<div>Background: Soil compaction adversely affects mechanical and water transmission characteristics, thus hampering crop growth and productivity. However, under coarse-textured soils, compaction to a certain extent is beneficial concerning restricting water transmission, increasing water retention and improving productivity. The present study was aimed to investigate the effect of compaction and irrigation on soil physical characteristics and productivity of summer moongbean. 
 
Methods: A field study was conducted on summer moongbean for two years in loamy sand soil at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India. The treatments comprised three compaction levels i.e. no roller pass (C0), one roller pass (C1) and three roller pass (C3) in main plots and in subplots three irrigation regimes (I0.4, I0.6 and I0.8) with three replicates. Observations included soil bulk density and infiltration rate; seed emergence count, growth traits, yield and yield attributes. 
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Result: Soil bulk density of 5-10 cm depth increased from 1.53 at C0 to 1.62 Mg m-3 at C3. However, infiltration rate of water in soil decreased to 38% with an increase in compaction level from C0 to C3. Seed emergence count was deleteriously affected with increasing compaction level but at 15 DAS, it increased by 33 and 42% at C1 and C3 levels under I0.8 regime as compared to I0.4. Plant height was also minimal at C3 irrespective of irrigation regimes. Compaction reduced the root length density in the surface layers but it increased in the sub-surface layers. Grain and straw yield increased by 15 and 13%, respectively in C1 over C3. An increase in irrigation regimes from I0.4 to I0.8, increased the mean straw and grain yield from 5.10 to 6.10 t ha-1 and 1.13 to 1.32 t ha-1 respectively. However, the irrigation water productivity decreased with an increase in irrigation frequency. These result suggest that compaction up to one roller pass with I0.8 irrigation regime can be beneficial for enhancing grain yield of summer moongbean in loamy sand soil.&nbsp;</div>

<div>Effect of Compaction and Irrigation Regimes on Soil Physical Characteristics, Emergence, Growth and Productivity of Summer Moongbean</div>

Background: Agricultural production faces challenges, such as soil depletion, declining yields and climate variability, necessitating sustainable practices. Conservation agriculture (CA) improves soil health, ecosystem conservation and resource efficiency but is underutilized in cereal-based systems in South Asia. Incorporating legumes, such as green gram into cropping systems enhances nitrogen turnover and soil health. This study examines the effects of CA practices and residual nitrogen on green gram performance and soil health in a wheat-green gram-maize cropping system. 
 
Methods: A two-year field study (Rabi 2021-Kharif 2023) was conducted at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, on sandy loam soil. The experiment was conducted using a split plot design and replicated thrice. Main plot treatments comprised of three crop establishment methods: conventional tillage (CT), zero tillage with residue retention (ZT+R) and permanent raised beds with residue retention (PB+R), whereas subplot treatments consist seven nitrogen management (NM) strategies for wheat and maize (varying RDN levels with prilled urea or nano-urea). No nitrogen was applied to the green gram, relying on the residual nitrogen from the wheat, as phosphorus and potassium were applied as per recommendation. 
 
Result: Permanent raised beds with residue retention (PB+R) significantly improved plant height, biomass, LAI, yield and nitrogen uptake compared with conventional tillage (CT) and zero tillage with residue retention (ZT+R). Nitrogen management with 100% RDN enhanced the nitrogen uptake, chlorophyll content and protein content. PB+R with 100% RDN recorded significantly highest green gram yield (0.85 t ha-1) and nitrogen uptake, attributed to improved root proliferation, water conservation and nutrient acquisition. permanent raised beds with residue retention along with 100% RDN also recorded the highest net returns and BC ratio.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Effect of Compaction and Irrigation Regimes on Soil Physical Characteristics, Emergence, Growth and Productivity of Summer Moongbean

Effect of Establishment Methods and Residual Nitrogen on Moongbean in Wheat based Cropping Systems