Impact of conservation agriculture system on soil fungal diversity in rice-wheat crop system in eastern Indo-Gangetic plains of India

An eco-friendly and long-term approach to food production, conservation agriculture (CA) is making an impact in South Asia. Sustainable agriculture is promoted by reduced tillage and preservation of crop residue which improves crop production and increases soil fertility. The presence of various types of fungus in the soil has a significant impact on the growth of crops and the stability of the ecosystem particularly in agricultural fields. The continuous CA-based methods affect soil characteristics, earthworm count and fungal diversity of soil. Here, we investigated seven different treatments that have been implemented using different agricultural techniques such as tillage and crop residue management. Fungal diversity associated with soil was identified by the Illumina MiSeq platform.