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Nurbekov Aziz Israilovich, Nurbekova Ruhongiz Azizovna, Allanov Holiq Keldiyorovich, Khudoykulov Jonibek Bozarovich, E-mail: jonibek-78@mail.ru
WINTER CHICKPEA CULTIVATION USING NO-TILL METHODS UNDER RAINFED CONDITIONS IN TAJIKISTAN AND UZBEKISTAN
Abstract. In Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, chickpea is one of the most important cash crops and source of protein for farmers in rainfed areas. The experiment was established in 2014 and continued in 2015. Results on grain yield revealed that no-till treatment in both locations gave highest grain yield 1687 and 2255 kg/ha in Gissar and Qamashi districts respectively. Grain yield was lowest for minimum tillage 1222 and 1230 kg/ha in both sites. No-till winter chickpea can be an entry point for adoption of conservation agriculture in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It could be concluded from the present study that winter chickpea tillage methods should be studied according to the areas of their adaptability for increased productivity per unit area in different soil and climatic condi[tions of rainfed agriculture in the region.
Keywords: chickpea, rainfed, no-till, conservation agriculture, yield and soil.
Introduction to get immediate cash income compared other agricultural
Conservation Agriculture as a term had not been exten- crops in the region. sively used in Central Asia until the last decade. However, So far, no research have been conducted on determina-
conservation tillage in the rainfed areas and raised bed planting in irrigated areas, formerly researched and applied, could be attributed to be a development towards CA. The development of conservation tillage in rainfed areas of Central Asia was caused by the massive soil erosion occurring at the time when the reclamation of virgin and fallow lands in Kazakhstan became of enormous importance in ensuring food security. In 1954, special surveys by agronomists, soil scientists and land developers examined vast tracts of the land stocks of Kazakhstan. Those expeditions identified more than 21 Mha of arable virgin and fallow lands of which more than 13 Mha are lands of good to medium quality that could be used for agricultural crops, and primarily for planting of cereal crops without significant costs (Dvurechenskiy [2]).
There is a need for crop diversification with legumes to improve sustainability as well as to provide protein-rich grains. Introducing legumes into CA rotations is an essential component of successful CA systems. Food legumes enrich the soil with nitrogen and are very important for sustainable production intensification. In addition to providing nitrogen, legume crops also improve soil quality, thus positively affecting the performance of the ensuing crop. Nitrogen fertilizer requirement for the succeeding crop is reduced in a cropping system that includes legumes, which results in lower cost of production. In Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, chickpea is one of the most important cash crops and source of protein for farmers in rainfed areas. Chickpea is also highly preferred by farmers because of its good marketing crop that enables farmers
tion of optimum tillage methods for production of winter chickpea in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In rainfed agriculture no-till technology facilitates sowing of chickpea at proper time. Due to winter sowing chickpea productivity can be increased by 1.5 time which is very important to achieve food security in Tajikistan where there is a need to increase agricultural production to cope with growing demand for food. Cox (1986) studied the effect of different methods of soil preparation and two different types of wheat varieties on wheat grain yield. No significant difference was observed between treatments. Touchton and Jonson (1982) conducted an experiment on the effect of three different methods of tillage (chisel, moldboard plow and no tillage) on the yield of wheat and soybean. Yield of soybean under chisel and no tillage were similar, but wheat yield under chisel plow was less than moldboard plow. The development of tillage practices for dryland crop production has been and will be a dynamic process. Winter sowing is not common in Central Asia including Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Therefore, there is a need to acquire of information on influences of tillage methods in growth, dry matter yield and yield component of winter chickpea in study area. Thus, this study was initiated with the following objectives:
• to evaluate the effect of different tillage methods on growth, dry matter yield and yield components of winter chickpea;
• to study the effect of different tillage methods, impact of location and climate variability on the productivity
Section 8. Agricultural sciences
of winter chickpea under the rainfed conditions of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in two different locations.
