Shahzada Sohail Ijaz

Tillage effect on partial budget analysis of cropping intensification under dryland farming in Punjab, Pakistan

A 2-year research experiment was laid out in a split-plot design with moldboard ploughing (MP, control) and minimum tillage (MT) as main plots and crop sequences as sub-plots. Summer-winter cropping sequences were fallow-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (FW, control), mungbean (Vigna radiata L.)-wheat (MW), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.)-wheat (SW), green manure-wheat (GW) and mungbean-chickpea (MC) (Cicer arietinum L.). During 2010–2011, in summer, mungbean crop produced the highest above ground biomass in mungbean-chickpea sequence under MP tillage (4.24 Mg ha–1 mungbean) and in mungbean-wheat sequence under MT tillage (4.11 Mg ha–1 mungbean). In winter, chickpea gave the highest biomass in mungbean-chickpea sequence under both tillage systems. During 2011–2012, mungbean produced the highest above ground biomass in mungbean-wheat sequence under MT tillage (4.43 Mg ha–1 mungbean) and in both the mungbean-chickpea and mungbean-wheat sequences under MP tillage (4.24 and 4.17 Mg ha–1 mungbean, respectively). In winter, fallow-wheat sequence gave the highest biomass in both tillage systems. The differences in grain yields were statistically non-significant in both the years. The gross marginal benefit ranged between −190 and 548

Active Soil Organic Carbon Fractions and Aggregate Stability Effected by Minimum Tillage and Crop Rotations on a Marginal Dryland Soil in Punjab, Pakistan

ha–1 in the first year and −165 and 1124

Landuse impacts on soil organic carbon fractions in different rainfall areas of a subtropical dryland

ha–1 in the second year. The net benefit values were the highest in mung-chickpea sequence under both tillage systems (1008 and 596

Prediction of tillage operation strategies for dryland wheat production in a degraded loess soil

ha–1 under MP and MT, respectively), which gave cost–benefit ratios of 5.45 and 3.68, respectively. Use of legume-based cropping sequences is a sustainable and cost-effective practice in drylands of northern Punjab, Pakistan.

Soil Physical Properties and Wheat Yield as Influenced by Varying Levels of Different Organic Materials

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is an important technique for enhancing soil organic carbon (SOC) content in the surface layer and improving structural stability. CA is not widely practiced in dryland soils of developing countries where marginal farming practices are extensively used. Therefore, a field study was conducted in dryland region of Punjab, Pakistan to compare minimum tillage and intensified cropping systems effects on active SOC fractions and aggregate stability. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design having moldboard plough (MP) and minimum tillage (MT) as main plots, and crop sequences as sub-plots. The latter comprised of fallow–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), (FW, control), mungbean ( Vigna radiate L.) –wheat (MW), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.)–wheat (SW), green manure–wheat (GW) and mungbean-chickpea (MC) (Cicer arietinum L.). Tillage systems had more pronounced effects than cropping sequences on microbial biomass carbon (MBC), potentially minerlizeable carbon (PMC) and particulate organic carbon (POC). The PMC in second year was significantly more in the soil under MT than that under

Depth Distribution of Soil Organic Carbon Fractions in Relation to Tillage and Cropping Sequences in Some Dry Lands of Punjab, Pakistan

ABSTRACT Landuse can alter soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions by affecting carbon inflows and outflows. This study evaluated changes in SOC fractions in response to different landuses under variable rainfalls. We compared cropland, grassland and forest soils in high rainfall (Islamabad ~1142 mm) and low rainfall (Chakwal ~667 mm) areas of Pothwar dryland, Pakistan. Forest soils in both rainfall areas had highest SOC (11.32 g kg−1), particulate organic carbon (POC, 1.70 g kg−1), mineral-associated organic carbon (MOC, 7.17 g kg−1) and aggregate-associated organic carbon (AOC, 7.86 g kg−1). However, in rangeland and cropland soils, these varied with rainfall. Under high rainfall, SOC and MOC were 12% and 17% higher in rangeland than in cropland while POC and AOC were equal. Under low rainfall, SOC and MOC were higher in rangeland than in cropland by 7.21 and 1.79 g kg−1 at 0–15 cm and equal at 15–30 cm depth. POC and AOC were higher in rangeland than in cropland, in both depths. Averagely, SOC, POC, MOC and AOC were 26%, 68%, 76% and 30% higher in high rainfall than in low rainfall soils. Sensitivity of SOC fractions to landuses observed under different rainfalls could provide useful information for soil management in subtropical drylands.

Sugarcane bagasse-derived biochar reduces the cadmium and chromium bioavailability to mash bean and enhances the microbial activity in contaminated soil

ABSTRACT Conservation tillage systems are advocated worldwide for sustainable crop production; however, their favorable effects on soil properties are subject to the length of their use. The following study aimed at using the CENTURY agroecosystem model to simulate long-term changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production. Tillage systems include conventional tillage (CT, control), minimum tillage, chisel plow (CP) and zero tillage with (R+) and without residues (R−) in fallow-wheat system. The model validation with 2-year field experiment showed that the simulated results were strongly correlated with observed results for total organic carbon (r2 = 0.94), active soil carbon (r2 = 0.91), slow soil carbon (r2 = 0.84) and passive soil carbon (r2 = 0.85). Similarly, model simulations for biomass and grain yields were, respectively, 81% and 76% correlated with observed results. The long-term simulations predicted that SOC stock and its fractions will gradually build up, crop biomass and grain yield will enhance with crop residue retention, especially under chisel plough in comparison of existing CT system. The study concludes that CP and retention of crop residues have potential to improve SOC contents and ultimately crop production.

Enhancing Water Use Efficiency, Nitrogen Fixation Capacity of Mash Bean and Soil Profile Nitrate Content with Phosphorous and Potassium Application

The quantity and quality of organic amendments play vital role in changing or amending the soil physical properties and crop yield. The improvement in soil physical properties and crop growth is well correlated with the organic carbon status of soil. The behavior of carbon supplied through different materials may vary in the soil. This study was designed with an objective to observe the variation in the response to the different manures applied in the soil with respect to differences in physical properties and crop yield. To accomplish this objective a field trial was executed in September, 2011 at two different sites i.e. Research Farm, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi and Koont Farm, Chakwal, using wheat as a test crop for two years (2012 and 2013). Three organic amendments i.e. Municipal solid waste compost (MSWC), Farmyard manure (FYM) and Poultry litter (PL) each at four levels i.e. 0, 0.25, 0.50 and 1% of soil organic carbon were applied in a two factorial randomized complete block design with four replications. The manures Original Research Article Bashir et al.; IJPSS, 4(5): 445-454, 2015; Article no.IJPSS.2015.044 446 were characterized on the basis of humic (Humic acid and Fulvic acid) and non humic (Total polysaccharides and Microbial biomass carbon). Soil samples were analyzed for field saturated hydraulic conductivity, total organic carbon, bulk density, moisture content and wheat crop yield. The results showed clear differences in physical properties with respect to the different applied materials. These results suggest that the variation among the organic amendments depends upon the humic composition of materials rather than total organic carbon.