Vaishali Singh, U.P. Shahi, Satendra Kumar, S.P. Singh, Adesh Singh, Ramji Singh, Rashmi, Omkar Singh and Chandrakant Chaubey
Abstract
The study aimed to investigate the distribution of zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) fractions under different basmati rice based cropping systems, including Fallow, Rice-Wheat-Dhaincha (R-W-D), Rice-Kabuli Chickpea-Mungbean (R-KC-MB), Rice-Chickpea-Mungbean (R-C-MB), and Rice-Berseem-Mungbean (R-B-MB) in the Upper Gangetic Plains. Soil samples collected from three depths (0-10, 10-20, and 20-30 cm) were analysed using sequential extraction procedures to determine the various chemical fractions of Zn and Cu. The results revealed that residual (RES) fraction dominated both Zn (37.65-90.91 mg kg-¹) and Cu(4.23-9.44 mg kg-¹) pools across all cropping systems under study. Water soluble and exchangeable (WSEX) fractions contributed minimally to total micronutrient content. The R-B-MB system showed the highest accumulation of micronutrients in all fractions, suggesting enhanced nutrient cycling under legume-intensive rotations.