Effect of nutrient management on productivity and economics of soybean

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during kharif season of 2015 on silty clay loam soil at MPKV, Rahuri (MS), to study the varying nutrient management levels on productivity and economics of different soybean varieties. The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized block design with 15 combinations of three varieties (KDS-344, JS-9305 and KS-103) and five nutrient management levels ( GRDF, 75% GRDF + 0.5% foliar spray of grade IInd at 30 and 45 DAS, 100% GRDF + 0.5% foliar spray of grade IInd at 30 and 45 DAS, N4: 125% GRDF + 0.5% foliar spray of grade IInd at 30 and 45 DAS and 50:75:30 N, P2O5, K2O kg ha-1 + 5 tons FYM ha-1. The variety KDS-344 and application of nutrient management dose 125% GRDF + 0.5 Grade IInd foliar spray at 30 and 45 DAS recorded significantly the highest growth and yield attributes viz., plant height (cm), number of branches, number root of nodules, number of pod plant-1 and weight of seeds plant-1 (g). The variety KDS-344 recorded highest grain and stover (3.66 and 4.64 t /ha) yield and highest economic indices like cost of cultivation (40,623), net monetary returns (87355) and net returns per rupee invested (3.17). The grain yield (4.34 t/ha) and stover yield (4.53 t/ha) of soybean was significantly higher by application of fertilizer dose of 125% GRDF + 0.5% Grade IInd foliar spray at 30 and 45 DAS than rest of treatments, but it was also at par with 75% GRDF + 0.5 Grade IInd foliar spray at 30 and 45 DAS and 100% GRDF + 0.5% Grade IInd foliar spray at 30 and 45 DAS. Similarly, variety KDS-344 and application of nutrient levels of 75 % GRDF + 0.5 % Grade IInd foliar spray at 30 and 45 DAS recorded the highest net returns (82756) and net returns per rupee invested (3.24) in soybean due to reduce in cost of cultivation (36931) and nutrient losses.