Impact of Integrated Nutrient Management on Soil Micronutrients and Organic Matter Dynamics in Maize-mustard Crop Rotation in Himalayan Foothills

Abstract

Aims: The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of inorganic fertilizers and organic manures on availability of micronutrients and organic matter in soils of rainfed agriculture in foothills of Himalayas. Place and Duration of Study: Present study was conducted at Advance Centre for Rainfed Agriculture (ACRA), Rakh Dhiansar, Jammu from 2020 to 2022. Methodology: In a long-term field experiment, we investigated the effects of 10 treatments on soil micronutrients, organic matter and their correlation under rain fed agriculture. Randomized block design was used with three replications. Following are the treatments: T1 - Control, T2 - 100% RDF of N,P,K through chemicals, T3 - 50% RDF of N,P,K through chemicals, T4- 50% RD of N through crop residue, T5 - 50% RD of N through FYM, T6 -50% RDF of N,P,K through chemicals + 50% RDF of N through crop residues, T7- 50% RDF of N,P,K through chemicals + 50% RD of N through FYM, T8 - FYM @ 10 ton/ha, T9 - 100% RDF of N,P,K through chemicals + Zinc Sulphate @ 20kg/ha and T10 - Farmer practice (FYM @ 4 ton/ha + 40kg urea /ha). The micronutrients (Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn) showed maximum increase with the application of organic manures along with inorganic fertilizers over control in both surface and sub surface layers of the soil. However, in the sub-surface soil, there was less availability of these nutrients than the surface layer of the soil. The available Zn content was found maximum in the treatment T9 getting 100% NPK + ZnSO4 @ 20kg/ha over control. The treatment T8 with the application of FYM @ 10 ton/ha recorded highest content of soil organic matter in surface soil. Positive and significant correlations were observed between soil organic matter and the micronutrient content of the soil. The INM practices proved very beneficial for increasing the sustainability of soil.