Author(s)

Salwinder Singh Dhaliwal^1*, Arvind Kumar Shukla², Sanjib Kumar Behera³, Sarwan Kumar Dubey⁴, Agniva Mandal⁵, Mehakpreet Kaur Randhawa¹, Sharanjit Kaur Brar¹, Gagandeep Kaur⁶, Amardeep Singh Toor¹, Sohan Singh Walia⁷, Priyadarshani Arun Khambalkar⁸

¹Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India.
²Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Gwalior, India.
³Indian Institute of Soil Science (ISSS), Bhopal, India.
⁴Indian Council of Agricultural Research—Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (ICAR-CSSRI), Karnal, India.
⁵Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, India.
⁶Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, USA.
⁷School of Organic Farming, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India.
⁸Department of Soil Science, Rajmata Vijayaraje Sciendia Krishi Viswa Vidalaya, Gwalior, India.

Ploughing and fertilization practices in rice-wheat system have deteriorated the soil carbon (C) pools. Conservation agriculture (CA) based management approaches have proven to enhance C sequestration and reverse the loss of soil-organic-carbon (SOC), which further enhances soil fertility. Different fractions of SOC pools react to the alterations in management practices and indicate changes in SOC dynamics as compared to total C in the soil. Higher SOC levels in soil have been observed in case of reduced/no-till (NT) practices than conventional tillage (CT). However, between CT and zero tillage/NT, total SOC stocks diminished with an increase in soil depth, which demonstrated that the benefits of SOC are more pronounced in the topsoil under NT. Soil aggregation provides physical protection to C associated with different-sized particles, thus, the improvement in soil aggregation through CA is an effective way to mitigate soil C loss. Along with less soil disturbance, residual management, suitable crop rotation, rational application of manures and fertilizers, and integrated nutrient management have been found to be effective in not only improving soil C stock but also enhancing the soil health and productivity. Thus, CA can be considered as a potential method in the build-up of SOC of soil in rice-wheat system.

Tillage, Conservation Agriculture, Soil Organic Carbon, Carbon Fractions, Rice-Wheat System, Organic Amendments

Dhaliwal, S. , Shukla, A. , Behera, S. , Dubey, S. , Mandal, A. , Randhawa, M. , Brar, S. , Kaur, G. , Toor, A. , Walia, S. and Khambalkar, P. (2024) Fertilization and Soil Ploughing Practices under Changing Physical Environment Lead to Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics under Conservation Agriculture in Rice-Wheat Cropping System: A Scoping Review. Agricultural Sciences, 15, 82-113. doi: 10.4236/as.2024.151006.