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- Environmental Advances 4 (2021) 100068
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Environmental Advances
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/envadv
Intercropping and mulching in rain-dependent cotton can improve soil
structure and reduce erosion
Desouza Blaise a,∗, A. Manikandan a,b, N.D. Desouza c, B. Bhargavi a, J. Somasundaram d
a
ICAR-Central Institute for Cotton Research, Nagpur, 441108, Maharashtra, India
b
ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, New Delhi, 110012, India
c
Department of Physics, Visvesvarayya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur, 440010, Maharashtra, India
d
ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Nabi Bagh, Berasia Road, Bhopal, 462038, Madhya Pradesh, India
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Keywords: Transgenic Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) cotton (Gossypium spp.) hybrids are grown at wide-row spacing in India.
Clay soils Farmers practice traditional methods of cultivation that involve excessive inter-row cultivations. These practices
Electron microscopy exacerbate soil erosion and run-off ultimately leading to land degradation. Growing a cover crop between the
Infiltration rate
cotton rows and retaining its residues in situ can reduce erosion and runoff, and improve soil productivity. We
Plastic mulch
compared the effects of growing an intercrop {sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), sunnhemp (Crotolaria juncea) or sesame
Sunnhemp
Transgenic cotton (Sesamum indicum)} in between the cotton rows and retaining its residues as in situ mulch, vis-à-vis plastic,
Vertisols newspaper mulch and the traditional farmers’ practice (FP) on the soil physical properties (soil microstructure,
porosity, water stable aggregates, infiltration rate, soil erosion and soil loss) of a Vertisol near Nagpur in central
India. Digital image analysis of the micrographs obtained by a scanning electron microscope indicated porosities
were highest with intercropping (53–58%) and the least with the FP and plastic mulching (35–36%). Infiltration
rate was in the order of intercropping (19.4–22.6 mm h−1 ) > newspaper mulch (14.5 mm h−1 ) > FP (13.8 mm h−1 )
> plastic mulch (12.3 mm h−1 ); while the reverse occurred with respect to run-off. Although run-off was the
greatest (577 mm) in the plastic mulched plots, soil loss was negligible (0.58 Mg ha−1 ). Intercropping resulted
in 35% less soil loss than FP (6.7 Mg ha−1 ). This study pointed out that growing an intercrop and retaining its
residues as in situ mulch between the cotton rows can improve soil condition by increasing soil microstructure,
water stable aggregation and infiltration rate, and reducing run-off and soil loss.
1. Introduction tic and geotextiles are reported to reduce soil erosion, overcome water
stress caused by dry spells during the rainy season and improve soil
Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is the major commercial crop in In- organic carbon concentration (Gimenez-Morera et al., 2010; Lal, 2015;
dia grown on more than 12 million hectares and more than 90% of Zhao et al., 2019). Organic materials as mulch are also known to im-
the area is occupied by the transgenic Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) Boll- prove soil physical and chemical properties (Lal, 2015). Because trans-
gardII® (BGII) cotton hybrids (Blaise et al., 2014). Most of the area genic cotton hybrids are grown at wide inter-row spacing (0.90 to
is rain-dependent and farmers practice intensive and frequent tillage 1.2 m), it is possible to sow an intercrop between the rows (Blaise et al.,
operations to control the weeds in between the cotton rows that are 2014; Rajpoot et al., 2018). The benefits include better weed control,
planted at wide-row spacing (Blaise and Ravindran, 2003). Frequent and higher seed cotton yield and profitability (Blaise et al., 2020). It has
tillage on a long-term basis with very limited manure application been speculated that because the intercrops are cut and left as mulch,
(Prasad and Power, 1991) can result in soil structural degradation it returns crop residue to the soil and improves soil quality more than
(Bhattacharyya et al., 2015). Poor soil structure in combination with that under traditional farmers’ practice (FP) or plastic mulch. However,
heavy rains received during the rainy season causes accelerated ero- there are no data to support such assumptions. We hypothesized that
sion of topsoil leading to a decline in soil organic matter and nutrients in comparison with the FP, soil structure improved by sowing an inter-
(Singh et al., 2020). crop between the rows of transgenic cotton. The objective of our study
Alternative tillage practices and cropping systems such as mini- was to quantify soil physical properties and soil loss with several inter-
mum and no tillage, and mulching with retained crop residues, plas- row management practices at the end of a long-term (2013-14 to 2019-
20) field experiment conducted on a rainfed Vertisol in central India
(Blaise et al., 2020). Physical properties assessed were microstructure
∗
Corresponding author. (pore shape and pore orientation) measured with a scanning electron mi-
E-mail address: blaise_123@rediffmail.com (D. Blaise). croscope, water stable aggregation and infiltration capacity. Pore shape
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envadv.2021.100068
Received 28 October 2020; Received in revised form 21 April 2021; Accepted 13 May 2021
2666-7657/© 2021 Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
- D. Blaise, A. Manikandan, N.D. Desouza et al. Environmental Advances 4 (2021) 100068
and orientation are direct indicators of the structural state of the soil and sieved so that their natural structure remained intact. Subsample
(Romaneko et al., 2019) and influence processes such as water infiltra- of the air-dried soil was coated with gold-palladium mixture by sputter
tion, runoff and erosion (Sokolowska et al., 2019). coating technique prior to the analysis. Microstructure analysis was
performed using JEOL JSM 6380 scanning electron microscope, SEM
2. Materials and methods (http://www.speciation.net/Database/Instruments/JEOL/JSM6380-
;i18) that allowed visualization of the soil morphology and spatial
2.1. Study site arrangement, viz. number of pores, porosity, pore perimeter, shape
factor and fractal dimension. The SEM was equipped with an energy
Field experiments were conducted during 2013-14 to 2019-20 at In- dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) coupled with a Bruker detector
dian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Institute for Cotton Re- SDD X-Flash (Schrader et al., 2007). The analysis of the scanning
search, Panjri Farm, south of Nagpur (21° 04′ 71′′ N and 79° 04′ 40′′ E) electron micrographs was done using the Pores and Cracks Analysis
in central India. The region has a monomodal rainfall pattern (June to System (PCAS) software - pore and crack analysis software developed
September), with mean annual rainfall of 1064.1 mm (Government of by (Liu et al., 2011).
