Theses

Browse

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7

Open Access
Effect of farming practices on maize-wheat productivity, nitrogen dynamics, carbon sequestration and soil health in an acid Alfisol
(CSK HPKV, Palampur, 2023-07-13) Vishvamitera, Sakshi; Sharma, Sanjay K.
Imbalanced and sole application of chemical fertilizers has been found to adversely affect the crop productivity as well as the soil health. There is a ample scope to improve the production potential by manipulating nutrient management systems in such a way that these are more effective, environmental friendly, and largely acceptable. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of farming practices on productivity of maize and wheat, nitrogen dynamics, carbon sequestration and soil health. The experiment consisted of eleven treatments replicated thrice in a completely randomized block design, involving recommended NPK dose, 100% NPK+FYM@ 10 t ha-1 , 100% NPK+lime, organic farming practices, three natural farming systems involving formulations prepared using excreta of desi and crossbred cows, and buffalo, and their integration with 25% of recommended NPK dose. Application of 100%NPK + FYM@ 10 t ha-1 resulted in better crop growth and yield attributes, and registered the highest grain and stover/straw yield of maize and wheat, but these were statistically similar to 100% NPK + lime during both the years. For comparison of different treatments, maize grain equivalent yield and wheat grain equivalent yield were computed as NFS treatments included intercrops. Grain and stover/straw equivalent yield of maize and wheat were significantly higher under 100% NPK+ FYM@ 10 t ha-1 , which were however, statistically similar to 100% NPK+lime during both the years. Application of 100% NPK+ FYM@ 10 t ha-1 recorded 51.7% and 113.9% higher mean maize grain and stover equivalent yield, respectively, and 23.0% and 57.6% higher mean wheat grain and straw equivalent yield, respectively, than NFS-Desi cow. Integration of 25% NPK in these treatments significantly enhanced the yield over pure organic/natural farming treatments. The NPK and cationic micronutrient uptake by grain and stover/ straw of maize and wheat was highest in100%NPK + FYM@ 10 t ha-1 , and lowest in NFS-Buffalo treatment. Application of 100% NPK + lime increased the soil pH. Water holding capacity, mean weight diameter, organic carbon, available S, microbial count, microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen and enzyme activities were recorded highest in organic farming + 25% NPK treatment, however, available NPK were recorded highest under 100% NPK+FYM@ 10 t ha-1 , at both 0-0.15 m and 0.15-0.30 m soil depth. The highest content of inorganic N fractions were recorded under 100% NPK+FYM, while organic farming+ 25% NPK recorded the highest organic N fractions, and mean weight diameter at both the soil depths. Carbon sequestration was highest under 100% NPK+ FYM, while lowest was recorded under 100% NPK. Integration of 25% NPK with organic /natural farming systems significantly improved the soil physico-chemical properties at both soil depths over pure organic/natural farming systems. Among natural farming systems, NFS-Desi cow performed better in all the parameters as compared to NFS-Crossbred cow and NFS-Buffalo. Therefore, there was a notable effect of farming practices on maize-wheat productivity, nitrogen fractions, carbon sequestration and soil properties in an acid Alfisol, with conventional integrated nutrient management system giving the better results for most of the parameters under study.
Open Access
Molybdenum status and its critical limits for french bean and cauliflower in acid soils of Himachal Pradesh
(CSK HPKV, Palampur, 2023-07-11) Bijani, Hemali; Kumar, Pardeep
Molybdenum (Mo) an ultra-micronutrient plays key role in plants as an essential nutrient besides its significance in regulating nitrogen availability. It is emerging as a deficient nutrient especially in acid soils. As in Himachal Pradesh (HP), a significant area is under acid soils, likely to exhibit Mo deficiency. Since, no systematic study has been conducted on Mo status and its critical limits in soils and plants for french bean and cauliflower. Therefore, an investigation entitled "Molybdenum status and its critical limits for french bean and cauliflower in acid soils of Himachal Pradesh" was conducted from 2019 to 2022. The study involved the random collection of a total of 200 surface soil samples, analysed for soil pH, soil organic carbon (SOC) and available Mo through best extractant. The