Effect of Predominant Integrated Nutrient Management Practices on Soil Quality Indicators and Soil Quality Indices under Post Monsoon (Rabi) Sorghum (Sorghum Bicolor) in Rainfed Black Soils (Vertisols) of Western India |
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| Authors: | KL Sharma Ch SrinivasaRao D Suma Chandrika Munna Lal AK Indoria K Sammi Reddy |
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| Institution: | Division of Resource Management, Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, India |
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| Abstract: | A long-term study was conducted to study the impact of integrated nutrient management on soil quality in post-monsoon sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) at Solapur in Maharashtra State in Western India under All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture. The experiment was laid out with ten Integrated Nutrient Management Treatments in a randomized block design with three replications. The results of the study indicated that among all the integrated nutrient management treatments practiced, the application of 25 kg nitrogen (N) ha?1 through crop residue (CR) + 25 kg N ha?1 (urea) showed the highest soil quality index of 2.36, which was at par with other treatments receiving farmyard manure (FYM) and crop residues along with urea. The relative order of performance of the integrated nutrient management treatments in influencing soil quality was: T6: 25 kg N ha?1 (CR) + 25 kg N ha?1 (urea) (2.36) >T5: 25 kg N ha?1 (FYM) (2.31) > T7: 25 kg N ha?1 (FYM) +25 kg N ha?1 (urea) (2.30) = T8: 25 kg N ha?1 (CR) +25 kg N ha?1 (Leucaena loppings) (2.30) > T10: 25 kg N ha?1 (Leucaena loppings) +25 kg N ha?1 (urea) (2.17) > T4: 25 kg N ha?1 (CR:crop residues) (2.16) > T9: 25 kg N ha?1 (Leucaena loppings) (2.15) > T3: 50 kg N ha?1 (urea) (2.10) > T2: 25 kg N ha?1 (urea) (1.99) > T1: 0 kg N ha?1 (control) (1.77). The results of the study also indicated that average percent contribution of each soil key indicator towards soil quality indices was: pH (3.97%), EC (1.94%), organic carbon (18.6%), available P (2.80%), available K (6.57%), exchangeable Ca (7.02%), available S (3.45%), Available Zn (17.9%), dehydrogenase (DHA) (16.2%), microbial biomass carbon (MBC) (18.5%) and mean weight diameter (MWD) (3.14%). Thus, the results of the present study will be highly useful to the land managers in planning effective management of soil quality. |
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| Keywords: | Integrated nutrient management (INM) principal component analysis (PCA) soil quality index (SQI) soil quality indicators Vertisols |
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