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Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi

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20232
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Subject: Soil Science and Agriculture Chemistry × Start date: 2023 × Thesis Type: Ph.D ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Isolation, Screening of Lignocellulose Decomposer and Its Impact on Crop Residue Decomposition, Soil Properties and Yield of Crops
    (Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, 2023) Shinde Reshma Bhausaheb; D.K. Shahi
    In India, the top ten crops generating about 686 Mt of residues are estimated to hold the potential to supply 5.6 Mt of NPK nutrients to the soil. When left on the field, crop residues decompose into different organic substances through the action of various soil microbes over time. The isolation of native fast-degrading microbes from areas and their inoculation can potentially enhance crop residues' decomposition speed and nutrient release process. Considering this hypothesis, an experiment was conducted to study the isolation and screening of lignocellulose decomposer and its impact on crop residue decomposition, soil properties, and yield of crops at the research farm of ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, FSRCHPR, Ranchi, India. Fifteen strains of fungi and six bacteria were isolated as pure colonies from various sources, out of which seven isolated microbial cultures (IMC) were identified as lignocellulose decomposers. IMC 18 and IMC 4 had shown higher enzyme activities for decomposing cellulose and lignin and were identified as Trichoderma viridi and Aspergillus niger. The efficiency of these strains was tested through on-field trials to establish them as potential lignocellulose decomposers. The field experiment was laid out in a factorial randomized block design (FRBD) with two factors, consisting of three crop residues [paddy (C1), black gram (C2), and ragi straw (C3)] and five microbial inoculation treatments [control (T1), A. niger (T2), T. viridi (T3), A. niger + (1%) nitrogen application (T4) and T. viridi + (1%) nitrogen application (T5)] for each crop residue. In total, there were fifteen treatment combinations with two replications each. The decomposition and nutrient release patterns of all three crop residues were studied using litter bag techniques. Among the three types of crop residues, black gram straw exhibited the highest decomposition rate, followed by paddy straw and ragi straw. In treatment T5, where microbial inoculation was applied, over 90% of black gram straw decomposed within six months of field placement, while for paddy and ragi straw, this occurred within eight and nine months, respectively. Contrastingly, in the control treatment (T1) without microbial inoculation, over 90% decomposition of black gram straw occurred in eight months, while for paddy and ragi straw, it took ten and eleven months, respectively. The highest decomposition t99 period of 23.25 months was observed for ragi straw in the control treatment, while the shortest t99 period of 10.55 months was noted for black gram straw in treatment T5. In treatments with microbial inoculation, decomposition rates were 8.5-25% higher compared to the control. The sequence of straw decomposition rates in the microbial treatments followed the order: control < T2 < T3 < T4 < T5. Furthermore, the release rates of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) were higher in the microbial-inoculated treatments compared to those without inoculation. N, P, and K release rates followed the order K > P > N. The application of crop residues led to an increase in available nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) in the soil. Treatment C1, involving paddy straw application at 5.0 t ha-1, exhibited the highest available N (264.0 kg ha-1) and P (34.0 kg ha-1). In contrast, treatment C3, with ragi straw at the same rate, showed the highest available K (337.3 kg ha-1). Among microbial treatments, the inoculation of Trichoderma culture with nitrogen supplementation (T5) resulted in a significant rise in available NPK (267.34, 35.99, and 340.73 kg ha-1, respectively) in the soil. Applying crop residues (paddy or ragi straw at 5.0 t ha-1) enhanced the yield of field pea, moong bean, and maize cropping systems by 5-12%. In microbial-inoculated treatments, notably higher grain yields were observed for field pea (4.21-11.7%), moong bean (4.35-11.6%), and maize (4.91-10.39%) compared to the control. Among microbial treatments, T5 demonstrated significantly higher grain yields (10.39-11.7%) and straw yields (7.37-19.67%) across all three crops. The present study illustrated that inoculation of Trichoderma and Aspergillus spp. culture, along with nitrogen supplementation, can be a practical approach for in situ residue management, leading to the proliferation of beneficial microorganisms that hasten the degradation process of crop residues. Adding crop residues (paddy or ragi straw @ 5.0 t ha-1) not only increased the yield of field pea, moong bean, and maize cropping system but also improved the other soil fertility parameters such as organic carbon, available NPK, DTPA-Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn content, soil microbial count and soil enzyme activity like dehydrogenase and FDA. These factors are necessary to achieve sustainable production and minimize soil nutrient depletion. The application of crop residues and inoculation of Trichoderma spp. or Aspergillus spp. and nitrogen supplementation has the potential of this environment-friendly technology for in situ straw management and nutrient sources in the low input cropping system.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    EFFICACY OF ZINC (Zn) AND SULPHUR (S) CONTAINING FERTILIZER ON PRODUCTIVITY AND PROFITABILITY OF WHEAT GROWN UNDER ACID SOIL OF JHARKHAND
