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Conservation Agriculture-based Sustainable Intensification of Cereal Systems Leads to Energy Conservation, Higher Productivity and Farm Profitability

Environmental Management volume 65, pages 774–786 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

In the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia, the quadruple challenges of deteriorating soil quality, declining groundwater, energy shortages, and diminishing farm profitability threaten sustainability of conventional till (CT)-based cereal production systems. A 5-year study was conducted to evaluate the effect of conservation agriculture (CA)-based management (tillage, crop establishment, residue management, and system intensification through mungbean integration) on energy budget, water productivity, and economic profitability in cereal (rice–wheat, RW/maize–wheat, MW)-based systems compared with CT-based management. In CA systems, crop residues contributed the maximum (~76%) in total energy input (167,995 MJ ha−1); however, fertilizer application (nonrenewable energy source) contributed the maximum (43%) in total energy input (47,760 MJ ha−1) in CT-based systems. CA-based cereal (rice/maize) systems recorded higher net energy and energy-intensiveness (EI) levels of 251% and 300%, respectively, compared with those of the CT-based rice–wheat system (RW/CT) (295,217 MJ ha−1 and 46.05 MJ USD−1), irrespective of mungbean integration. MWMb/ZT+R utilized 204% more input energy, which resulted in 14% higher net energy and 229% higher EI compared with RW/CT. CA-based RW and MW systems enhanced the crop productivity by 10 and 16%, water productivity by 56 and 33%, and profitability by 34 and 36%, while saving in irrigation water by 38 and 32%, compared with their respective CT-based systems, respectively. CA-based system improved net energy, crop productivity, and profitability; therefore, it should be outscaled to improve the soil and environmental quality in north-west India.

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Acknowledgements

The research was financed and supported from CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) on Wheat Agri-Food Systems (WHEAT), Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS), and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)—Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE). We acknowledge the CGIAR Fund Council, Australia (ACIAR), Irish Aid, European Union, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, United Kingdom, USAID, and Thailand for funding CCAFS. We also acknowledge the collaboration of CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. We thank Mr Vikas Choudhary, a progressive farmer from Taraori, Karnal, India, for participating in discussions during the research process.

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Affiliations

  1. ICAR-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), Karnal, Haryana, India

    H. S. Jat & P. C. Sharma

  2. International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), New Delhi, India

    H. S. Jat & M. L. Jat

  3. Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA), CIMMYT, Ludhiana, Punjab, India

    K. M. Choudhary & Yadvinder Singh

  4. CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India

    D. P. Nandal

  5. SKN Agriculture University, Jobner, Rajasthan, India

    A. K. Yadav

  6. Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India

    Tanuja Poonia

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  1. H. S. Jat
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  2. K. M. Choudhary
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  3. D. P. Nandal
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  4. A. K. Yadav
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  5. Tanuja Poonia
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Correspondence to M. L. Jat.

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Jat, H.S., Choudhary, K.M., Nandal, D.P. et al. Conservation Agriculture-based Sustainable Intensification of Cereal Systems Leads to Energy Conservation, Higher Productivity and Farm Profitability. Environmental Management 65, 774–786 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-020-01273-w

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Keywords

  • Conservation agriculture
  • Energy source and utilization pattern
  • Energy indices
  • Residue management
  • System productivity and profitability