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Subject: Soil Sciences × End date: 2023 × Start date: 2023 × Type: Thesis × Thesis Type: Ph.D ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Nutrition of crops in partially reclaimed sodic soils through elemental sulphur based novel formulation
    (CCSHAU, Hisar, 2023-04) Bedwal, Sandeep; Rai, Arvind Kumar
    Alkalinity hinders the crop growth and productivity of partially reclaimed sodic soil. Reliance formulated elemental sulphur-based novel formulation (RFS) generated from fortification of elemental S (So) had the potential to neutralize soil alkalinity and improve soil nutrient availability for crop production. Therefore, incremental doses (control, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 kg ha–1) of RFS were applied in winter mustard and its residual effect in sorghum was studied for two consecutive years. Parallelly, similar incremental doses of RFS were also applied in wheat, and its residual effect was studied in the rice crop. Application of 47.2 and 45.2 kg ha–1 of RFS can optimize the yield and respective crop benefit ratio. Further, the locally available organic wastes (farmyard manure, city waste compost, poultry manure, sewage sludge and pressmud) were acidified with RFS in a controlled 28 days at room temperature to enhance the titratable acidity and equivalent neutralization potential of waste (ENP). The equivalent neutralization potential of acidulated compost positively correlated with electrolytes, total P, dissolved organic C (DOC), and phenol. Further, multiple regression analysis showed that water–soluble SO42–, Mg2+, and DOC were the key variables that fully explained the alkali neutralization potential of the acidulated organics (R2 >0.99; P< 0.001). Application of acidulated organics @ 10 Mg ha–1 decreased soil pHs and increased the Ca2+, Mg2+, SO42–, total N and total P content of soil solution. It also improved the availability of Olsen‘s P, ammonium acetate extractable K, CaCl2– extractable S and organic C content along with microbial biomass C, N, P and S content. It also improved the activities of soil enzymes viz., dehydrogenase, β–glucosidase, fluorescein diacetate and alkaline phosphatase, except for arylsulphatase. These findings had economic as well as ecological significance for the low-cost nutrient management in alkaline soil conditions and disposal of the agricultural and city wastes.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Pedological characterization and classification of soils under different land use in Eastern Agroclimatic Zone of Haryana
    (CCSHAU, Hisar, 2023-03) Gill, Ankit; Dinesh
    A study on “Pedological characterization and classification of soils under different land use in Eastern Agroclimatic Zone of Haryana” was conducted. Visual interpretation of IRS-P6 and ArcGIS (Version 10.8.2) satellite imagery (FCC) of 1:50000 scales were used for the preparation of base map of the area and different geomorphic units i.e., shiwalik hills, recent alluvial plains and old alluvial plains were identified and delineated. Keeping in view the relationship between physiography, soils and different land use in the study area, eighteen pedons were excavated morphologically in the field and physico-chemical, biological and mineralogically in laboratory. Morphological characteristics revealed that matrix colour of soils of the area varied from dark brown (7.5YR) to yellowish brown (10YR) in colour, with dominant hue of 10YR. The soils of shiwalik hills were medium to moderately heavy, recent alluvial plains were light and old alluvial plains were light to heavy in texture. The soils were found structureless to strong in grade, fine to coarse in class and subangular blocky in type of structure. Calcium carbonate nodules were absent in all the pedons of shiwalik hills and recent alluvial plains. Irregular distribution of clay content with depth was observed in few pedons of shiwalik hills and recent alluvial plains. Bulk density, particle density, porosity and water holding capacity varied from 1.17 to 1.52 Mg m-3, 2.40 to 2.82 Mg m-3, 43.24 to 54.12 % and 42 to 51 % respectively. A significant positive correlation between moisture retention and water holding capacity with clay and organic carbon was observed. The penetration resistance is decreasing in order shiwalik hills< old alluvial plainslabile>less labile>recalcitrant in all the pedons of intensive land use. Among the exchangeable cations calcium was the dominant followed by magnesium, sodium and potassium; and exchangeable anions followed the order sulphate>chloride>bicarbonate>carbonate. The available N, P and K were ranged from 64 to 274, 5 to 38 and 75 to 398 kg ha-1 and DTPA extractable Zn, Fe, Mn and Cu were found in the range of 0.11 to 4.58, 1.62 to 27.57, 0.87 to 28.04 and 0.15 to 1.78 mg kg-1. The concentration of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Co & Ni) was found negligible in most of the studied pedons whereas Cr was not detected in any of the pedons. Among the chemical composition SiO2 was the dominant followed by Al2O3and Fe2O3. Quartz and feldspars were the dominated minerals in all the soil pedons. The soil MBC and MBN in all the pedons of study area were ranged from 72 to 274 and 8 to 44 mg kg-1 and the urease, dehydrogenase and phosphatase activity ranged from 19 to 78 (μg NH4+ -N g-1 h-1), 17.4 to 52.1 (μgTPFg-1soil 24hr-1) and 102 to 366 (μg PNP g-1soil h-1), respectively. The ground water quality of these areas was non-saline. non-sodic in nature and was found suitable for irrigation for all the crops. Taxonomically, the soils of study area were placed under Entisols, Inceptisols and Alfisols orders.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Strategies for nano-nitrogen use and scheduling to improve use-efficiency and minimize environmental losses in rice-wheat system
    (CCSHAU, Hisar, 2023-09-20) Manu Rani; Bhardwaj, Ajay Kumar
    Nitrogen (N) is the most frequently limiting plant nutrient for crop growth and yield. N fertilization is very important in crop production due to its requirement in high amount by plants for vital function in practically all metabolic activities, and also due to high losses linked with soil-plant system during cropping cycle. It needs to be applied in amounts more than the actual requirement of crop because of its low recovery (30-50%) and its losses in different forms. Therefore, there is an urgent need for improving N use efficiency in agricultural crop production. The existing strategy of fixed-rate, fixed-time (blanket) fertilizer application has proven ineffective for increasing NUE beyond certain limits. The enhanced efficiency fertilizers (EEFs) are being developed on a continual basis to manage the release of N from fertilizers, allowing for increased absorption and utilization by plants, minimizing losses and boosting crop output per unit of fertilizer. Nanofertilizer is one such type of EEFs wherein the nutrients are present in form of nanoparticles (0-100 nm). Nano-N is one of the first nanotechnology based fertilizers which was released by IFFCO (Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited) for agricultural application in India and worldwide. Conceptually, Nano-N can contribute to lessening the environmental N leakages from agricultural areas through reduced leaching and gaseous emissions, both of which contribute to pollution and climate change. Though preliminary studies suggest Nano-N to be very effective as it reduces the losses of N to environment due to its foliar application mode it may not suffice meeting the plant N requirement for protein synthesis if used alone. The precision and use efficiency apart a ottle of Nano-N contains only 20 g of N compared to a ag of prilled urea which has 20 kg N. Keeping these factors in view, a field experiment was initiated in 2020 at ICAR-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), Karnal, India to develop strategies for Nano-N use and scheduling to improve use-efficiency and minimize environmental losses in rice-wheat system under different combination with prilled urea and precision application techniques. The present experiment was carried out with eight treatments in total: four treatments with replacement of prilled urea by nano-N namely, 33% replacement (R33), 50% replacement (R50), 66% replacement (R66), 100% replacement (R100); two precision-scheduling treatments namely, application of nano-N based on leaf colour chart (LCC) values after basal dose of prilled urea (M-LCC), and application of nano-N based on GreenSeeker (GS) values after basal dose of prilled urea (M-GS) and two control treatments included „100% recommended N through prilled urea‟ (R0; no replacement) and „no N fertilizer at all‟ (No-N) treatment to observe their impact on environmental loses, growth, physiology, yield parameters, and use efficiency of nitrogen under rice-wheat system. The findings showed that