Comperative study of zero tillage and conventional method of wheat in Pratapgarh district of U.P

The Economics of zero-tillage versus conventional method were compared on wheat in district Pratapgarh of U.P. during year 2013-14. It was observed that expenses under different heads of Input like- seed, labor, tractor and irrigation charges less in case of zero-tillage but in case of fertilizer and weedicide slightly higher than conventional tillage, and net saving of Rs.4934.00 /ha. in zero-tillage (ZT) over conventional (CT).Average grain production of zero-tillage 34.75 qt and conventional tillage 33.11 qt/ha The percentage increase in wheat(grain) yield of zero-tillage over conventional tillage 4.95% .The average yield of straw was recorded zero-tillage- 37.65 qt/ha and conventional 39.50 qt/ha, which was 4.90 % less than conventional method. Zerotillage is a profitable cultivation system compared to conventional tillage because of the cost savings from lower machinery costs and lower operation costs. Zero- tillage decreases, the purchase costs, the tractor power requirements, the fuel consumption, the amount of required labor, the variable and fixed costs. On average higher net return with Z T in rice- wheat system as reported by Bhushan et al. (2007) zero-tillage compared with conventional tillage.