Various physical, chemical and biological soil properties in surface (0 -5 cm) and subsurface (5 -15 cm) soil were determined in a 4-year field experiment conducted at Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana, India with sixteen treatments consisted of different combinations of fertilizer N (0, 20 and 25 kg N ha −1 ), P (0, 60 and 75 kg P 2 O 5 ha −1 ), FYM (0 and 10 t·ha −1 ) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) residue (WR) (0 and 6 t·ha −1 ) applied to summer-grown soybean (Glycine max L.) and

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... tilizer N (0, 120 and 150 kg N ha −1 ), P (0, 60 and 75 kg P 2 O 5 ha −1 ), and soybean residue (SR) (0 and 3 t·ha −1 ) applied to winter-grown wheat crop continuously in both conventional tillage (CT) and conservation agriculture (CA), arranged in a split-split plot design with tillage system in main blocks, under irrigated subtropical conditions. Application of fertilizer N, P, FYM and crop residue (CR) significantly increased water stable aggregates and had profound effects in increasing the mean weight diameter as well as the formation of macro-aggregates, which were the highest in both surface (85%) and subsurface (81%) soil layers with application of 20 kg N + 60 kg P 2 O 5 + 10 t FYM + 6 t WR ha −1 applied to soybean and 120 kg N + 60 kg P 2 O 5 + 3 t SR ha −1 applied to wheat crop in CA, respectively, and were 83% and 77% in CT treatments after 2 years. Hence, better aggregation was found with 100% NP + FYM + CR, where macro-aggregates were greater than 50% of total soil mass. The same treatment also enhanced total organic C (TOC) from 3.8 g·kg −1 in no-NP-FYM-CR control to 5.8 g·kg −1 in surface layer and from 2.7 to 3.6 g·kg −1 in subsurface layer after 2 years leading to the 41% and 39% higher TOC stocks over CT-Control in 0 -15 cm soil layers of CT and CA, respectively. The changes in TOC stocks after 4 years were 52% and 59%. Likewise, the labile C and N fractions such as water soluble C, particulate and light fraction organic matter, potentially mineralizable N and microbial biomass were also highest under this integrated inorganic and organic treatment. These results demonstrated that conservation agriculture that integrates application of inorganic fertilizer, organic manure and crop residue, is crucial for improving soil health and sustainability of farming systems in semiarid subtropical soils.