Conventional tillage practices and imbalanced use of inorganic fertilizers is well known to result in poor soil health. Alternative tillage and precision nutrient management are important strategies for tackling the issues of soil health deterioration, particularly in cereal-based intensive cropping systems. Therefore, we conducted a 4-year study with the objective of (a) monitoring the changes in soil physical, biological and chemical properties and crop productivity, (b) development of soil quality index-SQI, and monitor its’ changes against system productivity as management goal, and (c) studying the changes in soil organic carbon-SOC in relation to annual C input. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design with 3-tillage practices [zero tillage-ZT; permanent beds-PB; and conventional tillage-CT] and 4-nutrient management strategies [Control (unfertilized), farmers’ fertilizer practice-FFP, recommended fertilizers doses-Ad-hoc and site specific nutrient management-SSNM] under a continuous maize (Zea mays L.) - wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)- mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) rotation in a sandy loam soil (Typic Haplustept) of north-western Indo-Gangetic plains (NW-IGP) of India. The ZT/PB with SSNM/Ad-hoc nutrient management resulted in higher values of a) physical parameters viz., water stable aggregates >250 μm, saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_sat) and mean weight diameter-MWD, b) chemical parameters viz., SOC, available N, P, and K, and c) biological parameters viz., microbial biomass carbon and enzyme activities (fluorescein diacetate hydrolase, dehydrogenase, ß-glucosidase and alkaline phosphatase) compared with CT and unfertilized treatments. The CA practices recorded an increase in WSA (12–21%), MWD (14–29%), and K_sat (11–14%) compared with CT at the 0-0.15 m and 0.15–0.30 m soil depths, respectively. The PB-SSNM registered (44.1%) higher SOC content as compared to CT-unfertilized plots. Values for MBC, FDA and βGA declined in the order SSNM=Ad-hoc>FFP > Control. While, the DHA declined in the order SSNM>Ad-hoc=FFP > Control. Principal component analysis included MWD, SOC and available K in the minimum data set (MDS) as the soil quality indicators. Adoption of PB/ZT resulted ∼22.5% higher SQI compared with CT. The SSNM plots improved SQI by ∼19.3% and ∼5.3% over unfertilized and FFP. The SSNM based CA practices attained a significantly higher annual C sequestration rate than other treatments. Therefore, adoption of CA with SSNM and Ad-hoc nutrient management in intensive cereal based systems of NW-IGP is essential for improving nutrient cycling, soil quality, crop productivity and C-sequestration potential.

众所周知，传统的耕作方式和无机肥料的不均衡使用会导致土壤健康状况恶化。替代耕作和精确的养分管理是解决土壤健康恶化问题的重要策略，尤其是在以谷物为基础的集约化种植系统中。因此，我们进行了为期4年的研究，目的是（a）监测土壤理化特性和作物生产力的变化，（b）开发土壤质量指数SQI，并监测其对系统生产力的变化作为管理目标，（c）研究土壤有机碳-SOC与年度碳输入的关系。实验采用3耕作方式[零耕作ZT；永久床-PB;北方玉米砂壤土（典型Haplustept）上连续玉米（Zea mays L。）-小麦（Triticum aestivum L。）-绿豆（Vigna radiata L.Wilczek）轮作下的临时和特定部位养分管理-印度的印度西部恒河平原（NW-IGP）。的ZT / PB与SSNM /特设养分管理导致了）的物理参数的较高值即。，水稳定的聚集体>250μm时，饱和水力传导率（ķ_饱和）和平均重量直径-MWD，b）中的化学参数即。，SOC，可用的N，P和K，以及c）生物学参数viz，与CT和未受精处理相比，微生物生物量碳和酶活性（荧光素二乙酸酯水解酶，脱氢酶，β-葡萄糖苷酶和碱性磷酸酶）。在土壤深度为0-0.15 m和0.15-0.30 m时，与CT相比，CA的记录分别显示出WSA（12–21％），MWD（14–29％）和K _sat（11–14％）的增加。 。与未施肥的地块相比，PB-SSNM的SOC含量更高（44.1％）。MBC，FDA和βGA的值按SSNM = Ad-hoc > FFP> Control的顺序下降。而DHA的降序为SSNM> Ad-hoc= FFP>控制。主成分分析包括MWD，SOC和最小数据集（MDS）中的可用K作为土壤质量指标。与CT相比，采用PB / ZT导致SQI高出约22.5％。与未受精和FFP相比，SSNM图改善了SQI约19.3％和5.3％。基于SSNM的CA做法比其他方法获得了更高的年度C固存率。因此，在基于强化谷物的NW-IGP系统中采用带有SSNM和Ad-hoc养分管理的CA对改善养分循环，土壤质量，作物生产力和碳固存潜力至关重要。