Soil-Related Constraints in the Rice and Wheat Production

Rice and wheat are the two main crops of India that provide food, income and employment to millions of people. The environmental requirements for the growth and development of both rice and wheat crops are contrastingly different. Rice grows best under soft, puddled and water-saturated soil conditions, while wheat requires a well-pulverized soil having fine tilth with a proper balance of moisture, air and thermal regime. In this chapter, the major constraints encountered in rice production, namely rainfed uplands and lowlands, acid red laterite, lateritic and salt-affected soils, including those in coastal areas, and their management practices such as varieties, sowing method, application of lime and zinc, water management, application of green manuring coupled with water management and puddling have been detailed. Soil fertility (deficiency of N, P, K, S and micronutrients), soil water and other soil physical constraints, and their management through use of nitrogenous, phosphatic and potassic fertilizers, production technology coupled with optimum use of NPK, time and method of fertilizer application and deep or conventional tillage in wheat production have also been elucidated.