By Dr. Md. Ataur Rahman (Wheat Research Centre, BARI) Revitalizing the Ganges Coastal Zone Conference 21-23 October 2014, Dhaka, Bangladesh http://waterandfood.org/ganges-conference/

1. Conservation Practice and Fertilizer Management to
Improve Productivity of Wheat-Maize-Rice Cropping
System in Coastal Uplands
Dr. Md. Ataur Rahman
Wheat Research Centre, BARI

2. q 20% of total land are in coastal areas
q 53% (0.83 m ha) are affected by
different degrees of salinity
q Saline areas and intensity of slinity
are gradually increasing
Introduction

3. Soil Salinity Map 1973 2009

7. Seasonal variation in water availability is very contrast
Salinity

8. Post paddy harvest field
Lac of quality irrigation water cause

9. Less Productivity and Less
Cropping Intensity Coastal Region

10. How to Improve the Productivity of Coastal Soil ?
i. Introduction of saline tolerant crop variety
ii. Cultivation winter crops those require less water
iii. Reclamation of Soil Salinity through minimizing
capillary movement.
iv. Reclamation of Soil Salinity through Mulching
and tillage. Like -
Crop residue retention, Raise bed planting
v. Introduction of suitable cropping pattern.

11. Considering all these points
We Introduced an Intensive Triple Cereal System
Integrating crop varieties, conservation
practice of bed, use of crop residue as
mulch and fertilizer management

12. Objectives
v Introduce wheat-maize-rice cropping system in
coastal uplands.
v Evaluate CA and fertilizer management in soil
salinity remediation.
v Maximizing system productivity to contribute
to food security of the farmers living in coastal
regions of Bangladesh.

13. Materials and Methods
Location : ARS, BARI, Shatkhira (22⁰43´N 89⁰06´E)
Design : Split-plot
Main plot : 3 levels of Nutrient management
1. Recommended fertilizers (RF)
2. RF+ 50% K and S
3. RF+ Ash @ 2.0 t/ha
Sub plot : 4 levels of Soil management
1. Conventional (Flat)
2. Flat+ Straw Mulch @ 3.0 t/ha
3. Bed planting
4. Bed+ Straw Mulch @ 3.0 t/ha

14. Materials and Methods (Cont)
Test Crops : 3
Wheat- Variety : BARI GOM 25
Maize- BARI Hybrid Maize 7
Rice- BRRI Dhan 39
Starting with wheat sowing 2011 and
ended with rice harvest in 2013
Recommended Fertilizer (RF):
Wheat: N120 P30 K50 S20 B2 kg/ha
Maize : N200 P50 K100 S40 Zn5 kg/ha
Rice : N80 P25 K50 S20 kg/ha

15. Materials and Methods (Cont)
NovJan Mar
Feb Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
OctDec
RiceWheat
Maize
Accommodation of component crops in the system

16. Results

17. Treatment RF RF+KS RF+Ash Mean
Flat 2.98 3.22 3.54 3.24 B
Flat + Mulch 3.44 3.67 3.78 3.63 A
Bed 3.09 3.29 3.63 3.34 B
Bed+ Mulch 3.70 3.89 4.14 3.91 A
Mean 3.30 b 3.52 ab 3.77 a
Interaction LSD (0.05)= 0.41
Table 1. Effect of fertilizers, conservation practices and
their interactions on wheat yield (t/ha) Mean of 2 years

19. Mulch level
(Rice Straw)
RLD
(cm/cm3)
NUE
(Agronomic)
Grain
yield (t/ha)
Control 0.48 b 24.7 b 3.48 b
2.0 t/ha 0.57 ab 27.3 ab 3.80 ab
4.0 t/ha 0.66 a 30.6 a 4.14 a
Table 2. RLD, NUE and Grain yield of
wheat under straw mulching
Rahman et al. 2011

20. Fig 2. Interaction effect of fertilizers and conservation
practices maize yield (Mean of 2 years)
0
2
4
6
8
RF RF+ KS RF+ Ash
Yield(t/ha)
Flat Flat+Mulch Bed Bed+Mulch

21. B B + M
F + MF
RF

22. Fig 3. Salinity in surface soil (0-10 cm) in time
influenced by different fertilizer levels
3
Dec
12
12
Dec
12
9
Mar
13
20
Mar
13
10
April
13
30
Dec
12
21
Jan
13
7
Feb
13
20
Dec
12
15
Feb
13
24
Feb
13
28
May
13
20
May
13
10
Jan
13
30
Jan
13
30
Mar
13
19
April
13
30
April
13
10
May
13
8
June
13
20
June
13
2.00
4.00
6.00
8.00
10.00
12.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
EC(dsm-1
) RF RF + KS RF + Ash
Wheat growing period
Maize growing period

