Rice-based Climate Resilient Farming Practices Influencing the Soil Physical Parameters, Carbon Dynamics and System Productivity in Inceptisols under Coastal Agro-ecosystem

Abstract

A field experiment was carried out to assess the influence of different rice establishment technique {System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and Conventional method of transplanting (CMT)}, rice-based cropping sequence {rice-groundnut-fallow (RGF) and rice-toria-greengram (RTG)}, mulching practices {No mulching (WoM) and Crop residue mulch (CRM)} and nutrient management practices{100% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) and 75% RDF + 25% N through FYM (INM)} on the different physical properties of the soil under changing climate at the Central Research Station, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar in the East and South Eastern Coastal Plain Zone of Odisha, India. The field experiment was conducted in split-plot design replicated thrice. Considerable build-up of SOC by 5.2%, 10.3% and 13.9% was observed under RTG, CRM and INM over RGF, WoM and RDF, respectively. Both CRM and INM registered higher proportion of water stable micro (14.8 %and 15.7 %) and macro-aggregates (5.2 % and 9.2 %), respectively over WoM and RDF. The CRM and INM remarkably elevated the macro-aggregate carbon by 13.9 % and 15.7 %, respectively over the initial contents (10.2 g kg-1). Additionally, the RGF and CRM recorded significantly higher REY of 9.2 t ha-1 and 9 t ha-1 over RTG and WoM treatments, respectively. Thus, SRI system along with mulching rice straw in toria and toria biomass to green gram and INM practices has been identified as the most suitable climate resilient farming practice in the coastal agro-ecosystem of Odisha, India because of its significant impact in soil physical properties including carbon storage, and thus synergizing effects for favourable soil ecosystem functioning.