Maharashtra, 2021). Total annual rainfall received was 960 and 1108
mm, respectively, in 2018 and 2019. Surface soil samples were collected 2.4. Water stable aggregates
from the study site, before the start of the experiment, from three ran-
dom locations, air-dried, and ground to pass a 0.5 mm sieve followed by Water stable aggregates was determined on pre-moistened 4 g soil
analysis. The soil is a deep black Vertisol belonging to the Typic Chro- samples (aggregate diameters
- D. Blaise, A. Manikandan, N.D. Desouza et al. Environmental Advances 4 (2021) 100068
Fig. 1. SEM image of the soil samples from different treatments: (a) sorghum; (b) sunnhemp; (c) sesame; (d) polythene mulch; (e) newspaper mulch; and (f) farmers’
practice.
Table 1
Influence of the different treatments on the soil and pore parameters obtained by PCAS.
Sorghum Sunnhemp Sesame Polythene Newspaper Farmers’ Practice
Number of pores 355 458 294 223 257 304
Porosity (%) 52.9 54.2 58.1 35.2 48.6 36.0
Perimeter 253.5 224.6 242.4 270.9 321.2 254.5
Average shape factor 0.348 0.364 0.359 0.301 0.316 0.324
Fractal dimension 1.584 1.558 1.556 1.403 1.566 1.393
and compact. Specifically, porosity was greater with intercropping (53 ter ranged from 225 to 321 μm with highest values occurring with the
to 58%) than with plastic or newspaper mulch, or FP (35 to 49%) newspaper mulch followed by the plastic mulch and FP. On average, the
(Table 1). Among the intercrops, porosity was in the order of sesame > intercropped plots had lower values. The shape factor values occurred
sunnhemp > sorghum, and the maximum number of pores in the order in a narrow range of 0.301 to 0.364 with the highest values present with
of sunnhemp > sorghum > sesame. The pores were of two main types, intercropping and lowest with the plastic mulch. Fractal dimension val-
mesopores (10–50 nm) and macropores (>50 nm). Numbers of micro- ues (Table 1) denote the shape irregularities and the changes brought
pores were negligible whereas macropores accounted for the greatest about by the intercrops and the mulching relative to the FP. The values
proportion in all treatments. Plastic mulching had the fewest number of the fractal dimension ranged from 1.39 to 1.58, and were lower with
of pores which was similar to that of the newspaper mulch followed the plastic mulch and FP than with intercropping. FP had the lowest
by the sesame intercrop and FP. Average values of the pore perime- values and sorghum intercropping the highest.
3
- D. Blaise, A. Manikandan, N.D. Desouza et al. Environmental Advances 4 (2021) 100068
Table 2
Water stable aggregates, Infiltration rate, rain water run-off and potential soil loss in the different treatments.
