Higher yields and continuous cropping to meet the ever increasing population of India without optimum supplementation resulted in mining of nutrient reserves in soil. Estimates of the amount of nutrients required to balance inflows and outflows and thus prevent or reduce nutrient depletion are useful indicators for designing soil and fertilizer management strategies to prevent land degradation and increase production. Nutrients balance such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are increasingly used as an indicator of the environmental performance of agricultural sector in international and global context. The study focused on nutrient balance of agricultural soil and crop performance in a long-term experiment (1992-2004) on Alfisols of Bengaluru by using organic (farmyard manure, FYM), chemical (NPK) and integrated nutrient management (INM) to measure crop yield and nutrient balance for groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) – fingermillet (Eleusine coracana) crop rotation. The study was conducted to estimate the nutrient use efficiency and soil nutrient balance of five combinations of organic and chemical sources of nutrients. The treatments consisted of control; organic (FYM 10 t ha -1 ); INM (FYM 10 t ha -1 + 50% NPK; FYM 10 t ha -1 + 100% NPK) and chemical (100% NPK). The 13-year mean yield showed application of FYM was as effective as 100% NPK and FYM 10 t ha -1 + 100% NPK showed higher yield for fingermillet (2.34 t ha -1 ), and FYM 10 t ha -1 for groundnut (2.08 t ha -1 ). Practically it is difficult for the farmers to apply 10 t FYM ha -1 every year, therefore, application of available organic amendments at a lower rate in conjunction with chemical fertilizers can maximize the yield. There was a positive slope for yield as well as nutrient uptake for the study period with organic and integrated use of nutrients. There were negative apparent balances for K, secondary and micronutrients in all treatments at variable degree, meaning that these nutrients are being depleted from the soil system. However, positive balances were obtained for N and P. Higher negative nutrient balances were observed for chemical fertilizer treated soils, and significantly higher actual balance was observed in integrated treatments followed by organic, chemical and control treatments. Finally, nutrient build-up index and nutrient depletion index for macronutrients showed significant correlations with sustainable yield index.

Nutrient Balance after Thirteen Years of Organic and Chemical Nutrient Management and Yield Sustainability of Groundnut-Fingermillet Rotation in Rainfed Alfisols of Semi-Arid India

Studies on nutrient interactions in aromatic rice are needed for proper understanding of impact of imbalanced use of nutrients in the era of multi and micro-nutrient deficiencies. A pot experiment ...

Interaction effect of nitrogen, phosphorus, and zinc fertilization on growth, yield, and nutrient contents of aromatic rice varieties

The intensive use of mineral (M) fertilizers may cause harm the environment via leaching or greenhouse gas emissions, destroy soil fertility as a consequence of loss of soil organic matter, and, due to their high price, they are economically unviable for producers. It is widely accepted that organic (O) fertilizers may deal with pressing challenges facing modern agriculture, even if farmers need to improve their knowledge for applying in fertilization programs. A meta-analysis approach has been adopted to evaluate the effects on soil organic carbon (SOC) and crop yield of O fertilizers, applied alone or in combination with mineral fertilizers (MO) under conventional (CT), reduced (RT), and no-tillage (NT) regimes. The analysis was performed in different climatic conditions, soil properties, crop species, and irrigation management. Organic fertilizers have a positive influence in increasing SOC compared with M (on average 12.9%), even if high values were observed under NT (20.6%). The results highlighted the need for flexible and environment-specific systems when considering organic fertilization subjected to different tillage regimes. Similarly, MO application showed a better crop yield response in CT and RT under coarse soils when compared with M fertilizer applied alone (on average 13.4 and 12.7%, respectively), while in medium-textured soils, CT and RT yielded better than NT under O fertilizers (9.5 and 11.2 vs. 2.5%, respectively). Among the crop species, legumes performed better when O fertilizers were adopted than M fertilizers (on average 15.2%), while among the other crop species, few differences were detected among the fertilization programs. Under irrigated systems, RT and NT led to higher productivity than CT, especially under MO treatments (on average 9.2 vs. 3.4%, respectively). The results highlighted the importance of the environmental and agronomical factors and how their understanding could affect the impact of these conservation farming practices on crop productivity to improve the sustainability of the farming system in a specific region.

