04th – 06th April 2016, Hotel Ayass, IFAD - ICARDA CLCA Grant Project 1393 “Integrated Crop-Livestock Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Intensification of Cereal-based Systems in North Africa and Central Asia” Site-specific conservation agriculture technology packages fine-tuned and disseminated for enhanced farm productivity, resource use efficiency and profitability Nurali Asoev (Tajikistan) Aziz Nurbekov (ICARDA) 3rd Coordination and Project Closing Meeting (CPCM) 04th – 06th April 2016, Hotel Ayass, Amman, Jordan

Project sites Fergana Valley Rasht Valley Rasht Valley Gissar valley Dushanbe Gissar valley

Climatic conditions of the project sites (2013-2015) Mean annual precipitation, Gissar district Average air temperatures in Gissar district Mean annual precipitation, Fergana valley Average air temperatures in Fergana valley

Activity 1.3.1. Effect of tillage on productivity of winter wheat in the irrigated conditions of Gissar valley Objective The main objective of this experiment was to study effect of different tillage methods on the productivity of winter wheat in the irrigated conditions of Gissar valley. Methods and materials The experiment was conducted in October 2013-2014 at experimental field of Research Institute of. Experimental design The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with four replicates. Plot size was 200 m2 (25x8 m). Treatments Control – Conventional tillage (CT) Minimum tillage with Disking (MT) No-till (NT)

General overview of trials – Activity 1. 3. 1 General overview of trials – Activity 1.3.1. Effect of tillage on productivity of winter wheat in the irrigated conditions of Gissar valley Soil parameters Soil depth, cm Humus (%) Phos-rus (%) NO3, mg/kg NH4 mg/kg P2O3, mg/kg K2О, mg/kg pH 0-30 1.12 0.16 6.78 1.78 11 11.5 8 30-60 0.61 0.149 7.72 0.78 6.3 10 7.8

Effect of tillage method on grain yield of winter wheat in the irrigated areas

Cost benefit analysis of winter wheat under different tillage methods Cost items   CT MT NT Yield kg/ha 3540 3840 4280 Crop price per kg/usd 0.22 Yield USD 778.8 844.8 941.6 Total variable costs 470 410 291 Profit 308.8 434.8 651.1

Conclusions This study suggests that among three methods of tillage imposed, the no-till (NT) method was found to be better over the minimum till with disking (MTD) and conventional till (NT) methods in achieving higher yield of winter wheat in the irrigated conditions of Gissar valley. The economic impact of conventional versus no-till were assessed. It can be concluded that no-till can be recommended as a more appropriate tillage method in increasing profit of winter wheat in Tajikistan. Thus, adopting no-till practices on the irrigated areas of Tajikistan can improve livelihoods of farmers. Further long-term studies are needed to find the solid research data on economic return, soil quality and productivity of winter wheat in general.

Activity 1.3.2. Effect of planting method on productivity of winter wheat under irrigation in Gissar Study objective The objective of this experiment was to test two methods of planting and two varieties of winter wheat in irrigated conditions and to adopt the bed planting systems in irrigated conditions of Gissar valley, in order to intensify wheat production in the Republic of Tajikistan. Methods and materials The Bed Planting System will be compared to Flat Planting System for cultivation winter wheat. The experiment was conducted to evaluate the field performance of winter wheat, along with the economics and water use efficiency. Experimental Design a) Main Plot Factors: Planting method Bed planting Conventional planting b) Sub-Plot Factors: Winter wheat varieties Ormon Alex

Effect of planting method on productivity of winter wheat Table : Analysis of variance of grain yield Source of variation d.f. s.s. m.s. v.r. F pr. Planting method 1 18.3827 18.3827 22.96 <.001 Planting method.Variety 2 0.0893 0.0446 0.06 0.946 Residual 12 9.6094 0.8008 Total 15 28.0813 Effect of planting method on productivity of winter wheat

Conclusions Conclusions of this experiment shows that bed planting are more efficient than conventional planting in case of dry mass and grain yield. Winter wheat dry mass yield had highest yield compared to conventional planting. Dry mass increase will lead to decrease fodder shortage during winter time as most of the farmers and households in Tajikistan kept livestock. Based on obtained results from this year, bed planting can be considered as best planting practices in winter cultivation in the irrigated conditions of Tajikistan. The above mentioned conclusions should be studied carefully in order to recommend the new practice to the farmers of the country. The estimated variable costs for the conventional tilled beds and the permanent beds using the current 2014/2015 production cost estimates were calculated. Average variable production costs were 16% higher for the conventionally tilled beds compared to bed planting. Here also, a comparison of the returns over variable costs for the average yield of comparable management practices for both conventional tilled and bed planting was made. Average returns over variable costs were 842 and 873 USD higher for the bed planting versus 224 and 189 USD for conventional planting. Bed planting produced the highest net benefit and net revenue. This could be critical in Tajikistan, where agricultural input prices are steady growing from year to year controversially price of agricultural products decreases in the local market.

