Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Recycling of rice straw to improve wheat yield and soil fertility and reduce atmospheric pollution

  • Short Communication
  • Published:
Paddy and Water Environment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Burning of rice straw is a common practice in northwest India, where rice–wheat cropping system is extensively followed. The practice results in loss of nutrients, atmospheric pollution and emission of greenhouse gases. A field experiment was conducted at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India during the rabi season (November to April) of 2002–2003 to evaluate the efficacy of the various modes of rice straw recycling in soil in improving yield and soil fertility and reducing not only carbon dioxide emission but also nitrous oxide (N2O) emission. The treatment with no rice straw incorporation and application of recommended doses of fertilizer (120, 26 and 50 kg N, P and K ha−1, respectively), gave the highest yield of wheat. Treatments with the incorporation of rice straw at 5 Mg ha−1 with additional amount of inorganic N (60 kg N ha−1) or inoculation of microbial culture had similar grain yields to that of the treatment with no straw incorporation. The lowest yield was recorded in the plots where rice straw was incorporated in soil without additional inorganic N and with manure application. All the treatments with rice straw incorporation had larger soil organic C despite the effect on the mineralisation of soil organic matter. Emission of N2O was more when additional N was added with rice straw and secondary when straw was added to the soil because of higher microbial activity. The study showed that burning of rice straw could be avoided without affecting yield of wheat crop by incorporating rice straw in soil with an additional dose of inorganic N or microbial inoculation. However, the reduction of N2O emission due to avoiding burning is in part counterbalanced by an increase in emission during the subsequent wheat cultivation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aulakh MS (1988) In: Chang S, Chan K, Woo NYS (eds) Recent Advances in Biotechnology and Applied Biology. Chinese University, Hong Kong, pp 691–702

    Google Scholar 

  • Battle M, Bender M, Sowers T, Tans PP, Butler JH, Elkins JW, Ellis JT, Conway T, Zhang N, Lang P, Clarke AD (1996) Atmospheric gas concentrations over the past century measured in air from fin at the south pole. Nature 383:231–235

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beri V, Sidhu BS, Bahl GS, Bhat AK (1995) Nitrogen and phosphorus transformations as affected by crop residue management practices and their influence on crop yield. Soil Use Manage 11:51–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CSTPA (1974) Handbook on reference methods for soil testing. Council on Soil Testing and Plant Analysis, Athens, GA, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobermann A, Fairhurst T (2000) Rice: nutrient disorders and nutrient management. International Rice Research Institute, the Philippines

  • FAI (2001) Fertilizer statistics (2000–2001). The Fertilizer Association of India, New Delhi, India

    Google Scholar 

  • IRRI (2001) World rice statistics. International Rice Research Institute, Los Banos, Philippines

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutchinson GL, Mosier AR (1981) Improved soil cover method for field measurement of nitrous oxide flux. Soil Sci Soc Am J 45:311–316

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar K, Goh KM (2000) Crop residue management: effects on soil quality, soil nitrogen dynamics, crop yield, and nitrogen recovery. Adv Agron 68:197–319

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar K, Goh KM, Scott WR, Frampton CM (2001) Effects of 15N-labelled crop residues and management practices on subsequent winter wheat yields, nitrogen benefits and recovery under field conditions. J Agric Sci (Cambridge) 136:35–53

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lee DS, Atkins DHF (1994) Atmospheric ammonia emissions from agricultural waste combustion. Geophys Res Lett 21:281–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lefroy RDB, Chaitep W, Blair GJ (1994) Release of sulfur from rice residues under flooded and non-flooded soil conditions. Aust J Agric Res 45:657–667

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu JR, Shen RP (1992) The effects of fertilization on the properties and role of soil organic matter. In: Proceedings of the international Symposiun on Paddy Soils, Nanjing, China, pp 246–251

  • Majumdar D, Kumar S, Pathak H, Jain MC, Kumar U (2000) Reducing nitrous oxide emission from rice field with nitrification inhibitors. Agric Ecosyst Environ 81:163–169

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Malik V, Kaur B, Gupta SR (1998) Soil microbial biomass and nitrogen mineralization in straw incorporated soils. In: Ecological Agriculture and Sustainable Development. Proceedings of the International Conference on Ecological Agriculture: Towards Sustainable Development, vol 1. 15–17 November 1997, Chandigarh, India, pp 557–565

  • Meelu OP, Singh Y, Singh B, Khera TS, Kumar K (1994) Recycling of crop residues and green manuring for soil and crop productivity improvement in rice–wheat cropping system. In: Humphreys E, et al. (eds) Temperate Rice: Achievements and Potential, vol. 2. NSW Agriculture, Griffith, NSW, Australia, pp 605–613

    Google Scholar 

  • Misra RD, Pandey DS, Gupta VK (1996) Crop residue management for increasing the productivity and sustainability in rice–wheat system. In: Proceedings of The Second International Crop Science Congress, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences and ICAR, New Delhi, India, p 42

