Full Length Research Paper
ABSTRACT
A field experiment was conducted to assess the effect of integrated nutrient management (INM) modules on yield and soil properties in late sown Indian mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czernj. & Cosson.]. In this study, 16 INM module combinations of organic (Farm yard manure and vermicompost), inorganic and biofertilizers were used. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design (RBD) with three replications. The numbers of secondary branches were conspicuously higher than primary and tertiary branches and these also bear higher number of siliquae/branch. The contribution of secondary branches was highest in seed yield of mustard. Integrated use of 100% recommended fertilizer dose (RDF) along with organic sources of nutrients resulted in significantly higher number of branches/plant, siliqua/branch, seeds/siliquae and seed yield of mustard as compared to application of 100% RDF (NPK) alone. The total N, P and K uptake by the crop ranged between 76.1 kg/ha in control and 187.2 kg/ha in 100% recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) + FYM 5 t/ha + vermicompost (VC) 2.5 t/ha + Azotobacter. Integration of inorganic and organic sources of nutrients improved the soil organic carbon (SOC) content, availability of soil nutrient status (N, P and K), microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and dehydrogenase activity (DHA) in soil, whereas the use of chemical fertilizer alone showed a pronounced decline of these parameters.
Key words: Integrated nutrient management, Indian mustard, seed yield, oil content, soil health.
INTRODUCTION
Indian mustard occupies more than 70% of the area under rapeseed-mustard group of crops grown in India. The production of rapeseed mustard in India was 8.0 million tonnes with productivity of 1188 kg/ha and area harvested 6.7 million hectares (Economic survey, 2014-15). Generally, pulse and oilseed crops are raised under rainfed conditions with low input and poor management practices leading to lower productivity level (Lal et al., 2015). Yield potentials of the crop, can be realized by balanced and efficient use of organic and inorganic sources of nutrient (Meena et al., 2016) and also use of suitable agronomic package practices to crop. Imbalanced nutrition is one of the important constraints towards higher mustard productivity, oil content and other quality parameters (Lal et al., 2016). Intensification of agriculture coupled with use of high analysis fertilizers, deprived of secondary and micronutrients, has led to widespread deficiency of these nutrients which has further aggravated the situation because of restricted or no application of organic manures. The deficiency of sulphur, zinc and boron is very common in many states. In Uttar Pradesh, 53% of the soils are deficient in sulphur, 60% deficient in zinc and 12% deficient in boron (Anonymous, 2014). Nutrient indexing work on soils and crops done at the Pantnagar revealed that negative balance of sulphur, zinc and boron is becoming evident in Tarai region (Srivastava et al., 2006).
Rapeseed-mustard requires relatively large amount of these nutrients for realization of yield potential but inadequate supply often leads to low productivity. Hence, it becomes imperative to increase crop productivity to provide balanced and adequate nutrition through organic and inorganic sources. Use of total organic or inorganic nutrient sources has few limitations. Therefore, judicious use of organic and inorganic sources of nutrients is needed for enhancing productivity of rapeseed-mustard. Integrated use of organic and inorganic fertilizers not only ensures availability of all the essential plant nutrients but also improves the soil chemical, biological properties and crop productivity ((Thakur et al., 2009; Meena et al., 2015).
Use of farm yard manure (FYM), vermicompost (VC) and bio-fertilizers like Azotobacter in judicious combination with fertilizers can facilitate profitable and sustainable production and are found to improve physical, chemical and biological soil properties (Shroff and Devasthali, 1992). Similarly, Meena et al. (2014) reported that soil quality also improved with the application of organic manures like FYM, leaf compost and VC. In Tarai region of Uttarakhand and western UP, the mustard crop is mainly sown late after harvest of rice under rice-mustard-sugarcane cropping system. The yield levels are low under late sown condition. The technologies are available on nutrient management particularly as integrated nutrient management in normal sown condition in mustard. But very little information is available on organic and inorganic nutrient management in late sown condition. In order to enhance the productivity of late sown mustard, it is important to develop suitable nutrient management practices for mustard to boost its growth. Keeping in view the above facts, and to exploit the highest potential of the mustard under late sown condition, the present investigation was carried out to study the effect of nutrient management practices on seed yield of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.)” under late sown condition and its effect on soil health.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The field experiment was conducted at the Crop Research Centre of the G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India. The experimental soil contains 0.89% soil organic carbon, 224 kg/ha available N, 12.2 kg/ha available P and 309 kg/ha available K. The field experiment was laid out in randomized block design (RBD) with three replications. Each replication comprised of sixteen treatment combinations viz., T1-Control, T2-RDF 50%, T3-RDF 75%, T4-RDF 100%, T5-RDF 50% + FYM 10 t/ha, T6-RDF 50% + VC 5 t/ha, T7-RDF 50% + FYM 5 t/ha + VC 2.5 t/ha, T8-RDF 50%+ FYM 5 t/ha + VC 2.5 t/ha + Azotobacter, T9-RDF 75% + FYM 10 t/ha, T10-RDF 75% + VC 5 t/ha, T11-RDF 75% + FYM 5 t/ha + VC 2.5 t/ha, T12-RDF 75% + FYM 5 t/ha + VC 2.5 t/ha + Azotobacter, T13- RDF 100% + FYM 10 t/ha, T14-RDF 100% + VC 5 t/ha, T15-RDF 100% + FYM 5 t/ha + VC 2.5 t/ha, T16-RDF 100% + FYM 5 t/ha + VC 2.5 t/ha + Azotobacter. Full amount of P2O5 and K2O, along with 50% of nitrogen as per the treatment was applied as basal and remaining 50% of N was top dressed after first irrigation. Azotobacter culture was used at 10 g/kg seed. Mustard cv. ‘Kranti’ was grown during November-April, sown at a spacing of 30 × 15 cm.