    (Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, 2023) Pooja Bharti; B. K. Agarwal
    A field experiment entitled “Efficacy of Zinc (Zn) and Sulphur (S) containing fertilizer on productivity and profitability of wheat grown under acid soil of Jharkhand” was conducted during Rabi 2021-22 at the experimental farm of Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, Jharkhand with an objective to compare the performance of different sources of zinc and sulphur containing fertilizer on yield attributes, yield, economics of the wheat crop along with the translocation study of zinc and sulphur in different plant parts and their nutrient uptake. In addition, soil samples were analysed for changes in chemical properties of soil viz. soil reaction (pH), electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC), available N, available P, available K, available Zn and available S content. The experiment was laid out in Randomised Block Design (RBD) replicated thrice with seven treatments. The treatments were T1- 100% NPK (120: 60: 40), T2- 100% NPK + 1.5 kg Zn through Zinc Sulphate, T3- 100% NPK + 2.5 kg Zn through Zinc Sulphate, T4- 100% NPK + 5.0 kg Zn through Zinc Sulphate, T5- 100% NPK + 1.5 kg Zn through Techno-Z, T6- 100% NPK + 2.5 kg Zn through Techno-Z and T7- 100% NPK + 5.0 kg Zn through Techno-Z. The results revealed that maximum growth and yield attributes viz. no. of spikes/m2 (358.86), no. of grains/spike (48.39), 1000 grain weight (41.93 g), ear head length (11.55 cm) and ear head weight (4.53 g) were recorded at peak with treatment T7. Whereas, the treatment T3, T4 and T6 showed statistically at par results with T7 in case of all yield attributing characters. It was also observed that the highest grain yield (48.20 q ha-1 ), straw yield (73.42 q ha-1 ) and harvest index (39.64 %) was achieved with the treatment T7 and the treatment T3, T4 and T6 showed statistically at par results. However, the highest B:C ratio i.e., 2.32 was found with the treatment T4 whereas in case of T7 it was only 2.04. This was only because of the higher cost of Techno-Z in comparison to that of Zinc Sulphate. As far the study of Zn translocation was concerned, the data disclosed that the highest Zn content was in lower leaf as compared to that of middle leaf and upper leaf respectively. Whereas, among all the treatments, the highest Zn content was reported in treatment T7 in case of lower leaf. It had 48.38% and 55.90% higher Zn content as compared to middle leaf and lower leaf respectively. This implied the moderately immobile nature of Zn in plant system. In case of lower leaf and middle leaf the maximum Zn concentration was reported with the treatment T7 and in case of upper leaf the peak was found with the treatment T4. However, the highest Zn concentration in grains (46.5 mg kg-1 ), straw (62.9 mg kg-1 ) and husk (20.00 mg kg-1 ) was reported with the treatment T4. In case of sulphur, results showed that maximum S content was found in the lower leaf in comparison to middle leaf and upper leaf respectively. It was due to the immobile nature of S in plant parts. Whereas, among all the treatments, the highest S concentration was reported in treatment T7 in all plant parts. When compared to that of lower leaf the percentage decrease in sulphur content in case of middle leaf and upper leaf was 48.06% and 55.81% respectively for treatment T7. The highest concentration of sulphur in grain (0.193%), straw (0.114%), husk (0.061%) was recorded with the treatment T7. For grains, T7 showed 16.64% higher values than that of treatment T4. In case of soil, maximum reduction in pH in post- harvest soil was 0.09 and it was common for 5 treatments (T1, T3, T4, T6 and T7) and least reduction in pH was 0.02 for T5 treatment. There was hardly any change in the EC values in case of post-harvest soil due to application of different sources of Zn and S containing fertilizers. Whereas, organic carbon content decreased in the post- harvest soil and maximum reduction was 0.25 for treatment T4 and least reduction was 0.08 which was common for 3 treatments (T1, T3 and T7). The Nitrogen (N) content varied from 242.00 to 267.70 kg ha-1 and 231.50 to 263.50 kg ha-1 for pre-sowing and post- harvest soil respectively. Highest Available N (267.70 kg ha-1 ) was found with the treatment T4 at both the stages. The peak of phosphorus (P) content (32.72 kg ha-1 ) in soil at pre- sowing stage was noted down with treatment T6 and at post- harvest stage with the treatment T3 (31.88 kg ha-1 ). In case of potassium (K), the maximum concentration at both the stages was found with treatment T4. For, zinc the highest content at pre-sowing stage (0.72 mg kg-1 ) and post-harvest stage (1.04 mg kg-1 ) in soil was observed with treatment T4. Similar trend was reported in case of sulphur, the maximum concentration at both pre- sowing (9.72 mg kg-1 ) and post harvest soil (9.57 mg kg-1 ) was found with that of treatment T4.