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Tillage and Residue Management Effects on Productivity, Profitability and Soil Properties of a Rice-Maize-Mungbean System in Bangladesh

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Submitted:

17 February 2019

Posted:

18 February 2019

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Abstract
Farmers’ conventional tillage (CT) and residue removal practices in rice-maize systems in South Asia’s Eastern Gangetic Plain (EGP) are input-intensive, costly and soil degradative. We conducted a rice-maize-mungbean (R-M-MB) system experiment with six tillage and three residue management treatments in Bangladesh representing the EGP. Maize yields were significantly (p≤0.05) higher under permanent (PB) or fresh (FB) beds and strip tillage (ST) than CT but no differences in mungbean yields. Rice yields under PB, FB and CT were similar, but significantly higher than under zero or minimum tillage and ST. Yields of all crops increased significantly (p≤0.05) with residue retention compared to no retention. Total system productivity was highest under PB followed by FB and ST. Compared with CT, gross margins in PB, FB and ST increased by 18, 13 and 11%, and soil organic matter (SOM) and total N contents across tillage treatments increased by 11-16% and 12-24%, respectively. After three years, SOM and total N and available P and S contents increased significantly (p≤0.05) by residue retention. Results demonstrate the potential of PB, FB and ST with residue retention, for improving the productivity, profitability and soil health under R-M-MB systems in Bangladesh and similar soils in the EGP.
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Subject: Biology and Life Sciences  -   Agricultural Science and Agronomy
Copyright: This open access article is published under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, which permit the free download, distribution, and reuse, provided that the author and preprint are cited in any reuse.
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