the incremental replacement of conventional urea with nano-N resulted in decreased environmental losses of reactive N (N2O and NO3). No decrease in the available soil N pool was noticed upto 33% replacement (1 split dose replacement) of urea with Nano-N. The available N in the soil showed a noticeable decrease when nano-N replaced conventional urea by 50% or more. Therefore, only one split dose replacement of conventional urea with nano-N would avoid N mining over time, unless N addition from any other source is provided. Upto 50% replacement of conventional urea with nano-N, the plant growth parameters were statistically at par with the treatment having 100% conventional urea. The overall assessment suggests that at least one dose of conventional urea (1 out of 3 splits) may be replaced with nano-N without a reduction in yield in basmati rice crop and upto 50% replacement with nano-N in wheat crop without yield loss yet significant gain in use efficiency.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Pedogenic characterization and classification of soils of Saraswati river palaeochannels across Haryana
    (CCSHAU, Hisar, 2023-07) Sawan Kumar; Jakhar, Devender Singh
    To characterize and classify the soils of Saraswati River palaeochannels across Haryana in relation to landforms, twelve pedons from five districts viz. Ranipur (Yamunanagar), Mugalwali (Yamunanagar), Bansewala (Yamunanagar), Pansal (Yamunanagar), Painsal_NB (Yamunanagar), Mustafabad (Yamunanagar), Ishargarh (Kurukshetra), Mangna (Kurukshetra), Kaekor (Kaithal), Birdhana (Fatehabad), Farwai (Sirsa) and Farwai_NB (Sirsa) were studied for morphological, physico-chemical characteristics and classified as per Soil Taxonomy and land capability and suitability classification of soils. Ten ground water samples were also collected from the sites. The colour of the pedons under investigation varied from brown (10YR 5/3) to very pale brown (10YR 7/4) with dominant hue of 10YR. The values ranged from 5 to 7, whereas chroma was 2 to 6. The texture varied from sand to loam to clay loam and the textural difference was due to different degree of weathering and topography of the site. The structure of the studied pedons varied from single grain, granular, angular blocky to sub-angular blocky in type, structureless to strong in grade and fine to medium in class. Bulk density of all the pedons of study area increased with depth and varied from 1.10 to 1.68 Mg m−3 except pedon 6, 8, 10 and 11 where it first decreased and then increased with depth and varied from 1.07 to 1.57 Mg m−1. The particle density ranged from 2.50 Mg m-3 to 2.71 Mg m-3. The pore space and infiltration rate of the studied pedons ranged from 35.95 to 55.60 % and 0.45 to 2.91 cm hr-1 respectively. The pH of soil samples ranged from 6.09 to 8.62. The electrical conductivity of soils of the pedons under investigation varied from 0.05 to 0.86 ds m-1 and indicated non saline soils. In all the pedons, cations followed the order Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+ > Na+. Base Saturation Percentage (BSP) ranged from 0.16 to 3.23 %. Microial biomass carbon (MBC) and Microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) varied from 66-289 mg kg-1 and 7-44 289 mg kg-1 respectively. Among the available macronutrients, available nitrogen was low and ranged from 53 to 247 kg ha-1, available phosphorus was low to medium and varied from 2.03 to 18.78 kg ha-1 and available potassium ranged from 43 to 596 kg ha-1. The DTPA extractable Zn was low and ranged from 0.05 to 1.61 mg kg-1, Fe content was medium to high and varied from 1.43 to 12.58 mg kg-1, Cu was medium and varied from 0.02 to 0.81 mg kg-1. The DTPA extractable Mn was medium to high and varied from 0.17 to 10.22 mg kg-1. The soils of the area were classified according to Soil Taxonomy in Entisol and Inceptisol soil order. The soils of pedons 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 12 were categorized in class II, pedon 8, 9 and 10 as class III and pedon 4 as class IV with limitations of erosion, excess water, alkalinity, according to Land Capability Classification. All pedons except pedon 4 have moderate soil limitation for sustained use under irrigation according to Soil Irrigability Classification.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Studies on iron and zinc biofortification in direct seeded and transplanted rice in different soils
    (CCSHAU, Hisar, 2023-01) Sekhar Kumar; Garhwal, R. S.
