Effect of Inorganic Fertilizers and Farm Yard Manure on Physical Properties of Soil Under Rice-Wheat Cropping

Abstract

In rice-wheat cropping, puddling of field in standing water damages soil structure and affects soil physical properties. Application of inorganic fertilizer and organic manure stimulates crop biomass and amount of residue returned into soil after crop harvest, and may improve soil physical properties. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted for 5 years at Regional station, Gurdaspur to assess the effect of inorganic fertilizers and farmyard manure (FYM) applied either alone or conjointly on physical properties of soil under rice-wheat cropping system. Soil fertility management treatments consisted of unfertilized control, NPK, FYM, N+FYM and NPK+FYM. Soil porosity increased significantly (p<0.05), while bulk density (Db) decreased with the application of NPK and FYM. The effect was however, more pronounced when applied conjointly. Final infiltration rate also increased significantly with the application of NPK and FYM either alone or conjointly, although the effect was greater when applied conjointly. Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), on the other hand was significantly higher with FYM, compared with NPK alone application. Application of FYM either alone or conjointly with inorganic fertilizers (N+FYM/NPK+FYM) did not significantly influenced Ks. Soil moisture retention at field capacity (FC) and permanent wilting point (PWP) increased significantly with NPK+FYM application. Our results showed that conjoint application of inorganic fertilizers and organic manure improved physical properties of soil under ricewheat cropping system.