Water stable aggregates (%) Infiltration rate (mm h−1 ) Rain water run-off (mm) Potential soil loss (Mg ha−1 )
Sorghum 65.8 21.1 337.8 4.39
Sunnhemp 66.9 19.4 366.7 4.57
Sesame 68.4 22.6 314.8 4.09
Plastic mulch 63.5 12.3 577.0 0.58
Newspaper mulch 64.4 14.5 492.5 5.10
FP 62.5 13.8 515.1 6.70
LSD (p > 0.05) 3.6 2.42 - -
3.2. Water stable aggregation Intercropped plots had higher porosities and more pores per unit
area. Greater porosity may have been due to one or more of the follow-
Data presented in the Table 2 indicates that the water stable aggrega- ing processes: (a) reduction in foot and vehicular traffic (Adimassu et al.,
tion was affected by the different treatments. Intercrop treatments had 2019); (b) addition of organic matter by the decomposing surface mulch
6.7% greater percent water stable aggregates than with FP (Table 2). placed on the soil (Mikutta et al., 2006); (c) creation of biopores by
Among the intercrops, treatment differences were not significant. Sig- growing intercrop roots (Stirzaker et al., 1996); (d) stimulation of soil
nificantly (p > 0.03) greater aggregation was observed with sesame in- fauna and microflora activity by the mulch, thereby enhancing soil
tercrop than the FP, plastic and newspaper mulch. Water stable aggre- porosity (Lee and Foster, 1991; Valdez et al., 2020). In addition, the
gate values of the FP treatment were similar to plastic and newspaper roots may have stimulated microbial activity, which in turn enhanced
mulched treatments. stabilization of soil organic matter and improved porosity (Liang et al.,
2017). Furthermore, due to the absence of subsequent soil disturbance in
the intercropped plots pore continuity may have been maintained over
3.3. Infiltration rate
the seasons (Hulugalle et al., 1997), whereas with FP frequent inter-row
cultivation occurred. As a result, soil structure was disrupted, and poros-
In general, steady state infiltration rate was greater with intercrop-
ity and pore number decreased. Pore numbers and porosities were low
ping (Table 2). Among the intercropped treatments, infiltration rate was
with plastic and newspaper mulch, even though the soil surface was pro-
the highest in the sesame plots and was significantly greater than the
tected. Traffic associated with the replacement of plastic and newspaper
sunnhemp but did not differ with sorghum. All the intercropped plots
mulch every season may have caused compaction and low porosity. In
had significantly greater infiltration rate than the plastic and newspaper
addition, tiny microscopic fragments of plastic and newspaper remain-
mulch and FP treatments. Average infiltration rate with intercropping
ing at the end of the season may have blocked the soil pores.
was 21.0 mm h−1 and was 30% higher than that with FP. Lowest infil-
The improvements in soil microstructure and water-stable aggrega-
tration rate occurred with plastic mulching, followed in turn by FP and
tion with intercropping were likely responsible for the high infiltra-
newspaper mulching; but these differences were not significant.
tion rate (Table 2). Retention of mulch on the surface may have also
prevented detachment of soil particles during high intensity rainfall
3.4. Runoff and soil loss (Prosdocimi et al., 2016). Consequently, more water infiltrated into
the soil and soil loss was reduced with intercropping. Our estimates
Rainfall lost as surface runoff was in the order of plastic mulching > of soil loss in the different treatments were similar to those reported
FP > newspaper mulch >intercropping (Table 2). Average runoff with for soybean-based systems in a Vertisol from central India (Singh et al.,
intercropping was of the order of 340 mm and was 55% less than that 2020). Our findings also concur with many previous studies that re-
in treatments without an intercrop. Among the intercropped treatments, ported reductions in soil loss with straw mulch (Adekalu et al., 2007;
runoff was least with sesame, followed by sorghum and sunnhemp. Soil Bhatt and Khera, 2006).
loss ranged from 0.58 to 6.7 Mg ha−1 , and was lowest with plastic Although soil loss was negligible with plastic mulching, much of the
mulching. Greatest soil loss occurred with FP followed by that in news- effective rainfall received at high intensity was lost as surface run-off
paper mulched plots. Among intercropped plots, soil loss was in the or- because of the impervious nature of the plastic. When compared with
der of sesame < sorghum < sunnhemp. Averaged across intercropping the plastic, newspaper mulch disintegrated into smaller particles fol-
treatments, soil loss in intercropped plots was 35 ± 2.5% less than that lowing heavy storm events, and was thus, less effective in reducing soil
with FP. loss. As expected, FP was the most vulnerable to soil erosion because it
had no soil cover, lower soil porosity and fewer water stable aggregates.
Furthermore, soil disturbance associated with frequent inter-row culti-
4. Discussion
vation for weed control resulted in excessive loosening of the topsoil.
Porosity refers to the proportion of voids within a given soil. Those
with porosities greater than 40% are considered porous whereas form 5. Conclusions
factor values (range from 0 to 1, with 1 corresponding to a perfect circle)
describe pore shape (Anovitz and Cole, 2015). Values in the present Our studies, for the first time, demonstrated the improvements in
study were less than 0.4 indicating irregularities in pore shapes. From soil microstructure of the rain-dependent cotton grown on the Vertisols
the data in Table 1, it is evident that the two treatments that had the by intercropping sorghum, sesame or sunnhemp between the rows of
lowest porosities were FP and plastic mulching. Both had form factor cotton compared with the local farmers’ practice and plastic and news-
values
- D. Blaise, A. Manikandan, N.D. Desouza et al. Environmental Advances 4 (2021) 100068
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