The required quantity of organic manures viz. farmyard manure (FYM) and vermicompost (VC) as per the treatments was applied in the field ten days before sowing of both the crops on dry weight basis. The N, P and K concentration in organic manures was 1.4, 0.50 and 1.44% in VC, 0.47, 0.26, and 0.48% in FYM, respectively. All the standard agronomic practices were followed as per the schedule. Crop was harvested at maturity and the yield parameters were recorded. The composite soil samples were collected from each plot from 0 to 15 cm depth and analyzed for soil organic carbon (SCO) (Jackson, 1973) as well as available nitrogen (Subbiah and Asija 1956), available phosphorus (Olsen et al., 1954), available potassium (Hanway and Heidel, 1952). The microbial biomass carbon was estimated by chloroform fumigation and incubation method (CFIM) (Jenkinson, 1988) and dehydrogenase activity by colorimetric method (Casida et al., 1964). Seed and straw samples of crop were collected, digested and analyzed for N, P and K.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Effect of INM modules on growth parameters
The number of branches/plant was significantly affected by integrated nutrient management (INM) modules. Among the different type of branches, the secondary branches were considerably higher than the primary and tertiary branches (Table 1). The highest number of total branches/plant were recorded with the application of 100% recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) + FYM 5 t/ha + VC 2.5 t/ha + Azotobacter was significantly higher than all other treatments. Application of 50% RDF or 75% RDF or 100% RDF with integration of FYM 10 t/ha, VC 5 t/ha and FYM 5 t/ha + VC 2.5 t/ha with or without Azotobacter resulted in higher number of total branches than application of chemical fertilizer alone; however, alone; however, integration of VC proved to be slightly superior over FYM. These results are in close conformity with those of Singh and Kumar (1999) and Prasad (2000). The normal effect of nutrient on growth is to increase the height and vigour of the crop that results in increase in branching and total dry matter production (Holmes, 1980).
Effect of INM modules on yield and yield attributes
The highest number of siliqua/branch was observed on primary branch followed by secondary branch. The highest number of siliqua/branch was recorded with the integration of 100% recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) + FYM 5 t/ha + vermicompost (VC) 2.5 t/ha + Azotobacter, which was significantly higher than the control, chemical fertilizers alone, integration of FYM or/and VC with 50% RDF and integration of FYM or VC with 75% RDF (Table 1). Number of seeds seeds/siliqua of Indian mustard was recorded highest on the main branch than primary, secondary and tertiary branches. The highest mean seeds/siliquae was observed in response to the application of 100% recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) + FYM 5 t/ha + VC 2.5 t/ha + Azotobacter which was significantly higher than all the treatments except 100% RDF + VC 5 t/ha and 100% RDF + FYM 5 t/ha + VC 2.5 t/ha (Table 2). This indicates that supplementing the 100% inorganic fertilizers with organic sources like FYM, VC and seed treatment with Azotobacter improve physical, chemical and biological properties of soil and also increase the crop yield and yield attributes. The positive response of application of FYM, VC and Azotobacter has also been reported by Mir et al. (2003) and Premi et al. (2004). Among the different branches, the highest contribution was recorded from the secondary branches followed by primary branches (Table 2). Siliqua length and 1000 seed weight were also affected significantly due to different nutrient management practices. The integrated use of organic and inorganic sources of nutrients resulted in higher siliqua length and 1000- seed weight as compared the use of chemical fertilizer. All the nutrient management treatments (chemical fertilizer alone and integrated nutrient management treatments) resulted in significantly higher yield than the control. The highest seed yield was recorded with 100% recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) + FYM 5 t/ha + VC 2.5 t/ha + Azotobacter, which was significantly higher than all the treatments except 100% RDF + FYM 5 t/ha + VC 2.5 t/ha (Table 3). Application of 100% RDF + FYM 5 t/ha + VC + Azotobacter recorded 10.6 and 23.2% yield over 75 and 50% RDF along with FYM 5 t/ha + VC + Azotobacter, respectively. The positive yield of mustard was also reported by Mir et al. (2003), Premi et al. (2004), Gudadhe et al. (2005) and Singh and Sinsinwar (2006) with different combinations of supplementary nutrients applied.
