Table 1 Drivers of agricultural change, crop rotation, tillage, crop establishment method, and residue and water management under different scenarios.
Scenario | Drivers of change | Crop rotations | Tillage | Crop establishment method | Residue management | Water management |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sc1 | Business as usual (Farmer’s Practice) | Rice–wheat—fallow | CT–CT | Rice: transplanting Wheat: broadcast | All residue removed | Flood irrigation in all crops |
Sc2 | Increase food production, income and nutrition through intensification and best management practices | Rice–wheat–mungbean | CT–ZT–ZT | Rice: transplanting Wheat: drill seeding Mungbean: drill/relay | Full (100%) rice and anchored wheat residue retained on the soil surface; full mungbean residue incorporated | Same as in scenario 1 |
Sc3 | Deal with the rising scarcity of labor, water, energy, degrading soil health, and emerging climatic variability | Rice–wheat–mungbean | ZT–ZT–ZT | Rice: drill seeding Wheat: drill seeding Mungbean: drill/relay | Full (100%) rice and mungbean; anchored wheat residue retained on the soil surface | Same as in scenario 1 |
Sc4 | Futuristic cropping system to deal with same issues as in Sc3 | Maize–wheat–mungbean | ZT–ZT–ZT | Maize: drill seeding Wheat: drill seeding Mungbean: drill/relay | Maize (65%) and full mungbean; anchored wheat residue retained on the soil surface | Same as in scenario 1 |
Sc5 | SI of RW system with precise water and N-management to deal with same issues as in Sc3 | Rice–wheat–mungbean | ZT–ZT–ZT | Same as in Sc3 | Same as in Sc3 | Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) |
Sc6 | SI of MW systems with precise water and N-management to deal same issues as in Sc3 | Maize–wheat–mungbean | ZT–ZT–ZT | Same as in Sc4 | Same as in Sc3 | Same as in scenario 5 |
