Crop residue management in a rice-wheat cropping system on crop-water productivity and soil health: A Review

Agricultural sciences

The rice-wheat system is India's dominant cropping system, and its sustainability is at risk as a result of degradation in soil health and climate change challenges. The high yields of the irrigated rice-wheat system have led to enormous quantities of crop residues being produced. In north-west India, burning of rice straw is common, causing nutrient losses and severe air pollution affecting human health. Innovations in crop residue management can help achieve sustainable productivity in order to avoid straw burning and allow farmers to reduce nutrient and water inputs and reduce risks due to climate change. Significant amounts of plant nutrients are found in crop residues and their judicious application would have a beneficial impact on the nutrient management of the rice wheat system. Long-term residue recycling studies have shown changes in the soil's physical, chemical and biological health. Another possible choice for the management of crop residues is to use a portion of surplus residue for biochar production as soil modification to improve soil health, increase the efficiency of nutrient use, and reduce air pollution and other mushroom cultivation as the conversion of inedible crop residues into valuable food, surface mulch as soil moisture and weed protection, biofuel and compost production. The decomposition of soil residues greatly increases organic carbon and other nutrients in the soil. This collected review literature addressed the potential for residues and possible options for the efficient management of crop residues in the rice wheat cropping system to improve crop water productivity and soil health.

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