Effect of INM modules on oil content
In general, oil content decreased with increase in fertilizer levels while further increase was response of supplementary ingredients on seed recorded with addition of organic sources of nutrient supply. The highest oil content was recorded from seeds obtained from main branch followed by primary branch. The differences in oil content due to plant nutrient management practices were non-significant (Table 3). The highest seed oil content in mustard was recorded in control or no fertilization; however, the seed oil content significantly decreased with the recommended dose of fertilizer. This may be due to the fact that the availability of nitrogen increases the proportion of protein substances in the seed leaving a potential deficiency of carbohydrates to be degraded to acetyl Co-A for the synthesis of fatty acids (Prasad, 2000;Kandpal, 2001).
Effect of INM modules on nutrient uptake
The INM modules had significant effect on nutrient uptake by mustard (Table 4). The highest total nitrogen uptake was observed with 100% recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) + FYM 5 t/ha + VC 2.5 t/ha + Azotobacter, which was statistically at par with 100% RDF + FYM 5 t/ha + VC 2.5 t/ha and 100% RDF + VC 5 t/ha. The highest total phosphorus uptake was also found with 100% recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) + FYM 5 t/ha + VC 2.5 t/ha + Azotobacter, which was significantly higher than all the treatments except 100% RDF + FYM 5 t/ha + VC 2.5 t/ha, 100% RDF + VC 5 t/ha and 100% RDF + FYM 10 t/ha. Like N and P, the maximum potassium uptake was recorded with 100% RDF + FYM 5 t/ha + VC 2.5 t/ha + Azotobacter. The lowest N, P and K uptake was found in control. The total NPK uptake by late sown Indian mustard ranged from 76.1 kg/ha in the control to 187.2 kg/ha in 100% recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) + FYM 5 t/ha + VC 2.5 t/ha + Azotobacter.
Effect of INM modules on soil quality parameters
The soil organic carbon (SOC) increased from the initial value with the application of FYM or/and VC along with chemical fertilizers (Table 5). The SOC decreased in response to the application of chemical fertilizer alone as well as control. The application of organic manure along with fertilizers adds carbon to soil (Sharma et al., 2009). The highest available nitrogen in soil was observed with the use of 100% RDF + VC 5 t/ha, which was significantly higher than the use of chemical fertilizer alone and the control.
The available soil N was increased with integration of organic and inorganic sources of nutrients as compared to recommended dose of fertilizers. While, available soil phosphorus also increased with the application of 75 or 100% RDF applied with FYM and/or VC. The highest available potassium in soil was recorded with the application of 100% RDF + VC 5 t/ha, which was significantly higher than the use of chemical fertilizer alone, 50% RDF + FYM 10 t/ha and control. It might be due to integration of chemical fertilizer with organic sources of nutrients (Raju and Reddy, 2000; Meena et al., 2015). The chemical fertilizers alone decreased microbial biomass carbon and dehydrogenise activity in soil as compared to the initial value; however, it increased response to INM modules. The highest microbial biomass carbon and dehydrogenase activity were recorded with 50% RDF + FYM 5 t/ha + VC 2.5 t/ha+ Azotobacter, which was significantly higher than chemical fertilizer (Table 5).
The lowest microbial biomass carbon and dehydrogenase activity were recorded in response to application of 100% RDF. The result is in close conformity with that of Meena et al. (2015). There is strong relationship between soil organic matter content and enzyme activities (Gracia et al., 1994). Addition of organic matter might have increased the biological activity of the soil (Min et al., 2003). These increases may be attributed to the increase of microbial processes, whereas the decrease in MBC and dehydrogenase activity by chemical fertilization may be due to poor physical conditions and lack of organic substrates in the soils (Kang et al., 2005). Hence, it is concluded that INM module provides higher number of branches/plant, siliqua/branch, seeds/siliquae and seed yield of Indian mustard besides improved soil organic carbon content, available N, P and K, microbial biomass carbon and dehydrogenise activity in the soil as compared to the application of 100% recommended dose of NPK.
CONCLUSION
The application of different integrated nutrient management (INM) modules significantly improved growth, yield attributes and soil quality parameters. Thus, based on a two years’ study, it can be concluded that the application of chemical fertilizer in combination with organic manures and biofertilizers was the most suitable INM module/practice for the late sown Indian mustard in the Tarai belt of Uttarakhand.
CONFLICT OF INTERESTS
The authors have not declared any conflict of interests.
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