Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

IMPACT OF LONG TERM APPLICATION OF INORGANIC FERTILIZERS AND ORGANIC MANURE ON YIELD ATTRIBUTE CHARACTERS, YIELD OF SOYBEAN AND SOIL FERTILITY IN A VERTISOL

Chanchlesh Raghuwanshi, N.K. Khamparia, Risikesh Thakur, S.K. Sahare, Vaishali Sharma and B.S. Dwivedi

Abstract

The effect of long term application of inorganic fertilizers and organic manure on yield attributing characters, yield of soybean and soil fertility was conducted during 2012-13 under All India Coordinated Research Project on Long Term Fertilizer Experiment, which was initiated since 1972 at the Research Farm of the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, JNKVV, Jabalpur (M.P.). The experiment consists of nine treatments viz., T1 = 50% NPK, T2 = 100% NPK, T3 = 150% NPK, T4 = 100% NPK+Zn, T5 = 100% NP, T6 = 100% N, T7 = 100% NPK + FYM, T8 = 100% NPK-S (Sulphur- Free) and T9 = Control. Each replicated four times in a randomized block design. The results revealed that integrated application of recommended dose of fertilizers with organic manure (FYM) @ 15 t ha-1 produced significantly higher plant height, root length, root biomass and number of pods plant-1 than the other treatments, after forty two years in a Vertisol. Similarly, significantly higher grain and straw yield of soybean were obtained from the application of 100% NPK as inorganic fertilizer in combination with organic manure followed by 150% NPK. The oil and protein content of seed were increased significantly due to the application of 100% NPK coupled with 15 t FYM ha-1. The inclusion of FYM in the fertilizer schedule substantially improved the organic carbon status as well as available N, P, K and S status in soil, thereby resulting in significant contribution towards sustaining the soil health. Thus, the balance use of fertilizers continuously either alone or in combination with organic manure is necessary for sustaining soil fertility and productivity of crops over a long period of time.