  • Mosier AR, Duxbury JM, Freney JR, Heinemeyer O, Minami K (1998) Assessing and mitigating N2O emissions from agricultural soils. Clim Change 40:7–38

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Olsen SR, Cole CV, Watanabe FS, Dean LA (1954) Estimation of available phosphorus in soils by extraction with sodium bicarbonate. Circular of the United States Department of Agriculture 939, Washington, DC

  • Page AL, Miller RH, Keeney DR (1982) Methods of soil analysis. Part 2, Chemical and microbiological properties, 2nd edn. Agronomy No. 9, ASA-SSSA, Madison, WI, USA, p 1159

    Google Scholar 

  • Pathak H, Bhatia A, Prasad S, Jain MC, Kumar S, Singh S, Kumar U (2002) Emission of nitrous oxide from soil in rice–wheat systems of Indo-Gangetic plains of India. Environ Monit Assess 77(2):163–178

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pathak H, Sarkar MC (1994) Possibility of incorporating rice straw into soil under rice–wheat cropping system. Fert News 39(10):51–53

    Google Scholar 

  • Patra DD, Bhandari JC, Misra A (1992) Effect of plant residues on the size of microbial biomass and nitrogen mineralization in soil: incorporation of cowpea and wheat straw. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 38:1–6

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Prasad R, Power JF (1991) Crop residue management. Adv Soil Sci 15:205–239

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodhe AL (1990) A comparison of the contribution of various gases to the greenhouse effect. Science 248:1217–1219

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Salim M (1995) Rice crop residue use for crop production. In: Organic recycling in Asia and the Pacific. RAPA Bulletin, vol. 11. Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, FAO, Bangkok, Thailand, p 99

  • Samra JS, Singh B, Kumar K (2003) Managing crop residues in the rice–wheat system of the indo-gangetic plain. In: Ladha JK, Hill JE, Duxbury JM, Raj, Gupta K, Buresh RJ (eds) Improving the productivity and sustainability of rice–wheat systems: issues and impacts. ASA Special Publication 65, ASA-CSSA-SSSA, Madison, USA, pp 145–176

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharma HL, Singh CM, Modgal SC (1987) Use of organics in rice–wheat crop sequence. Indian J Agric Sci 57:163–168

    Google Scholar 

  • Sidhu BS, Beri V, Gosal SR (1995) Soil microbial health as affected by crop residue management. In: Proceedings of the National Symposium on Developments in Soil Science, Ludhiana, India. 2–5 November, 1995. Indian Soc. Soil Sci., New Delhi, India, pp 45–46

  • Singh B, Bronson KF, Singh Y, Khera TS, Pasuquin E (2001) Nitrogen-15 balance and use efficiency as affected by rice residue management in a rice wheat system in northwest India. Nutr Cycl Agroecosys 59:227–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh Y, Singh D, Tripathi RP (1996) Crop residue management in rice–wheat cropping system. In: Abstracts of Poster Sessions. Second International Crop Science Congress. National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, New Delhi, India, p 43

    Google Scholar 

  • Subbiah BV, Asija GL (1956) A rapid procedure for the determination of available nitrogen in soils. Curr Sci 25:259–260

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Verma TS, Bhagat RM (1992) Impact of rice straw management practices on yield, nitrogen uptake and soil properties in a wheat-rice rotation in northern India. Fert Res 33:97–106

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Walia SS, Brar SS, Kler DS (1995) Effect of management of crop residues on soil properties in rice–wheat cropping system. Environ Ecol 13:503–507

    Google Scholar 

  • Walkley A, Black IA (1934) Estimation of soil organic carbon by the chromic acid titration method. Soil Sci 37:29–38

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Watson RT, Zinyowera MC, Moss RH, Dokken DJ (1996) Climate change 1995, impacts, adaptations and mitigation of climate change: scientific-technical analyses, intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, USA, p 879

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoshinori M, Kanno T (1997) Emission of trace gases resulting from rice straw burning. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 43:849–854

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

The authors acknowledge the Indian Agricultural Research Institute for supporting this study. H. Pathak is thankful to the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany, for providing a fellowship to carry out the work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit for Simulation and Informatics, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012, India

    Himanshu Pathak Ph.D.

  2. Division of Environmental Sciences, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012, India

    Ramandeep Singh M.Sc.,  Arti Bhatia Ph.D. &  Niveta Jain Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Himanshu Pathak Ph.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ramandeep Singh M.Sc.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Arti Bhatia Ph.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Niveta Jain Ph.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Himanshu Pathak Ph.D..

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pathak, H., Singh, R., Bhatia, A. et al. Recycling of rice straw to improve wheat yield and soil fertility and reduce atmospheric pollution. Paddy Water Environ 4, 111–117 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-006-0038-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-006-0038-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation