Nutrient management for increased productivity of rice–wheat cropping system in Bangladesh

The rice (Oryza sativa L.)–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) system in the Indo-Gangetic Plain often experiences low N use efficiency due to inefficient management of fertilizer N. We evaluated the leaf color chart (LCC) as a simple tool for improving fertilizer N use in rice and wheat in farmers’ fields of southwestern Bangladesh. Use of the LCC for N management consistently increased grain yields and added net returns for rice and wheat as compared to the farmers’ fertilizer practice across two rice and two wheat seasons, which each involved two to five villages and a total of 20–33 farmers. In rice, use of the LCC for N management without any other change in farmers’ fertilizer and crop management increased mean grain…