average soil pH was found to be 5.86, indicating slight acidity, while the mean SOC was determined to be 10.2 g kg-1 . Four extractants viz., Ammonium Oxalate (AO), EDTA, AB-DTPA, and Aqua Regia, were compared to assess their efficiency in extracting Mo on 40 segregated samples based on pH and SOC (20 each). Among these, Aqua Regia extracted pseudo-total Mo, exhibited the highest extraction rate with an average value of 0.41 mg kg-1 . Among rest of the three extractants, AO exhibited the highest extraction rate with an average value of 0.120 mg kg-1 followed by EDTA and AB-DTPA. The effectiveness coefficients of the extractants varied depending on the pH and SOC classes, with AO showing highest effectiveness at highest pH (>6) and SOC (>10.0 g kg-1 ) class. AO exhibited positive correlations with pH (0.334*), SOC (0.573**), N (0.526**), and P (0.461**), indicating a significant association between AO and soil properties. Spatial mapping of available Mo using the AO extraction method revealed a mean content of 0.122 mg kg-1 . The analysis indicated that majority of the samples exhibited latent deficiency of Mo (43%), followed by low (28.5%) and very low (6.5%). To establish critical limits of molybdenum (Mo) in soil and crops, a controlled pot experiment was conducted in a glasshouse. Ten different bulk soils (L1-L10) were selected, and six levels of Mo (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 mg kg-1 ) were applied to study their impact on the growth and yield of french bean (var. Falguni) and cauliflower (var. Pusa Snowball-K1). The experiment followed a completely randomized design with three replications. The results indicated that for cauliflower, increasing Mo levels up to 2.5 mg kg-1 was statistically at par with 2.0 mg kg-1 and resulted in improved growth parameters, yield attributes, yield, and nitrate reductase activity (NRA). Similarly, for french bean, Mo levels up to 2.0 mg kg-1 which was statistically at par with 1.5 mg kg 1 resulted in improved growth parameters, yield attributes, yield, and NRA. An increase in soil pH from 4.89 to 6.58 (L1-L5), and an increase in SOC from 2.90 to 15.1 g kg-1 (L6-L10), resulted in a significant and comparable improvement in crop yield in the Mandi (L4) and Hamirpur (L9) locations, whereas Sujanpur (L6) demonstrated the lowest performance with an SOC content of 2.90 g kg-1 . The post-harvest soil nutrient status showed that the effect of Mo levels were non-significant for available N, K, Mg and DTPA extractable micronutrients. Among locations, all the nutrients showed significant relationship. Critical limit for Mo in soil was worked out as 0.147 and 0.143 mg kg-1 for cauliflower and french bean, respectively. Critical limit of Mo for cauliflower and french bean in plant was figured out as 4.12 and 6.16 mg kg-1 , respectively. In conclusion, the study provided valuable insights into the distribution of available Mo in acid soils of Himachal Pradesh. The findings emphasized the importance of Mo for crop production and the established critical limits shall serve as a useful guideline for stakeholders.
Open Access
Effect of cropping systems on nutrient dynamics and soil health in an acid Alfisol
(CSK HPKV, Palampur, 2023-06-02) Choudhary, Deeksha; Datt, Naveen
The field experiment entitled “Effect of cropping systems on nutrient dynamics and soil health in an acid Alfisol” was undertaken at Bhadiarkhar experimental farm, Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, CSK HPKV, Palampur (H.P.) during 2019-2020 and 2020-21. The experiment consisted of ten cropping sequences viz., maize-wheat, maize-gobhi sarson + toria, dhaincha-early cabbage-french bean, sunhemp-vegetable pea-french bean, maize + soybean chickpea + linseed, rice-wheat + gram, hybrid sorghum + hybrid bajra-oats + sarson, hybrid sorghum + hybrid bajra-ryegrass + berseem, babycorn-broccoli-french bean and maize-turnip tomato in randomized block design which were replicated thrice. The soil of the site was acidic in nature (pH=5.5), silty clay loam in texture, medium in available nitrogen (350.6 kg ha-1 ) and potassium (147.3 kg ha-1 ) and high in available phosphorus (44.2 kg ha-1 ). Soil samples from 0- 0.15 m depth were collected before and after the harvest of each cropping cycle (2019-2020 and 2020-21) and analyzed for various physical, chemical and biological properties. In addition, different forms of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were also determined following standard analytical procedures. Maize-turnip-tomato recorded significantly higher maize grain equivalent yield, net returns and BC ratio. The total uptakes of N, P, and K in a cropping system were highest in sunhemp-vegetable pea-french bean while Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu uptake were maximum under maize-turnip-tomato. The cost of cultivation was highest for babycorn-broccoli-french bean cropping system due to labour intensive nature of vegetable crops in the sequence. The incorporation of green manures significantly improved the soil organic carbon content, cation exchange capacity, available N, P, K, S, exchangeable Ca and Mg, DTPA extractable Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu, microbial count of bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, microbial biomass C, dehydrogenase acid phosphatase, urease and soil respiratory activity. Among N fractions, serine + threonine-N, total hydrolysable-N and Nitrate-N exhibited maximum correlation with total N uptake. Amongst P fractions, NaOH-Po, HCl-P and H2O-P for P uptake were found important. In case of K, water soluble-K and exchangeable-K were the dominant fractions. The N, P, K uptake and MGEY were found to be positively and significantly correlated with pH, SOC, CEC, MBC, dehydrogenase, acid phosphatase and SRA.
Open Access
Effect of foliar bio-nano P and K applications on nutrient optimization and soil productivity in maize-wheat cropping system in an acid Alfisol.
(CSK HPKV, Palampur, 2023-01-01) Baghla, Devanshi; Sharma, V.K.
In modern agriculture, nano fertilizer use is being popularized throughout the world because of its higher nutrient use efficiency in comparison to non nano/conventional fertilizers. To assess the possibility of using bio-nano P and K fertilizers alone or in combination with conventional fertilizers and their impacts on fertilizer nutrient economy/optimization and soil health attributes in maize-wheat sequence, a field experiment was conducted in acid Alfisol during 2019-20 and 2020-21 with fourteen treatments and three replications in Randomized Block Design. The treatments comprised of basal conventional P and K fertilizer applications, each at three levels (0, 50 and 100 per cent of their recommended levels), with and without two post-emergence bio-nano fertilizer sprays. In addition, there were two treatments to assess the compatibility of bio-nano P and K sprays at 50 and 100 % of recommended levels of both nutrients. Natural farming practice was also applied as a check treatment. Through statistical analysis of year-wise and pooled data, it was observed that yield attributing characters (plant height, cob/spike length, no. of grains per cob/ spike and test weight), grain yields and nutrient uptake of maize and wheat increased significantly with increasing levels of P and K application through conventional fertilizers alone or along with bio-nano foliar sprays. Lowest and highest values of each were found with natural farming and P100K100 + bio nano P&K sprays treatment, respectively. Further, treatment combinations viz. P50 and P0 +bio-nano P, P100 and P50 + bio-nano P, K50 and K0+bio-nano K, K100 and K50 + bio-nano P and P50K50 + bio-nano P& K and P100K100 were found at par with each other in above mentioned parameters, which highlighted the effectiveness of bio-nano sprays as an effective nutrient supplying source to maize and wheat and for optimizing fertilizer nutrient requirement to the extent of 50 % of the recommended dose of P and K. Assessment of leaf nutrient status of maize and wheat during their critical growth stages supported that finding also. Like non-nano P and K fertilizers, their bio-nano foliar sprays have a positive effect on soil attributes affecting soil health. There was a significant improvement in bulk density, water holding capacity, water stable aggregates (> 0.06 mm), organic carbon, CEC, available nutrient status, MBC, dehydrogenase activity and microbial population. These attributes increased significantly with increasing levels of P and K application through conventional fertilizers alone or along with bio nano foliar sprays. Similar results were also observed on saloid-P, Al-P and Fe-P build-up in soils but with non nano P fertilizer application and on water soluble, exchangeable and non-exchangeable K build-up but with non nano K fertilizer application. However, bio-nano K application showed no significant effect on any inorganic and K fractions. The cost of cultivation of maize and wheat with fertilizer treatments involving non-nano fertilizer application alone were considerably lower than those with bio-nano sprays at all levels of P and K. Since cost of spraying of