Effect of Tillage and Residue Management on Productivity of Crops in Rice Wheat Cropping System
Rice (Oryza sativa L. and wheat (Triticum aestivum L. emend Fiori and Paol. are major cereals contributing to food security and income in South Asia. These crops are grown either as a monoculture or in rotations in tropical and subtropical environments of South Asia. In the irrigated and favorable rainfed lowland areas, rice rice (R R) and ricewheat (R W) are the predominant cropping systems [1] Rice wheat is the most important cropping system for food security in South Asia (13.5 M ha) providing food for more than 400 million people. It gained prominence from the mid 1960s with the introduction of short duration and high yielding varieties of rice and wheat. At the moment, the rotation has spread in the most fertile regions and has covered about 10.3 million ha in the Indo Gangetic Plain (IGP) of India [2] It is more popular in the non traditional rice growing states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, and less in traditional rice growing states of Bihar and West Bengal. In India, it contributes 26% of total cereal production and 60% of total calorie intake [3] The area under this system is static, and the productivity and sustainability of the system are threatened because of the inefficiency of current production practices, shortage of resources, such as water and labour, fuel and socio economic changes [4]