Soil texture, climate and management effects on plant growth, grain yield and water use by rainfed maize–wheat cropping system: Field and simulation study

In sub-mountain tract of Punjab state of India, maize (Zea mays, L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) crops are grown as rainfed having low crop and water productivity. To enhance that, proper understanding of the factors (soil type, climate, management practices and their interactions) affecting it is a pre-requisite. The present study aims to assess the effects of tillage, date of sowing, and irrigation practices on the rainfed maize–wheat cropping system involving combined approach of field study and simulation. Field experiments comprising 18 treatments (three dates of sowing as main, three tillage systems as subplot and two irrigation regimes as the sub-subplot) were conducted for two years (2004–2006) and simulations were made for 15 years using CropSyst model. Field and simulated results showed that grain yields of maize and wheat crops were more in early July planted maize and early November planted wheat on silt loam soil. Different statistical parameters (root mean square error, coefficient of residual mass, model efficiency, coefficient of correlation and paired t-test) indicated that CropSyst model did fair job to simulate biomass production and grain yield for maize–wheat cropping system under varying soil texture, date of planting and irrigation regimes.