bio-nano sprays is considerably higher, fertilizer treatments involving non-nano fertilizer application Fertilizer treatments involving non-nano fertilizer application resulted in more net profits and B:C ratio. Highest B:C ratio was observed with P and K applications through non-nano fertilizers at recommended rates. Keeping in view the above-mentioned figures and facts it may be concluded that bio-nano sprays alone or in conjunction with conventional fertilizers optimized fertilizer P and K requirements of maize and wheat equivalent to 50 per cent of their basal application. However, this nutrient management intervention is less economically viable as compared to conventional fertilizers at current prices of bio-nano P and K fertilizers
Open Access
Effect of continuous application of target yield based fertilizers and organic manure in maize-wheat cropping system on soil properties, nutrients uptake and productivity of maize in an acid Alfisol
(CSK HPKV, Palampur, 2023-02-13) Thakur, Anjali; Dixit, S. P.
The present study on the effect of continuous application of target yield based fertilizers and organic manure in maize-wheat cropping system on soil properties, nutrients uptake and productivity of maize was carried out during kharif 2020 and 2021 in a long-term experiment on soil test crop response studies at the experimental farm of Department of Soil Science, CSK HPKV Palampur. The experiment consisted of eight treatments viz., control, farmers’ practice, general recommended dose, soil test based fertilizer application, chemical fertilizers for 30 q ha-1 target yield with and without FYM, chemical fertilizers for 40 q ha-1 target yield with and without FYM, in a randomized block design. The soil was silty clay loam, acidic in reaction (pH 5.2), 7.2 g organic carbon ha-1 , 236, 41 and 272 kg available N, P and K ha-1 , respectively. Soil samples from 0-0.15 m depth were collected before and after the harvest of maize (kharif 2020 and 2021) and analyzed for the physical, chemical and biological properties. Grain and stover samples were also analyzed for nutrients concentration and nutrients uptake was determined. Grain quality parameters were also determined. Continuous application of 30 and 40 q ha-1 target yield based fertilizers with FYM improved the physical properties of the soil significantly over control and chemical fertilizers-alone treatments. Soil organic carbon content, CEC, available N, P, K, S, exchangeable Ca and Mg, DTPA extractable Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu, microbial biomass C, N, P, S and enzyme activity were highest in STCR-IPNS treatments, however, soil pH did not vary significantly within the treatments. Integration of FYM with 40 q ha-1 target yield based chemical fertilizers improved the maize grain quality resulting in highest crude protein, crude fat, crude fibre, ash, total carbohydrates, starch, reducing and non-reducing sugar content but it was at par with target yield 30 q ha-1 + FYM treatment. Target yield based chemical fertilizers application for 30 and 40 q ha-1 with FYM significantly increased the grain and stover yield as well the N, P, K, S, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu uptake by maize over farmers’ practice, general recommended dose and soil test based fertilizer application. The highest B:C was recorded in 40 q ha-1 target yield treatment (3.02 and 3.04), followed by 40 q ha-1 target yield + FYM (2.87 and 2.80) and lowest in control (1.30 and 1.19) during kharif 2020 and 2021, respectively.
Open Access
EFFECT OF ORGANIC AND INORGANIC SOURCES OF NUTRIENTS ON SORGHUM SUDAN GRASS HYBRID - OAT CROPPING SYSTEM
(CSKHPKV. Palampur, 2019-09) CHAHAL, ARVIND; Sharma, G.D.
A field experiment entitled “Effect of organic and inorganic sources of nutrients on sorghum sudan grass hybrid-oat cropping system” was conducted at Research Farm of Department of Agronomy, Forages and Grassland Management, CSK, Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur from Kharif 2017 to Rabi 2018-19. Soil of the experimental site was silty clay loam in texture, acidic in reaction, medium in organic carbon, available phosphorus and available potassium and low in available nitrogen. