Combined Fertilization of Silicon and Phosphorus in Aerobic Rice-Wheat Cropping and its Impact on System Productivity, Water Use Efficiency, Soil Health, Crop Resilience, and Profitability

Balanced nutrition is key to achieving sustainable output with efficient utilization of natural resources. A two-year field experiment was conducted to determine the combined effect of silicon (Si) and phosphorus (P) on system crop productivity (SP), system water productivity (SWP), system irrigation water use efficiency (SIWUE), and system profitability of aerobic-rice-wheat cropping system (ARWCS) in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of India. The four doses of Si viz. 0, 40, 80, and 120 kg Si ha – 1 (S 0 , S 1 , S 2 and S 3 ) and four doses of P viz. 0, 30, 60, and 90 kg P 2 O 5 ha −1 (P 0 , P 1 , P 2 , and P 3 ) were applied during both years. The results revealed that the application of P 3 and S 3 enhanced the rice equivalent yield (REY) and SP by 26–38.4% and 27.6–39.6%, respectively over control treatment. Similarly, SWP and SIWUE were also increased by 31.2–38.3% and 26.6–39.5% under the same treatment. Further, the application of P 3 and S 3 reduced the lodging by 69.4% and 85.9% in rice and wheat, respectively, over control. Further, the same treatment reduced the incidence of yellow stem borer and pink stem borer by 40.3–63.3% and 39.8–51.7%in rice and wheat, respectively. The soil available P and Si were also improved significantly with the application of S 3 . Therefore, the application of Si and P in aerobic rice-wheat cropping systems could be recommended for improving system crop productivity, SWP, SIWUE, besides improving soil health and crop resilience.