Soil-mediated Effects of Rice Residue Burning on Wheat Physiology and Productivity under Screen-house Pot Conditions

Abstract

Rice residue burning is widely practiced to facilitate rapid field preparation for the succeeding crop, despite concerns regarding its adverse environmental effects and its potential to alter soil properties that influence sustainable crop production. The present study evaluated the soil-mediated effects of rice residue burning on the physiology and productivity of wheat grown under screen-house pot conditions. Soil samples (0–15 cm depth) were collected from nine sites before and after rice residue burning and used to establish a completely randomized pot experiment comprising 18 treatments with three replicates (54 pots). Wheat physiological parameters, including relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll content, chlorophyll fluorescence, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate and stomatal conductance, together with yield attributes and productivity, were assessed and analysed statistically. Wheat grown in post-burning soils exhibited significant (P < 0.05) reductions in physiological performance and productivity compared with wheat grown in pre-burning soils. The maximum reductions recorded under post-burning conditions included 17.6% in RWC, 21.6% in chlorophyll content, 17.7% in chlorophyll fluorescence, 31.7% in photosynthetic rate, 33.2% in transpiration rate and 36.1% in stomatal conductance. Similarly, grain weight per spike, number of grains per spike, grain yield and biological yield decreased by up to 29.0%, 26.3%, 24.5% and 28.0%, respectively. These findings demonstrate that changes in soil following rice residue burning adversely affected wheat physiological performance and productivity under screen-house pot conditions. The study highlights the importance of adopting sustainable rice residue management practices to minimize soil degradation and support crop productivity, while further field-based investigations are required before extrapolating these findings to field-scale wheat production.