Impact of zero-till residue management and crop diversification with legumes on soil aggregation and carbon sequestration

Abstract We evaluated the long-term impact of zero tillage (ZT) in post–rainy seasons (winter and summer) crop/s, crop residue management, and crop diversification on soil aggregation and carbon sequestration. The field experiment (started in 2009) was undertaken in split-plot design for seven consecutive years on a sandy loam soil of Kanpur, India. The experiment comprised of four tillage and crop residue management treatments: PTR – conventional tillage (CT) without crop residue (PTR–CT), PTR – ZT without crop residue (PTR–ZT–R), PTR – CT with crop residue incorporation (PTR–CT+R), and PTR – ZT with surface crop residue retention (PTR–ZT + R) in main plot, and three cropping systems: rice–wheat (RW), rice–chickpea (RC), and rice–chickpea–mungbean (RCMb) in subplot. Treatment PTR–ZT + R resulted in 13% ( p PTR–ZT–R > PTR–CT+R > PTR–CT ( p p RC > RW ( p