Soil, nutrient, and water management

Improved crop and nutrient management for

efficient use of residual soil moisture and
nutrients under rainfed lowland rice fallow
conditions
A. Ghosh
Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack 753006, India

The rich natural resources in the rainfed medium-deep (0–50 cm) lowland
ecology could not be properly exploited with rice monocropping alone. For ages,
farmers have practiced monocropping. But, even if they do grow medium- to
short-duration crops after rice, they follow this culture inconsistently.
Nonetheless, mere broadcast seeding of crops under no or suboptimal
management results in meager yields and this necessitates improved crop and
nutrient management approaches (Ghosh 2002). Efficient natural resource
management using leftover soil moisture and nutrients that remain in the soil
after the preceding rice crop could turn lowland rice farming into a profitable
enterprise (Maclean et al 2002). This study, carried out from 2007 to 2009 at the
Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, India, aimed to develop improved agro-
management practices, giving farmers better rice fallow management options in
order to enhance the total system productivity of this complex, diverse, and risk-
prone ecology.
In the initial year, short- to medium-duration legumes such as chickpea,
green gram, cowpea, and horsegram were grown in rice fallow to assess their
adaptability and efficacy. Of the various crops evaluated, green gram (Phaseolus
radiatus) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) showed promise. They were further
assessed under residual soil moisture conditions in 2008 and 2009, comparing
improved crop and nutrient management with the farmers’ practice. Under the
improved management scheme, green gram and cowpea seeds were sown in late
December (after the preceding rice crop was harvested) at 15 and 25 kg ha–1,
maintaining 30 × 10 cm and 30 × 15 cm spacing, respectively. Soil at the
experimental site was sandy clay loam (Aric, Haplaquept). The preceding rice
was treated with 60-30-30 kg NPK ha–1 and the residual soil (pH 5.8) had 0.83%
organic C, 0.09% total N, 22 kg P ha–1, and 128 kg K ha–1.
Improved nutrient management—application of P and K at half the
recommended dose (40 and 20 kg ha–1)—was compared with the farmers’

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practice of broadcasting seed in soil with residual nutrients only. All fertilizers
were applied during sowing. Treatment combinations were arranged in a split-
plot design with crop type as the main plot and nutrient management as the
subplot. There were five replications. The entire experiment was laid out in
permanent plots that grow rice in the wet season and legumes in the dry season
as per treatment combination. Growth and yield data were collected from both
vegetative and reproductive stages and were subjected to standard analysis of
variance using the statistical package CROPSTAT. Treatment differences were
calculated using the least significant difference (LSD) test and compared at
P<0.05 level of significance. To make the study more comprehensible to farmers,
the usual empirical derivations showing intercropping advantages were not
estimated; instead, system productivity of the rice-legume rotation and economic
returns were determined.
The good germination of green gram (80–85%) and cowpea (75–80%)
seeds resulted in adequate crop emergence. The ambient soil moisture conditions
prevailing in that fallow condition ensured an adequate amount for the crops’
vigorous growth. The residual soil moisture satisfactorily met the water needs of
the plants across all growth stages until maturity. Crop growth was found
satisfactory with improved crop and nutrient management, and this was more
pronounced in cowpea. However, differences brought about by varying plant
populations were not discernible (Table 1), implying that plant population may
not necessarily depend on variable nutrient availability. Although total plant
populations in larger areas remained the same in both cases, population density
was not uniform in broadcast-sown crops across the field. As a result, improved
crop and nutrient management considerably boosted plant vigor; both crops
were significantly taller than broadcast-sown crops under residual fertility
conditions. This may be attributed to the supplementary contribution of
fertilizers applied ex situ, satisfying the “plant nutrient demand” during the
growth period. Subsequently, the increase in plant height appreciably induced
pod emergence (Yadav et al 2003). Nutrient management rather than residual
fertility conditions induced pod setting in both crops, with a significantly greater
number of effective pods observed in fertilized plants. Proper pod filling resulted
in boldness of seed.