23. 3
Dec
12
12
Dec
12
9
Mar
13
20
Mar
13
10
April
13
30
Dec
12
21
Jan
13
7
Feb
13
20
Dec
12
15
Feb
13
24
Feb
13
28
May
13
20
May
13
10
Jan
13
30
Jan
13
30
Mar
13
19
April
13
30
April
13
10
May
13
8
June
13
20
June
13
2.00
4.00
6.00
8.00
10.00
12.00
1/1 1/2 1/3 1/4 1/5 1/6 1/7 1/8 1/9 1/10 1/11 1/12 1/13 1/14 1/15 1/16 1/17 1/18 1/19 1/20 1/21
EC(dsm-1
) Flat Flat + Mulch
Bed Bed + Mulch
Fig 4. Salinity in surface soil (0-10 cm) in time influenced by
conservation practices
Wheat growing period
Maize growing period

24. Fig 1. Influence of CA treatments on Soil Moisture
IR
Rain25Nov12
04Dec12
03May13
12May13
23May13
18Dec12
05Jan13
14Dec12
15April13
24April13
25June13
26Jan13
15Jan13
15May13
31May13
08June13
17June13
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
40.0
1/1 1/2 1/3 1/4 1/5 1/6 1/7 1/8 1/9 1/10 1/11 1/12 1/13 1/14 1/15 1/16 1/17 1/18
SoilMoisture(%wt.)
Conventional Conservation
Bed Bed + Conservation
Wheat early growth stages
Maize early growth & vegetative stages
85 cm of rain
in 3 weeks
(Rahman et al. 2013)
IR
IR
IR

25. Fig. 5: Interaction effect of fertilizers and
conservation practices on rice yield (1st year 2012)

26. Treatment RF RF+ KS RF+ Ash Mean
Flat 4.68 4.25 5.26 4.73 B
Flat + Mulch 5.12 4.47 5.85 5.16 A
Bed 4.72 4.34 5.17 4.74 B
Bed+ Mulch 5.22 4.52 5.68 5.13 A
Mean 4.94 b 4.40 c 5.50 a
Interaction LSD (0.05)= 0.40
Table 3. Effect of fertilizers, conservation practices
and their interaction on rice yield in 2nd year

27. Table 3. Effect of fertilizers, conservation practices
and their interaction on rice yield in 2nd year
Treatment RF RF+ KS RF+ Ash Mean
Flat 4.68 4.25 5.26 4.73 B
Flat + Mulch 5.12 4.47 5.85 5.16 A
Bed 4.72 4.34 5.17 4.74 B
Bed+ Mulch 5.22 4.52 5.68 5.13 A
Mean 4.94 b 4.40 c 5.50 a
Interaction LSD (0.05)= 0.40

28. Now the BIG Question?
Nutrient availability under triple
cereal system

29. 1
1.1
1.2
1.3
Initial RF RF+ KS RF+ Ash
OM(%)
0.06
0.065
0.07
Initial RF RF+ KS RF+ Ash
TotalN(%)
10
11
12
13
Initial RF RF+ KS RF+ Ash
P(µg/g)
0.35
0.4
0.45
0.5
0.55
Initial RF RF+ KS RF+ Ash
K(meq/100g)
8
9
10
11
Initial RF RF+ KS RF+ Ash
Ca(meq/100g)
2.5
2.75
3
3.25
3.5
Initial RF RF+ KS RF+ Ash
Mg(meq/100g)
106
110
114
118
122
Initial RF RF+ KS RF+ Ash
S(µg/g)
1.5
1.75
2
2.25
2.5
Initial RF RF+ KS RF+ Ash
Zn(µg/g)
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
Initial RF RF+ KS RF+ Ash
B(µg/g)
Fig 6. Nutrient contents in soil after two cycle of cropping as
affected by fertilizer levels in reference to initial soil
OM N P
S
MgK Ca
Zn B

30. 1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
Flat Flat+Mulch Bed Bed+Mulch
OM(%)
0.06
0.065
0.07
0.075
Flat Flat+Mulch Bed Bed+Mulch
TotalN(%)
9
10
11
12
13
Flat Flat+Mulch Bed Bed+Mulch
P(µg/g)
8
9
10
11
Flat Flat+Mulch Bed Bed+Mulch
Ca(meq/100g)
0.35
0.4
0.45
0.5
0.55
Flat Flat+Mulch Bed Bed+Mulch
K(meq/100g)
2.5
2.75
3
3.25
3.5
Flat Flat+Mulch Bed Bed+Mulch
Mg(meq/100g)
106
110
114
118
122
Flat Flat+Mulch Bed Bed+Mulch
S(µg/g)
1.5
1.75
2
2.25
2.5
Flat Flat+Mulch Bed Bed+Mulch
Zn(µg/g)
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
Flat Flat+Mulch Bed Bed+Mulch
B(µg/g)Fig 7. Nutrient contents in soil after two cycle of cropping as
affected by conservation practices
OM N P
K Ca Mg
S Zn B

31. Conclusion
v Use of Ash with recommended fertilizers and straw
mulching resulted higher yields of component crops
by eliminating several constraints including salinity
and favoring plant growth factors including
nutrient availability.
v Bed planting alone was ineffective in controlling
salinity; But much application either in bed or flat
was equally effective.
v Soil nutrients were not decreased due to triple
cereal system rather it was improved when ash and
straw mulch was applied.
Due attention is needed to improve the productivity of
coastal uplands using the locally available resources of
Ash and crop residues as mulch.