Volume 48 Issue 9 (September 2025) 1497 RESEARCH ARTICLE Legume Research- An International Journal, Volume 48 Issue 9: 1497-1504 (September 2025) Zero-tillage in Mung Bean-Wheat Cropping System: Impact on Soil Properties and Crop Productivity Jitender Kumar 1 , Bikram Singh 1 , Dharam Bir Yadav 1 , Ashok Yadav 2 , Parmod Kumar Yadav 1 , Sridevi Tallapragada 3 10.18805/LR-5154 ABSTRACT Background: Inclusion of legume crops in efficient cropping system is important to maintain soil bio-physical property for sustainable production systems. Conservation agriculture (CA) practices have been demonstrated to be successful in cereal based systems. But the information on zero-tillage as CA practice in legume based systems is lacking, which may further help in conservation of soil resources on sustainable basis. Hence study on impact of zero-tillage on soil biological and physico-chemical properties was undertaken at CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Regional Research Station, Bawal (Rewari), India during 2019-20 and 2020-21. Methods: The soil of experimental site was loamy sand in texture and low in organic carbon, N and P, while medium in K. The treatments included nine tillage combinations for crop establishment under mung bean [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek]-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cropping system (MWCS) viz., Zero-tillage mung bean (ZTM) fb zero-tillage wheat (ZTW), ZTM fb reduced tillage wheat (RTW), ZTM fb conventional tillage wheat (CTW), reduced tillage mung bean (RTM) fb ZTW, RTM fb RTW, RTM fb CTW, Conventional tillage mung bean (CTM) fb ZTW, CTM fb RTW, CTM fb CTW. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications. Result: After two years, there was no change in soil texture and EC of the soil due to different crop establishment methods, while the bulk density of upper soil layer (0-15 cm) decreased marginally under system-based ZT method. The Infiltration rate increased with decrease in the frequency of tillage in both the crops. Organic carbon in upper layer increased while pH decreased marginally under ZTM-ZTW as compared to CTM-CTW. Available N and P showed increasing trend with decrease in number of tillage operations after two years of MWCS. Tillage practices had no significant effect on available K. The grain yield of wheat was not influenced by tillage during 2019-20, but in 2020-21 it was significantly higher under ZT wheat sown after ZTM (5025 kg ha -1 ) than RTW (4622- 4722 kg ha -1 ) and CTW (4593-4641 kg ha -1 ), irrespective of tillage practices in mung bean. The seed, stover and biological yields of mung bean were similar under all crop establishment methods in MWCS. This indicated sustainability of zero-tillage methods of establishment in MWCS. Key words: Mung bean, Soil properties, Wheat, Yield, Zero-tillage. INTRODUCTION Mung bean (Vigna radiata L.)-Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an important pulse-based cropping system followed widely in arid and semi-arid regions. Mung bean in India alone accounts for about 65% of its world acreage and 54% of the production. It has high nutritive value, thus has an advantage over the other pulses. Its seeds contain 24.2% protein, 1.3%, 60.4% carbohydrates, 11.8 ppm calcium and 34.0 ppm phosphorus (Imran et al., 2015). During 2018-19, the total area covered under mung bean in India was 47.55 lakh hectares with a total production of 24.55 lakh tons and productivity of 516 kg ha -1 . Rajasthan had the highest area (51.86%) and production (49.77%), while Madhya Pradesh has the maximum productivity (1235 kg ha -1 ) against the national yield average of 516 kg ha -1 . The area, production and productivity of mung bean in Haryana was 19,100 ha, 12,490 tons and 654 kg ha -1 , respectively, during 2018-19 (DES, 2019). The adoption of conservation agriculture (CA) leads to improvement in economy of farm (in terms of reduction in fuel, saving of time, water and energy; and proper seed and fertilizer placement as well as integrated weed management), yield improvement, increased soil stability (reduced wind and water erosion), better nutrient use efficiency and proper water utilization. Cropping sequence and crop rotations involving legumes and pulses help in minimizing the speed of insect-pestpopulation build-up, through life cycle disruption, biological nitrogen fixation, control of off-site pollution and enhancing biodiversity 1 CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Regional Research Station, Bawal, Rewari-123 501, Haryana, India. 2 CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125 004, Haryana, India. 3 Krishi Vigyaan Kendra, Panchkula-134 112, Haryana, India. Corresponding Author: Jitender Kumar, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Regional Research Station, Bawal, Rewari- 123 501, Haryana, India. Email: jitender005@gmail.com How to cite this article: Kumar, J., Singh, B., Yadav, D.B., Yadav, A., Yadav, P.K. and Tallapragada, S. (2025). Zero-tillage in Mung Bean-Wheat Cropping System: Impact on Soil Properties and Crop Productivity. Legume Research. 48(9): 1497-1504. doi: 10.18805/LR-5154. Submitted: 12-04-2023 Accepted: 22-12-2023 Online: 09-01-2024