The rice-wheat cropping system has caused severe over exploitation of the underground water resources resulted in the declining water table. Efforts are being made to promote alternate cropping systems which may increase crop productivity, soil fertility and resource use efficiencyPunjab, a small northern Indian state has developed as a key agricultural area producing 13 per cent of the food grains of India. Increased productivity brought economic benefits to farmers and led to the establishment of rice-wheat cropping pattern as the main cropping system of Punjab which has become more reliant on underground water resources, agricultural machinery, chemical fertilisers and pesticides. The rice wheat cropping system is highly nutrient exhaustive and therefore, its continuous practice has devoid inherent soil fertility, causing deficiency of several nutrients. Besides this, improper managementof crop residues exagerates the problems of declining soil fertility. Burning of the rice straw, widely practiced in Punjab, leads to the loss of nutrients, the environmental problem of air pollution, and health hazards. The rice-wheat cropping system has caused severe over exploitation of the underground water resources resulted in the declining water table (74 cm/year in central Punjab). Hence, efforts are being made to promote alternate cropping systems which may increase crop productivity, soil fertility and resource use efficiency. These alternate cropping system shows lot of promises for.
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