ABSTRACT
A field experiment was conducted for two years on a sandy loam (Typic Ustochrept) soil of Punjab to study the effect of organic materials and rice cultivars on methane emission from rice fields. The methane flux varied between 0.04 and 0.93 mg m-2 hr-1 in bare soil and transplanting of rice crop doubled the methane flux (0.07 to 2.06 mg m-2 hr-1). Among rice cultivars, significantly (p < 0.05) higher amount of methane was emitted from Pusa 44 compared to PR 118 and PR 111. Application of organic materials enhanced methane emission from rice fields and resulted in increased soil organic carbon content. The greatest seasonal methane flux was observed in wheat straw amended plots (229.6 kg ha-1) followed by farmyard manure (111.6 kg ha-1), green manure (85.4 kg ha-1) and the least from rice straw compost amended plots (36.9 kg ha-1) as compared to control (21.5 kg ha-1). The differential effect of organic materials in enhancing methane flux was related to total carbon or C:N ratio of the material. The results showed that incorporation of humified organic matter such as rice straw compost could minimize methane emission from rice fields with co-benefits of increased soil fertility and crop productivity.