Material and methods
The experiment conducted Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to better understand the impact of location and climate variability on winter chickpea growth and yield under different tillage methods. The study sites were located at the altitude of 850 m and 980 m above sea level in Gissar district and in Qamashi district in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan respectively. The experiment was established in 2014 and continued in 2015. The experiment was carried out in randomized complete block design with four replicates. All statistical analyses done using Genstat 18 th edition (Genstat [3]). There were three different tillage options; conventional till (CT), minimum till with disking (MTD) and no-till (NT). Monitoring over the crop growth and development was conducted from the time of the starting (10%) and full completion (75%) of the different stages during crop season. Field observations on germination, number of grains per spike, number of grains per m2, thousand kernel weight, plant height, days to heading, days to flowering, days to maturity, dry matter and grain yield (SVTCAC [6]). Amorphous 30 kg/ha was applied before planting.
Ammonium nitrate was used as a nitrogen fertilizer (34%) depending on weather conditions.
Results
Tanaka's findings (1989) on the comparison of the yield of pea while using different tillage treatments including no tillage, reduced tillage and conventional tillage (Moldboard Plow) support the obtained results in the present study as it was indicated in their study that the yield difference for the mentioned tillage treatments was not significant and even no tillage showed a better yield trend.
Days to maturity differed between tillage methods, locations and years and ranged from 180 to 199 days. Maximum days to maturity (199) were recorded in Gissar district in
2014 with conventional tillage technology while minimum days to maturity was observed for Qamashi district in 2015. In general, days to maturity in 2014 was higher compared to
2015 year, as it is depending climate conditions of the region (Figure 1).
ANOVA showed that there were significant differences in winter chickpea within different locations (Table 1). This indicates that tillage methods does not significantly affect chickpea grain yield under rainfed conditions of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
i Gissar ■ Qamashi
205
200
195
£ 190
tu
-u
185 180 175 170
2014 2015
CT
2014 2015 MT
2014 2015 NT
Figure 1. Effect of tillage on days to maturity of winter chickpea in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
Table 1. - Analysis of variance grain yield
Source of variation d.f. s.s. m.s. v.r. F pr.
1 2 3 4 5 6
Location 1 2245973 2245973 14.28 <.001
Treatment 2 2175181 1087590 6.91 0.003
Year 1 543789 543789 3.46 0.071
Location.Treatment 2 265928 132964 0.85 0.438
Location.Year 1 543789 543789 3.46 0.071
Treatment.Year 2 28865 14432 0.09 0.913
Location.Treatment.Year 2 28865 14432 0.09 0.913
1 2 3 4 5 6
Residual 36 5663110 157309
Total 47 11495499
Results on grain yield (Figure 2) revealed that no-till treatment in both locations gave highest grain yield 1687 and 2255 kg/ha in Gissar and Qamashi districts respectively. Grain yield was lowest for minimum tillage 1222 and 1230 kg/ha in both
sites. Yield reduction was associated with tillage methods. Lower grain yield was observed in Gissar district. It can be concluded, that climatic conditions of Gissar and Qamashi districts are favorable to grow winter chickpea under no-till method.
CT MT NT
Figure 2. Effect of tillage on productivity of winter chickpea
Discussion
The results of this experiment proves that tillage methods have not significant effects on dry mass and grain yield in winter chickpea while days to maturity had significant effect. No-till winter chickpea can be an entry point for adoption of conservation agriculture in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
It could be concluded from the present study that winter chickpea tillage methods should be studied according to the areas of their adaptability for increased productivity per unit area in different soil and climatic conditions of rainfed agriculture in the region.
References:
1. Cox J. K. Winter survival response of winter wheat: Tillage and cultivar selection. Agron J., 78: 1986. - P. 795-801.
2. Dvurechenskiy V I. Vozdelivaniye Zernovykh Kultur na Osnove Novoy Vlagosberegayuschey Tekhnologii i Soveremennoy Tekhniki. Izdatelskiy Dom. 2010. (in Russian).
3. Genstat. Gen Stat Version 16.1.0.10916. Lawes Agricultural Trust, Rothamsted. Experimental Station, UK. 2017.
4. Tanaka D. L. Spring wheat plant parameters as affected by fallow methods in the Northern Great Plains. Soil Sci. Soc Am. J., 53: 1989.- P. 1506-1511.
5. Touchton J. T., Jonson J. W. Soybean tillage and planting methods effects on yield of double-cropped wheat and soybean. Agron. J., 74: 1982.- P. 57-59.
6. SVTCAC (State Variety Testing Commission of Agricultural Crops). The methodology of State Variety Testing Commission ofAgricultural Crops.- Vol. 2. Cereals, small grains, leguminous, maize and forage crops.- M. 1989.- 194 p.
