Impact of integrated nutrient management in increasing the yield of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Abstract

Rice is the major staple food of Asia. Non-judicious and imbalanced application of chemical fertilizers not only depletes the native soil nutrient reserve but also causes severe environmental damages viz. greenhouse gas emission, acidification, eutrophication, etc., posing a serious threat to sustainability of rice production. Integrated application of organic manures and chemical fertilizer could be the best option to overcome the adverse impacts associated with the use of chemical fertilizer alone. Hence, the complimentary role of organics as supplements to chemical fertilizers is important for keeping the soil health in order to harness the potential yield in rice. Therefore, field experiment was conducted at Experimental Farm, Department of Agronomy, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar during the cropping year of 2020-21 to find out the effect of integrated nutrient management involving inorganic manures along with organic manures viz., vermicompost, pressmud compost, poultry manure compost, goat manure compost, coirpith compost, bone sludge compost and sewage sludge compost on the growth and yield of rice. The results of the experiment revealed that among the integrated nutrient management practices, application of vermicompost @ 5 t/ha along with 100% recommended dose of fertilizers (T2) excelled all treatments and gave significantly higher grain yield of 5792 kg/ha when compared to other treatments. Considering the results of the present investigation, it can be concluded that integrated application of vermicompost @ 5 t/ha along with 100% recommended dose of NPK registered highest values in growth parameters, yield attributes and yield of rice.