Effect of lime, organic matter and boron on the use efficiency of phosphorus in lentil (Lens culinaris L.)

Abstract

An experiment with lentil (Lens culinaries L.) was conducted at the terai situation of West Bengal (India) under different combination of phosphorus, boron and farm yard manure (FYM). The soil was acidic (pH-5.35) in reaction with sandy -loam in texture and hence, liming material was applied to find out the use efficiency of the phosphorus (P) in determining the yield potential of the crop (lentil). The maximum grain yield of lentil was 13.93 qha-1 at the lime- treated soil compared to the untreated control (6.63qha-1). The seed yield was increased from 9.64 to 13.85 qha-1 with the increasing level of P. The effect of P was relatively lower in a soil not treated with lime. The Physiological Harvest Index (PHI) was higher (56.67) when P @ 60 kgha-1 was applied irrespective of any treatment combinations and was minimum (54.95) at the lower rate of P (30 kgha-1) application. The maximum Agronomic efficiency (AE) was 18.3 and that of Physiological Efficiency (PE) was 85.16 at the lower rate of P (30 kgha-1) application. Hence, application of lime in soil with organic matter and B can improve the use efficiency of P for lentil in an acidic soil of a region.