Comparative response of organic, chemical and integrated mode of cultivation towards yield and sustainability of basmati rice (Oryza sativa) based cropping system Singh D.K., Gupta Shilpi, Sharma Yogesh Departmen to Agronomy, College of Agriculture, G.B.P.U.A.& T., Pantnagar, U.S. Nagar, Uttarakhand, India. Email: dhananjayrahul@rediffmail.com Online published on 30 November, 2019. Abstract Among the different modes of cultivation studied, organic mode of cultivation sustained the productivity of basmati rice after one decade which was 52.96 per cent increased over first year rice grain yield (2266 kg ha−1). However, inorganic and integrated mode of cultivation maintained more or less same yields. Bulk density of soil improved appreciably. It decreased by 8.03 percent overinitial value after ten years of experiment(1.24gcc−1)under organic modeover initial (1.37gcc−1) followed by integrated mode(1.33gcc−1) and inorganic(1.44gcc−1). Organic mode of cultivation was found superior in improving the organic carbon(1.15%) status of soil followed by integrated mode (1.00%) after ten year of experimentation as compared to initial (0.65%). The per cent increases in organic carbon were 76.9 and 53.8per cent over initial, respectively with organic and integrated modes. Likewise, availability of nitrogen and sulphur increased to a greater extent under sole organic mode registering 58.4 and 31.1 per cent increase overinitial year, respectively as compared to inorganic and integrated modes. Micronutrient status of soil after ten years of continuous cropping system improved with organic mode of cultivation emanating 61.9,18.7,85.0 &295 percent increase in availability of Zn,Cu, Fe and Mn, respectively over initial. Thus, the best alternative for sustaining the soil fertility in long term without compromising the productivity is to use organic manuresas compared to soleuse of inorganicfertilizers. Top Keywords Cropping systems, Basmati rice, Organic, Inorganic, Integrated, Soil fertility, System Productivity. Top |