Soil health studies were carried out at CCS HAU Rice Research Station, Kaul and in fanners' fields in Teek (Kaithal) and Uchana (Karnal) to compare zero and conventional tillage practices in rice-wheat sequence cropping in Haryana, north India. Considerable differences were observed in the population dynamics of rhizosphere fungi. Counts of soil fungi were higher in conventional than zero tillage fields at crown root initiation (CRI) and dough stage of the wheat crop while no uniform trend was observed for paddy. The predominant fungal species found in the rhizosphere of wheat and rice were Fusarium species, Drechslera rostrata, and Penicillium species. The population of Fusarium pallidoroseum was more in conventiona1 plots. Amongst the fungal genera identified in the rice and wheat rhizospheres, F. moniliforme, F. pallidoroseum, D. oryzae and D. rostrata are well known to be pathogenic on paddy, and Alternaria triticina and Bipolaris sorokiniana are pathogenic on wheat. The study found little difference between the two cropping practices in the incidence and severity of disease. The on1y noticeable differences were the higher incidence of foot rot, bakanae, and grain discolouration in zero tillage and stem rot in conventiona1ly sown fields.

Global Wheat Program|Research and Partnership Program

Text in English

0501|AGRIS 0501|AL-Wheat Program

INT1237|INT0610

CIMMYT Staff Publications Collection