Soil Physical Characteristics and Crop Productivity as Affected by Tillage in Rice-Wheat System

Tillage practices significantly influences soil physical characteristics and crop productivity. The infiltration characteristics, bulk density, porosity, penetration resistance, grain yield of rice and wheat were measured under no-till without residue (NT), roto-tillage (RT), and no-till with residue i.e. happy seeder (HS) in rice-wheat cropping system in sandy loam (SL) and loamy sand (LS) soils. For surface soil layer (0-15 cm) highest soil bulk density (Mg m-3) was recorded in HS (1.58) followed by RT (1.56) and NT (1.55) in LS soil. Soil porosity ranged from 40.6 % to 41.2 % under HS and RT, respectively for 0-15 cm depth in SL soil. The PR (K Pa) varie