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Influence of Organic and Mineral Fertilizers on Soil Organic Carbon and Crop Productivity under Different Tillage Systems: A Meta-Analysis

Physical, chemical and biological properties of surface soil samples were analysed at university of agricultural sciences, Bangalore during 2013 in order to categorize soils falls under alfisols of Bangalore rural district, Nelamangala, Karnataka. The predominant finger millet growing area Nelamangala of Bangalore rural district was selected for the present study. Ten surface samples (0-15cm) were collected from area and analysed. This study leads us to the conclusion of the nutrient’s quantity of soils of Nelamangala taluk, Bangalore rural district, Karnataka State. Result showed that overage all the soils of Nelamangala taluk have various physical, chemical and biological parameters. This information will help farmers to decide the problems related to soil nutrients and also amount of fertilizers to be added to soil to make production economic.

https://www.phytojournal.com/archives/2018/vol7issue5/PartBB/7-5-593-188.pdf

Physical, chemical and biological characterization of soil samples under alfisols of finger millet growing area of Bangalore rural district, Nelamangala, Karnataka

The fast agricultural development in the Haryana has deteriorated the agro-ecosystem through excessive use of natural resources. Heavy depletion of soil health, lowering of water table and high rate of environmental pollution are the matters of great concern for the future of the state (Aulakh, 2005; Bambi and Brar, 2009). The short supply of food, fiber, fodder and fuelwood has made the situation more critical. Low and erratic rainfall, poor fertility and high solar radiation have made the agriculture a risky busiss in arid and semiarid regions Kaushik et al., 2017.

Development of Climate Resilient Agri-Silvi-Horticultural System for South West Haryana

Productive agriculture is dependent upon sound soil nutrient management practices. Seventeen elements are known to be essential for plants. Over years of intensive cultivation and imbalanced fertilizer use, Indian soils have become deficient in several of these nutrients and are also impoverished in organic matter. Yields of various crops have reached a plateau or are on the decline. This is of serious consequence given increasing population and diminishing per capita land availability. Several methods of nutrient management have been practiced on farms, however, the best option for the  farmer is an integration of organic and inorganic approaches to nutrient management. This far a lot of emphasis has been placed on the conservation and management of N-one of the earliest reported scarce plant nutrient. However, current studies across India have shown a gradual and alarming depletion of potassium and increase in P fixation leading to sustainability concerns for these two nutrients. Among other nutrients S, Zn and B are also reaching deficient status in Indian soils. This sustainability crisis needs to be addressed holistically. This paper explains the philosophy, strategies and practices available to various users of  sustainable nutrient management.

/pdf/sustainable-soil-nutrient-management-3a9lffx8ye.pdf

Sustainable Soil Nutrient Management

The soil physico-chemical properties, organic carbon and organic carbon stocks as influenced by different land use system of Alfisol was studied at Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra campus of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. The agriculture systems included - dry land, finger millet, pulse and long term fertilizer experiment plots; horticulture includes - grapes, mango, sapota and guava plantation and forest systems includes - Simaruba glauca, teak wood and mixed forest plantation. The soils belong to Vijayapura series. Twelve soil samples (0-15 and 15-30 cm) were drawn during July 2009, processed and analysed for the above parameters using standard procedures. The bulk density 1.46 (Mg m-3) was high in agriculture system. The horticulture land use system recorded higher pores space 47.81%, MWHC 36.73%, and organic carbon 10.6 g kg-1. The pH (5.99) and organic carbon stocks 21.19 Mg ha-1 was high in forest land use system. Based on these results the horticulture systems were more sustainable in organic carbon stock build-up than forest and agriculture systems.

Soil physico-chemical properties and organic carbon stocks as influenced by different land use system of Alfisol

Weather is one of the foremost factors affecting the agriculture production and crop productivity. The effective weather information and advisory services to the farmers aid in decision-making of day-to-day agricultural operations right from the selection of crops to post harvest in order to avoid crop losses. Total 105 AAS bulletins were prepared and disseminated to the farmers in 2021 by District Agromet Unit (DAMU) established at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, V C farm, Mandya. A random sample survey was conducted for 175 farmers (25 per block) in 2021 to assess the effectiveness, impact and usefulness of Agromet Advisory Services from each block in Mandya District, Karnataka and analyzed the data using the Dynamic Feedback System of IMD. The study revealed that 48 percent of farmers preferred weather forecast before going for fertilizer application, 65 percent for spraying operations and 75 percent for harvesting operations.  A total of 69 percent farmers were satisfied, 18 percent were partially satisfied and 13 percent were not satisfied with the advisory. The study indicated that the farmers focused more on the weather forecast for spraying & harvesting operations compared to other activities of farming.

Atheefa Munawery

Papers

Sustainable Soil Nutrient Management

Soil physico-chemical properties and organic carbon stocks as influenced by different land use system of Alfisol

Utility and Impact of Agromet Advisory Services among Farmers in Mandya District, Karnataka