pollution. In addition to the previously mentioned, it saved the need for one irrigation in greengram and wheat, saving a total of 5.795 million cubic feet of water in the disseminated area, valued at 63.85 lakh. Top Keywords Carbon dioxide, Conventional tillage, Emission, Zero tillage, Residue, Resource Retention. Top |