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Table 1. Performance of green gram and cowpea grown under residual soil
moisture and varying nutrient status in rainfed lowland rice fallow.
Growth and yield Plant population Plant height Effective pods Seed yield
parameter m–2 (no.) (cm) plant–1 (no.) (t ha–1)
2008 2009 2008 2009 2008 2009 2008 2009
Treatment
Crop
Green gram 39 40 28.6 30.5 7 12 1.02 1.12
Cowpea 35 38 140.8 145.0 10 16 1.26 1.36
Growing environment
Farmers’ practice 34 38 75.5 80.4 6 7 0.97 1.05
Improved crop & 40 45 87.8 90.3 10 12 1.31 1.45
nutrient
management
CD (P = 0.05)
Crop nsa ns 10.22 9.35 0.66 0.70 0.016 0.021
Nutrient status ns ns 10.50 9.50 0.70 0.75 0.018 0.025
ans = nonsignificant.

No significant variation in rice grain yield was seen, 4.50 and 5.25 t ha–1
across the year, while the yield of the succeeding legumes increased appreciably
(Table 1). Cowpea consistently produced significantly more seed than green
gram. Crops under improved crop and nutrient management significantly
outyielded those under conventional management in both years. Supplementing
nutritional demand with improved nutrient management enhanced the growth
and yield of both crops (Ghosh and Jha 2002) (Table 1).
The interaction of crops with improved management also revealed
differential crop responses (Table 2). Cowpea was found responding better to
improved management than green gram. This may be attributed to the variable
growth patterns of the crops tested. Green gram, with its shorter growth
duration, survived both nutrient conditions, so it could not respond
proportionately to fertilizer application. In contrast, the longer growth duration
of cowpea facilitated greater absorption and use of the applied nutrients;
previously, it had poor growth and development, the consequence of inadequate
nutrition as it depended on residual fertility alone. Across crops, improved crop
and nutrient management resulted in 35% more yield compared with the
farmers’ practice. Cowpea responded better to improved management, achieving
more than 50% yield enhancement as compared with green gram’s 18%.

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Table 2. Effect of crop and nutrient management interaction on seed yield (t ha–1)
of green gram and cowpea.
Crop 2008 2009
Green gram Cowpea Green gram Cowpea
Growing
environment
Farmers’ 0.95 1.00 1.02 1.08
practice
Improved crop & 1.10 1.53 1.23 1.65
nutrient
management
CD (P = 0.05)
Between crops 0.045 0.037
Between 0.050 0.030
management

Improved crop and nutrient management boosted crop growth and

development in the rice-legume system, resulting in a 20–25% increase in total
productivity compared with the farmers’ practice (Table 3). The effect was more
pronounced when wet-season rice succeeded cowpea: there was about 30% more
yield benefit than with green gram (12% yield benefit only).

Table 3. Total system productivity (t ha–1) of the rice-legume cropping system

taking into account the rice equivalent yield of legumes under rainfed lowland
rice ecology.a
2008 2009
Growing Farmers’ practice Improved crop & Farmers’ practice Improved crop &
environment nutrient nutrient
management management

Cropping system
Rice-green gram 9.25 10.0 10.35 11.35
(4.50 + 4.75) (4.50+5.50) (5.25+5.10) (5.25 +6.10)

Rice-cowpea 11.50 15.14 12.81 16.80

(4.50+7.0) (4.50 +10.64) (5.25+7.56) (5.25+11.55)

aRice yield = 4.50 t ha–1 in 2008 and 5.25 t ha–1 in 2009. Prices: rice = $222 t–1, green gram = $1,111
t–1, cowpea = $1,555 t–1 (US$1.00 = Rs 45.00).

The study emphasizes the importance of identifying suitable crops vis-à-

vis improved crop and nutrient management to ensure higher seed yield under
rainfed medium-deep lowland rice fallow. With cowpea, improved crop and

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nutrient management could pay more dividends under this situation compared
with green gram, which can be grown under input-limited conditions.

References
Ghosh A. 2002. Sustainable development of rice and rice-based production system with
improved agro-technology under rainfed lowland ecology. In: Proceedings of the Second
International Conference on Sustainable Agriculture for Food, Energy, and Industry.
China. p 5.
Ghosh A, Jha KP. 2002. Advances in rice production technology for rainfed lowland ecology in
eastern India. Indian Farming 52:3-6.
Maclean JL, Dawe DC, Hardy B, Hettel GP (editors). 2002. Rice almanac. Manila (Philippines):
International Rice Research Institute. p 24.
Yadav RS, Yadav PC, Dahama AK. 2003. Integrated nutrient management in wheat (Triticum aestivum) –
mungbean (Phaseolus radiatus) cropping sequence in the arid region. Indian J. Agron. 48:23-26.

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