Crop Residue Recycling Affecting Carbon Sequestration, Nutrients Availability and Crop Yields in Rice–Wheat and Sugarcane–Ratoon–Wheat System

The field experiment was conducted during 2016–2018 and 2018–2020 at the ICAR-Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow (IISR) research farm. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design (RBD) with eight treatments in rice-wheat-rice-wheat and sugarcane–ratoon–wheat cropping systems with/without application of Trichoderma viride. Mean experimental results obtained for both the cropping systems revealed that in the rice-wheat-rice-wheat (RWRW) cropping system, about one-third of crop residues produced could be recycled effectively with Trichoderma inoculation. However, in the sugarcane–ratoon–wheat (S.R.W.) system, complete residues (trash) could be applied in the subsequent ratoon crop. In the rice-wheat-rice-wheat cropping system, crop residue supplemented a mean 26.49 kg N, 7.12 kg P, and 12.55 kg K ha year. However, the corresponding values for sugarcane–ratoon–wheat system were 56.13 kg N, 7.19 kg P, and 44.09 kg K ha year.The population of soil bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes could be increased after crop residue retention/trash mulching. Thus, improved soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC), soil microbial biomass N (SMBN), and soil respiration (S.R.) could be recorded. The highest S.O.C. was sequestered with trash mulching + Trichoderma. The crop residues added the soil nutrients (N.P.K.) status and the improved rhizospheric environment through improving soil physical, chemical, and biological properties after completion of the crop cycle. Sugarcane, rice, and wheat yields in the system could also be enhanced by crop residue addition and inoculation of T. viride.