The rice–wheat cropping system (RWCS) has substantially contributed in making India self-sufficient in food grain production; however, rice residue management is of great concern, threatening the sustainability of this system. Rice residue is invariably disposed of by farmers through open burning. In addition to environmental pollution, residue burning of rice also leads to loss of soil nutrients. One of the alternatives to overcome these problems and sustain the RWCS is managing the rice residues in the field itself. Rice residue retention has variable effects on agricultural pests (namely, weeds, insect pests, diseases, and rodents) in the RWCS. High weed infestation in the RWCS results in high consumption of herbicides, which leads to several ecological problems and evolution of herbicide resistance. The shift from intensive tillage to conservation tillage causes major changes in weed dynamics and herbicide efficacy. Incorporation of rice residue reduces weed density and helps in improving soil physical, chemical, and biological properties. Rice residue retention on the surface or mulching reduces weed density and the biomass of both grass and broadleaf weeds in wheat crop as compared to its removal. Long-term field studies involving the use of rice residue as a component of integrated weed management strategies are needed to be done in the RWCS.

A field experiment was conducted at the research farm of Department of Soil and Water Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, and University Seed Farm, Ladhowal, Punjab, during the rainy (kharif) season of 2017, to study the effect of drip irrigation, fertigation and mulching on productivity of soybean [Glycine max (L) Merr.]. Among drip irrigation levels, seed yield increased significantly 14.2 and 11.8% with increasing drip irrigation level from 60% ETc to 80% ETc for Ludhiana and Ladhowal, respectively. Further increase in irrigation level up to 100% ETc increased the seed yield marginally by 3.5 and 4.6% for respective locations. With increasing fertigation level from 50% to 75% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), seed yield increased significantly to the tune of 9.2 and 9.4% for Ludhiana and Ladhowal respectively. However, further increase up to 100% RDF increased the seed yield by 4.8 and 5.3% for respective locations. Application of paddy straw mulch @ 6 tonnes/ha resulted in 13 and 9.8% increase in seed yield over no mulch. Mean of all combinations of drip irrigation, fertigation and mulching treatments recorded 12.3 and 19.2% increase in seed yield as compared to conventional furrow irrigation (control) for Ludhiana and Ladhowal respectively.