Best Management Practices for Soybean under Soybean-Wheat System to Minimize the Impact of Climate Change

摘要

The rapidly changing global climate is a serious concern to sustain food production in India. There is a spurt in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration and although C3 crops like soybean are expected to be benefitted the most, a rectangular hyperbola model has predicted a 32% increase in soybean seed yield with a change in CO2 concentration only if soil is enriched with all the required essential nutrients. Based on a recent study, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have been projected to experience higher levels of warming as compared to the rest of the country. These states share 65% of total soybean production in India and are popular for soybean-wheat cropping system, which is one among the 30 major cropping systems of the country. This has emerged as an important cropping system only after 1980 with the introduction of soybean as a kharif crop in wheat-growing areas and is being currently practiced in 4.5 million ha (Mha) on the Vertisols. To be efficient, the basic requirement of a soybean farmer is for a system that provides adequate and effective means of surface drainage as well as assured root-zone recharge during the kharif season, besides adherence to the best management practices (BMPs) for crop, soil, water and nutrients. This paper collates information on BMPs evolved through the sustained research efforts for enhancing the productivity of soybean-wheat cropping system in consonance with aggradation/sustenance of soil health.