Effect of Tillage and Residue Management on Wheat Yield and Water Productivity

The present investigation was conducted in wheat at the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, to study effect of four tillage viz mould board ploughing to a depth of 25 cm followed by rotavator (PT25+R), mould board ploughing to a depth of 14 cm followed by rotavator (PT14+R), zero tillage with happy seeder (ZT) and conventional practices (CT) and three irrigation scheduling based on IW/PAN-E ratio I1 ( 0.6 ), I2 (0.8) and I3 (1.0) on soil water balance and crop growth for two consecutive years (2016-17 and 2017-18). Straw and grain yield was significantly higher in I3 over I1 and I2 by 46.05 & 38.5% and 8.72% & 11.30 % respectively during both years. Water productivity increased significantly in I2 over I1 and I3 by 27.38 & 2.26% in 2016-17 and 27.70 & 1.91% in 2017-18. During both years higher water was stored by ZT & I3 over PT25+R, PT14+R, CT, I1 and I2. During both years highest water was depleted under PT14+R & I1 over PT25+R, ZT, CT, I2 and I3. The overall mean number of tillers, leaf area index, root length and mass density were significantly higher under PT25+R than PT14+R, ZT and CT.