Effect of Nutrient Management Practices on Soil Health and Crop Response under Different Cropping Systems in a Vertisol of Northern Transition Zone of Karnataka
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Date
2010
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UAS Dharwad
Abstract
A field experiment was conducted to study the “Effect of nutrient management
practices on soil health and crop response under different cropping systems in a
Vertisol of Northern transition zone of Karnataka” at Main Agricultural Research
Station, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad during 2007-08. The
experiment was laid out in strip plot design with nutrient management practices as
main plots and cropping systems as subplots with three replications.
Among the nutrient management practices organic plots recorded significantly
higher soybean (2790 kg/ha), groundnut (3709 kg/ha) and chilli (1001 kg/ha)
equivalent yields where as integrated plots recorded significantly higher maize (4330
kg/ha) and potato (4723 kg/ha) equivalent yields and were found superior over
inorganic plots.
Both organic and inorganic fractions of nitrogen in soil increased over time
under organic followed by integrated nutrient management practices during both
kharif and rabi seasons. Nitrogen fractions under inorganic nutrient management
practice increased up to 60 DAS and later declined. The dehydrogenase, phosphatase
and urease activity were found to be maximum under integrated followed by organic
nutrient management practice and their activity increased up to 30 DAS and then
sharply declined.
After harvest of rabi crops the soil organic carbon in organic plots increased
by 32.6 per cent. Similarly, in integrated plot it increased by 17.1 per cent whereas in
inorganic plot soil organic carbon decreased by 11.0 per cent over the initial value.
The available N, P2O5, K2O and S content of soil increased by 19.1, 46.3, 9.6 and 54.0
per cent respectively, and DTPA extractable Zn, Fe, Mn and Cu increased by 18.6,
30.6, 36.5 and 30.0 per cent, respectively under integrated nutrient management
practice over their initial values. Legume based cropping system at the end of their
crop cycle improved the soil fertility status with respect to available N, P2O5, K2O, S
and micronutrients content of soil.