ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION Intensive tillage of soil is traditionally practiced in the rice-wheat cropping system of the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) region of South Asia, including puddling of soils for paddy rice production and multiple passes over fields to prepare seed beds for wheat and other crops in the upland phase of the rotation. Intensive tillage has degraded soil physical structure and maximized losses of soil organic matter. No-tillage and reduced-tillage practices offer opportunities to improve the physical condition of soils and to increase soil organic matter levels, possibly to levels similar to those in the soils prior to agricultural development. For these benefits to be realized, no-/reduced-tillage practices will have to be applied across the system.