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Block Design with two factors and replicated thrice. The treatments consisted of four levels of FYM and biofertilizers viz. control, FYM @10 t ha-1 , Azotobacter+ PSB and FYM @10 t ha-1 + Azotobacter + PSB and four levels of fertilizers viz. no fertilizer, 50, 75 and 100 per cent of recommended fertilizer. Significantly highest plant height, shoots per square meter and dry matter accumulation of sorghum sudan grass hybrid and oat was observed with application of FYM @10 t ha-1 + Azotobacter + PSB than rest of the organic treatments, though this treatment was at par with FYM @10 t ha-1 for leaf stem ratio. Similarly, plant height, shoots per square meter and dry matter accumulation increased with increasing fertilizer levels with highest values recorded with application of 100 per cent of recommended fertilizer though the increase in leaf stem ratio was significant only up to 75 per cent of recommended fertilizer. Significantly highest total green fodder, dry fodder, crude protein, acid detergent fibre and neutral detergent fibre yields and net returns were recorded with the application FYM @10 t ha1 + Azotobacter+ PSB as well as 100 per cent of recommended fertilizer. Application of FYM @10 t ha-1 + Azotobacter+ PSB resulted in higher benefit cost ratio, while, significantly highest benefit cost ratio was recorded with 100 per cent of recommended fertilizer. Crude protein content was significantly higher with application of FYM @10 t ha-1 + Azotobacter+ PSB as well as 100 per cent recommended fertilizer. However, the effect of FYM @10 t ha-1 + Azotobacter+ PSB and FYM @10 t ha-1 was same and resulted in significantly minimum content of acid detergent fibre and neutral detergent fibre. The effect of 75 and 100 per cent of recommended fertilizer was also same and resulted in significantly minimum acid detergent fibre and neutral detergent fibre content.An increase in soil organic carbon, biomass carbon and available NPK was observed with the application of FYM @10 t ha-1+Azotobacter + PSB as well as 100 per cent recommended fertilizer application over the initial status at the end of experiment
Open Access
LONG TERM EFFECT OF PRESCRIPTION BASED FERTILIZER APPLICATION ON SOIL CARBON AND POTASSIUM DYNAMICS UNDER MAIZE-WHEAT CROPPING SYSTEM IN AN ACID ALFISOL
(CSKHPKV, Palampur, 2017-04-20) IBAJANAI, KURBAH; DIX IT, S. P.
The present investigation was carried out during rabi, 2014-15 and rabi, 2015-16 to study the effect of prescription based fertilizer application on soil organic carbon and potassium dynamics under maize-wheat cropping system in a long term experiment initiated during kharif, 2007 at the Experimental Farm of the Department of Soil Science CSK HPKV, Palampur. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with eight treatments. The soil of experimental field was silty clay loam in texture, pH 5.2, organic carbon 7.2 g kg-1 and available N, P and K status was 236, 41 and 272 kg ha-1, respectively. The soil samples from 0- 0.15 m soil depth were collected before and after harvest of wheat and analysed for some physical, physico-chemical, biological properties, fractions of soil organic carbon and potassium in the soil. Grain and straw samples were collected from each plot and analyzed for total N, P, K and micronutrient contents and uptake. There was an overall improvement in the physical properties of soil under STCR (IPNS) treatments for target 25 and 35 q ha-1. Soil organic carbon, pH, CEC, available N, P, K, enzyme activities and DTPA extractable micronutrients were higher under treatments where inorganic fertilizers along with FYM were applied under targeted yield treatments. The study also revealed that the target yield of 35q ha-1 with FYM resulted in highest wheat grain and straw yield during both the years. However, the highest B:C ratio was recorded in treatment for target yield 35 q ha-1 without FYM followed by soil test based treatment. Higher uptake of N, P, K and micronutrients by wheat were recorded in treatments comprising of target yield 25 and 35 q ha-1 with and without FYM. Continuous application of inorganic fertilizers alone or in conjunction with FYM improved the different fractions of soil organic carbon and potassium significantly. All the passive and active pools of soil organic carbon significantly improved under STCR (IPNS) treatments for target yield 25 and 35 qha-1 in comparisons to unfertilized plots. Among K fractions, non- exchangeable K was found to be the most dominant followed by exchangeable K and water soluble K. Different fractions of soil organic carbon were found to be positively and significantly correlated with yield and soil properties except bulk density, where it was negative. All forms of potassium were positively and significantly correlated with grain and straw yield of wheat, available K and total K uptake by wheat.

Theses

Browse

Thesis Type

Type

Author

Date

Subject

Search Results