Assessment of Different Machinery Packages for Identification of Climate Smart Wheat Cultivation in Central India

Abstract

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is a major food grain crop cultivated in India (31.4 million hectares in 2022-2023). In view of rising concerns of emissions from agriculture, it was considered to assess the global warming potential (GWP) of various wheat cultivation practices being followed in central India. Wheat sowing by five different machines along with associated cultivation practices were evaluated and compared with traditional wheat cultivation with seed cum fertilizer drill. The five wheat cultivation machinery packages evaluated were i) Zero till seed cum fertilizer drill; ii) Zero till drill with straw handler; iii) Happy seeder; iv) Broad bed former seeder; and v) Rotary tiller assisted broad bed former seeder–over a period of three years from 2021-2022 to 2023-2024. The GWP was found minimum with Happy seeder at 555.0 kg CO2eq./ha, followed by Zero till drill with straw handler (648.3 kg CO2 eq./ha) and Zero till drill (651.8 kg CO2 eq./ha). Wheat cultivation with conventional Seed cum fertilizer drill had highest GWP of 775.4 kg CO2 eq./ha due to higher fuel usage in the whole cultivation process. The grain yield was highest on wheat cultivation with Rotary tiller assisted broad bed former seeder(5401.3 kg/ha)and this cultivation practice also had minimum Greenhouse Gas(GHG) intensity of 0.126 kg CO2 eq./kg of grain output. Wheat cultivation with Rotary tiller assisted broad bed former seeder was considered climate resilient due to its higher yield, lower GHG intensity, and maximum economic return (Rs.23,530 per hectare) over conventional method.