Precision Nutrient Rates and Placement in Conservation Maize-Wheat System: Effects on Crop Productivity, Profitability, Nutrient-Use Efficiency, and Environmental Footprints

Intensive tillage-based production systems coupled with inefficient fertilizer management practices have led to increased costs, sub-optimal productivity, and significant environmental externalities. Conservation agriculture (CA) is being increasingly advocated as a strategy overcome these issues but precision nutrient under the CA-based maize-wheat system rarely studied. Two year’s (2014–2015 2015–2016) research was conducted at farm of BISA, Pusa, Bihar, India develop for in system. Seven treatment combinations involving (i) tillage (conventional tillage; CT & permanent beds; PB) (ii) rates, application methods (farmers’ practices; FFP, state recommended dose fertilizer; SR using Nutrient Expert tool; NE GreenSeeker; (GS), applied two methods; broadcasting (B) drilling (D)) were investigated multiple parameters. The results showed that NE, NE+GS, SR-based tactics improved crop yields, nutrient-use efficiency (NUE), economic profitability relative NE-broadcasting, broadcasting, FFP methods. Maize-wheat productivity net returns NE+GS-drilling on PB significantly higher by 31.2%, 49.7% compared FFP-broadcasting method, respectively. Total global warming potential (GWP) lower PB-based CT-based FFP. Higher (15.2%) carbon sustainability index (CSI) recorded NE-drilling method. Results suggests together approaches (NE+GS+drilling) can increase NUE, while reducing emission greenhouse gases (GHGs) from eastern Indo Gangetic Plains (IGP).