Activity 1.3.3. Effect of tillage on the productivity of winter wheat under rainfed Objective The main objective of this experiment is to study effect of different tillage method on productivity of winter in the rainfed conditions of Tajikistan. Methods and materials The experiment was conducted in 2013-2014 at project demonstration site Experimental design The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with four replicates. Plot size was 200 m2 (25x8 m). Treatment Control – Conventional tillage (CT) Minimum tillage with chiseling (MTCh) No-till (NT)

Effect of tillage on the productivity of winter wheat under rainfed conditions

Cost benefit analysis of winter wheat under different tillage methods Cost items   Fergana Gissar CT MT NT Yield kg/ha 510 602 1160 1420 1660 Crop price per kg/usd 0.5 Yield USD 255 301 580 710 830 Total variable costs 372 322 272 Profit -117 -67 29 208 388 558

Conclusions Winter wheat grain yield decreased consistently from Gissar to Fergana valley. This may be due to different precipitation percentage across project sites. Lower grain yield was observed in Fergana because of low precipitation rate. It can be concluded that climatic conditions of Gissar valley is favorable to grow winter wheat under no-till method. Results of cost benefit analysis showed that planting method effects on profitability rate of winter wheat under rainfed conditions of Tajikistan. The highest profit was recorded with no-till planting in Gissar district, while the lowest profit was obtained with conventional till in Fergana.

Activity 1.3.4. Effect of tillage on the productivity of winter chickpea under rainfed Objective The main objective of this ongoing experiment is to study effect of different tillage methods on the productivity of winter chickpea in the rainfed conditions of Tajikistan. Methods and materials The experiment was conducted in October 2014 at project demonstration sites using hand sowing. Experimental design The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with four replicates. Plot size was 200 m2 (25x8 m). Treatment Control – Conventional tillage (CT) Minimum tillage with chiseling (MT) No-till (NT)

Effect of tillage on productivity of winter chickpea Analysis of variance of grain yield Effect of tillage on productivity of winter chickpea Source of variation d.f. s.s. m.s. v.r. F pr. Location 1 4.54140 4.54140 51.97 <.001 Location.tillage 4 0.53843 0.13461 1.54 0.233 Residual 18 1.57290 0.08738 Total 23 6.65273

Cost benefit analysis of winter chickpea under rainfed in Tajikistan Cost items   Fergana Gissar CT MT NT Yield kg/ha 510 602 1160 1420 1660 Crop price per kg/USD 0.9 Yield USD 459 542 1044 1278 1494 Total variable costs USD 372 322 272 Profit USD 87 137 270 672 956 1222

Conclusions The results of this study proves that tillage methods have significant effects on dry mass and grain yield in winter chickpea. No-till winter chickpea can be an entry point for adoption of conservation agriculture in Tajikistan. It could be concluded from the present study that winter chickpea tillage methods should be studied according to the areas of their adaptability for increased productivity per unit area in different soil and climatic conditions of rainfed agriculture in the country.

Activity 1.3.5. Effect of tillage methods on productivity of double cropped mungbean in the irrigated conditions of Gissar Objective The main objective of this experiment was to improve land use efficiency through planting mungbean as a summer crop under different tillage methods in the irrigated conditions of Gissar valley. Methods and materials The experiment was conducted in July 2013-2014 and using no-till drill. Experimental design The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with four replicates. Plot size was 200 m2 (25x8 m). Treatments Control – Conventional tillage (CT) Minimum tillage with Disking (MT) No-till (NT)

Mungbean grown as catch crop in Gissar, Tajikistan (2014)

Mungbean grown as catch crop in Gissar, Tajikistan Planting method Root length, cm Plant height, cm Pods per plant, unit CTRL 25.4 72.1 9.2 MDT 23.5 71.9 9.5 NT 23.8 70.35 10.1

Double cropped mungbean grain yield Analysis of variance of grain yield Source of variation d.f. s.s. m.s. v.r. F pr. Year 1 95004. 95004. 0.31 0.585 Year.Treatment 4 2301875. 575469. 1.87 0.160 Residual 18 5542999. 307944. Total 23 7939878.

Conclusions Land use efficiency is increased with double cropping of no-till mung bean or other double crops. Mungbean is one of the best second crop that can be grown after winter wheat harvest not only in Tajikistan but also in entire southern part of the Central Asia. The second year results kept the same trend that was in the first of the research on no-till mungbean cultivation after the wheat harvest. The research results shows that no-till mungbean had higher productivity than conventional and minimum tillage mungbean in the irrigated conditions of Tajikistan. Based on two years results an article no-till mungbean cultivation in the irrigated conditions of Tajikistan is preparing for international peer-reviewed journal in order to provide information on double-cropped no-till mungbean in Tajikistan on its perspectives.

General conclusions It is increasingly recognized that a complete understanding is required of all the social and economic results of the CA farming system in order to guide component research into topics and techniques which will be applicable. Rights of tenure and rights of access, e.g. to water supplies, crop diversification, to fuel, or cultivation rights i.e. planting of crops without tilling or no-tillage are usually complicated. There can be no doubt that studying the whole of the CA system is fundamental to any consideration of the possibilities for sustainable agricultural development in the region. There is a need for special policy reforms in agriculture in order to shift from conventional agriculture into conservation agriculture as the results of this research shows that no-till and bed planting technologies tested in Tajikistan proved to be suitable for local conditions and can provide similar or higher crop yields but saving considerable resources including fuel, seeds and labor. As farmers move to double-cropping, timing of planting the second crop becomes limited along with pressures of harvesting the mature crop. The no-tillage system, by eliminating ploughing and preparation, reduces the time element while retaining soil moisture present, and reducing runoff, soil erosion and evaporation. Besides, double- cropping plays important role in conservation agriculture as it allows covering land surface with crop canopy otherwise kept weedy fallow. Overall, the adoption of no-till at farm level is dependent on the technology providing overall cost savings through a reduced need for weed management and disease control (or different methods to do so) and/or the achievement of higher stable yields over the years.

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