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An experiment was laid out in split-plot design with 3-Sesbania alley-based rainfed food-ufodder systems [Sesbania+(fodder sorghum–chickpea), Sesbania+(fodder sorghum–barley) and Sesbania+(fodder sorghum–mustard)] in main-plots and 6-reduced tillage and Sesbania mulching combinations in sub-plots to assess their impact on soil health. Minimum tillage (MT) during rainy season followed by zero tillage (ZT) during winter season along with mulch (MT-ZT+mulch) resulted in higher proportion of soil macro-aggregate, increased infiltration rate by 27.4%, hydraulic conductivity by 14.9% and water holding capacity by 5.9% (v/v) over conventional tillage (CT) during rainy season followed by conventional tillage during winter season without mulch (CT-CT without mulch). The MT-ZT+mulch had the highest soil organic carbon (7.3 g kg–1), microbial biomass carbon (226 mg kg–1 soil), SOC stock (14.9 Mg ha−1), carbon sequestration rate (1.72 Mg ha−1 year−1), soil quality index (SQI, 1.09) and enhanced the available soil N, P and K by 45.1, 47.2 and 22.2%, respectively, over CT-CT without mulching. The Sesbania alley + (fodder sorghum–mustard) cropping system had adverse effect on soil health while inclusion of chickpea in the system improved soil health and recorded the highest SQI (0.97). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microorganisms are important in maintaining soil quality and contribute to plant nutrient uptake and pathogen resistance. However, intensive tillage and inappropriate fertilizer management distorts these important functions. This study therefore investigates the influence of tillage practices and P-fertilizer management on plant beneficial bacteria. The bacterial communities were profiled using DNA metabarcoding. Actinobacteria (40%) and Proteobacteria (21%) were the most abundant phyla in both the No-tillage (NT) and Conventional-tillage (CT) treatments. Alpha diversity analysis revealed that differences in P application influenced diversity. The bacterial community structure was significantly impacted by tillage practices. Plant beneficial bacteria including Lysobacter, Dyella, Sphingomonas and Dactylosporangium were among biomarkers in the NT treatment. Pathways for energy metabolism and the biosynthesis of siderophores were significantly influenced by both P-fertilizer application and tillage practices. Co-occurrence analysis revealed that the CT treatment reduced the efficiency of the bacterial communities while keystone species with potential for plant pathogen suppression were more in the NT treatment. Overall, this study demonstrates that tillage practices induce bacterial compositional changes, with the NT treatment exhibiting greater potential in promoting the stability and proliferation of plant beneficial bacteria, while P fertilizer influences diversity and community putative functions, regardless of tillage practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil erosion and drought are significant environmental hazards for crop production in the northwestern coastal zone of Egypt, leading to increased soil resources degradation. In-situ rainwater harvesting techniques by changing the micro-topography of soil via tillage practices can increase runoff retention and improve soil productivity. In this study, field trials were conducted on a sandy loam soil to determine the effects of four tillage systems [integrated ridge-furrow tillage (RFT), integrated reservoir tillage (RT), conventional tillage (CT), and No tillage (NT)] on soil bulk density, volumetric water content, runoff, soil loss, precipitation use efficiency, and winter wheat yield during two growing seasons under-rainfed conditions. The results indicated that tillage systems significantly affected soil properties, precipitation use efficiency and wheat yield in the order of: RFT > RT > CT > NT. Compared with the CT, the mean runoff with the developed RFT and RT was significantly decreased by 55.4% and 40.3%, respectively. Meanwhile, the precipitation use efficiency increased by 18.1% and 9.5%, respectively. By taking into account the stability of soil productivity along with environmental protection, it is suggested that the RFT and RT are the tillage systems that can efficiently increase the availability of soil water and, consequently, wheat yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor soil health and low soil water content during crop growing period are major factor for low productivity of pearl millet – mustard rotation under rainfed semi-arid regions. The authors evaluated five different tillage and residue management practices for improving physico–chemical and biological properties of soil. Results showed that conservation agriculture (CA) practice (zero tillage (ZT) with 4 t ha–1 residue retention) exhibited higher proportion of soil macro-aggregate. It also increased infiltration rate of about 15.2% over conventional tillage without residue but ZT increased soil penetration resistance in surface soil layer. In the residue applied plots, ~2–4% (w/w) higher soil water content was maintained throughout the season than the no-residue plots. CA practice had the highest soil organic carbon (4.96 g kg–1) and microbial biomass carbon (188.3 μg g–1 soil). Significant and positive correlation was also found between soil organic carbon with infiltration rate (r = 0.73**), mean weight diameter (r = 0.80**) and microbial biomass carbon (r = 0.86**). Thus, this study suggests that ZT with residue retention can be advocated in pearl millet – mustard rotations for improving, productivity, soil health and maintaining higher soil water content in rainfed semi-arid regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]