Green Manuring with Sesbania aculeata for Weed Suppression, Rice Productivity, and Soil Carbon Sequestration in Central India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53550/ijsc.v54.i1.220Keywords:
Green manuring, Rice productivity, Sesbania aculeata, Soil organic carbon, Weed suppressionAbstract
Continuous monocropping coupled with suboptimal management practices accelerates soil degradation and exacerbates environmental stress. In this context, legume-based green manuring has emerged as a sustainable strategy for enhancing soil health, environmental quality, and crop productivity in rice-based systems. It was hypothesized that incorporation of 45-day-old Sesbania aculeata biomass (4.73-5.03 t ha-1) prior to rice transplanting would enhance rice productivity and profitability, suppress weed infestation, and promote soil carbon stabilization. A three-year field study (2014–2016) was conducted on large plots (4000 m² per field) comparing rice fields with and without S. aculeata incorporation. The results revealed that S. aculeata incorporation significantly (p < 0.05) reduced weed density and biomass (41.7-57.3% and 36.6-38.4%, respectively), while substantially increasing rice grain and straw yields (5.84-7.52 and 6.84-8.65 t ha-1, respectively). Furthermore, green manuring with S. aculeata improved soil physical properties, notably reducing bulk density (1.39 Mg m from 1.42), and significantly enhanced soil organic carbon (SOC) content (0.37% to 0.45%). Continuous incorporation over three years contributed appreciable carbon to the soil profile, resulting in higher soil carbon stocks than in the non-incorporated system. Incorporation of S. aculeata as green manure effectively suppresses weeds, enhances rice yield, improves soil health, increases carbon sequestration, and allows a reduction of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer by ~20 kg N ha⁻¹, thereby lowering production costs and mitigating potential environmental pollution.
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