    The present study was conducted at research farm and screen house, College of Agriculture, Kaul entitled “Studies on iron and zinc biofortification in direct seeded and transplanted rice in different soils”. It was aimed to study the effect of Fe and Zn applications on yield and yield attributes, nutrient content and uptake and fractions of micronutrients (Fe and Zn) in soils of transplanted and direct rice. In pot experiment two kinds of soils sufficient and deficient in micronutrients were used. Different levels of Fe (0, 25 and 50 mg kg-1 + three foliar applications @ 0.5% FeSO4) and Zn (0, 5 and 10 mg kg-1 + three foliar applications @ 0.5% ZnSO4) were sprayed. In field trials different Fe (0, 25, 50 and 75 kg ha-1 FeSO4 + three foliar applications @ 0.5% FeSO4) and Zn (0, 10, 20 and 30 kg ha-1 ZnSO4 + three foliar applications @ 0.5% FeSO4) doses were used. In pot experiment with the application of Fe and Zn grain and straw yield increased significantly over control. Macronutrient N and K content also increased significantly over control. Maximum increase in N and K content was observed in treatment T3. In field trials with Fe application grain and straw yield, N and K concentration increased significantly over control. Maximum increase was observed in treatment T4 (75 kg ha-1 FeSO4 along with three foliar applications @ 0.5% FeSO4) over control. The percentage increase in average grain yield of transplanted and direct seeded rice was 25.79% and 27.57% in treatment T4 over control, respectively. With the application of Zn, grain and straw yield, content of N and K increased significantly over control up to treatment T3 (20 kg ha-1 ZnSO4 along with three foliar applications @ 0.5% ZnSO4) after that in treatment T4 (30 kg ha-1 ZnSO4 along with three foliar applications @ 0.5% ZnSO4) it decreased, however this decrease was found non-significant. Increase in average grain yield of transplanted and direct seeded rice was observed 17.28% and 23.49% in treatment T3 over control, respectively. Whereas, both in pot and field experiments, P content decreased significantly over control with increased applications of Fe and Zn. Harvest index and transfer coefficient of Fe and Zn increased numerically with increased applications of micronutrients (Fe and Zn). Transfer coefficient of micronutrient deficient soils was found higher as compared to soils sufficient in micronutrients. Grain protein content also increased significantly over control with Fe and Zn applications both in pot and field experiments. Different fractions of Fe and Zn increased significantly over control with various concentrations of these micronutrients in both pot and field soils. The order of preponderance of different Fe fractions was Carb-Fe < OM-Fe < EX-Fe < Fe MnOX-Fe < Res-Fe. In case of Zn the order of preponderance was EX-Zn < Carb-Zn < OM-Zn < Fe MnOX-Zn < Res-Zn.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Nitrogen mineralization potential and soil organic carbon thresholds for sustaining wheat productivity in semi-arid soils
    (CCSHAU, Hisar, 2023-07-21) Dahiya, Garima; Dev Raj
    The present investigation entitled “Nitrogen mineralization potential and soil organic carbon thresholds for sustaining wheat productivity in semi-arid soils” was conducted in the screenhouse by collecting samples from on-going long-term fertilizer experiment initiated in the year 1967 and 1995 by adopting Complete randomized Design (CRD). It was planned with 7 different OC soils (0.36, 0.59, 0.88.00, 1.00-1.25, 1.380, 1.50-1.75 and 1.90%), 4 doses of FYM (0, 5, 10 and 15 t ha-1) along with N application 150 kg ha-1 and 3 levels of replication. Wheat was grown in the pots during 2021-22 and 2022-23. The soil samples were obtained after crop harvest in 2022-23 and were analyzed to evaluate soil chemical and biological properties. Yield, nutrient content and uptake by the crop was also worked out. Maximum ammonification, nitrification and nitrogen mineralization potential was obtained in the soils having OC 1.14% while minimum in the control with OC 0.36%. The NH4+-N significantly increased up to 42nd day of incubation period thereafter it start decreasing upto 120 day. While NO3--N continuously increased from 0 day and reached highest level at 120 day of incubation. The total N mineralized, percent N mineralization from the amount of added N as well as N mineralization rate also followed similar trend. As the incubation study proceeds, nitrifying bacteria increased at all days of incubation. Maximum threshold value for nitrifying and total bacterial population in the incubation study was soils with OC range of 1.14 and 1.38%, respectively. Soil pH decreased with the increase in OC in soil while EC, SOC, TOC and its fractions and available N, P and K in soil increased proportionally with the rise in OC content and FYM dose in soil. In 1.14% OC range, N and P content increased with increase in FYM dose to 10 t ha-1 thereafter decline in NP content was observed. Potassium content increased with increase in OC in soil as well as with the FYM doses. Grain yield increased with increase in dose of FYM upto OC level of 1%. In soils having OC 1.14%, grain yield increased with increase in FYM dose to 10 t ha-1. For 1.38% OC soil, grain yield increased with increasing dose of FYM upto 5 t ha-1 application. Increasing OC status beyond 1.5% decreased the grain yield at all doses of FYM application. Similar trend was observed in case of biological yield. It can be concluded that OC level should be maintained to the range of 1.14% for maximum nitrogen mineralization, nitrifying bacteria and grain yield. Beyond 1.25% OC, all these properties were observed to decrease. The relative yield was observed to increase upto the threshold value of 1.15% OC which was at par with the yield at 1.37% OC. This range should be maintained to obtain maximum relative yield. Beyond this range, yield was observed to decrease.