Integrated Nutrient Management for Rice Yield, Soil Fertility, and Carbon Sequestration.

Tahmina Akter Urmi,Md Ariful Islam,Hazem M Kalaji,Md Moshiul Islam,Md Abdul Baset Mia,Sohela Akhter,Manzer H Siddiqui,Md Mizanur Rahman,Nilufar Akhtar Jahan

doi:10.3390/plants11010138

Abstract

Reliance on inorganic fertilizers with less or no use of organic fertilizers has impaired the productivity of soils worldwide. Therefore, the present study was conducted to quantify the effects of integrated nutrient management on rice yield, nutrient use efficiency, soil fertility, and carbon (C) sequestration in cultivated land. The experiment was designed with seven treatments comprising of a zero input control, recommended inorganic fertilizers (RD), poultry manure (PM) (5 t ha−1) + 50% RD, PM (2.5 t ha−1) + 75% RD, vermicompost (VC) (5 t ha−1) + 50% RD, VC (2.5 t ha−1) + 75% RD, and farmers’ practice (FP) with three replications that were laid out in a randomized complete block design. The highest grain yield (6.16–6.27 t ha−1) was attained when VC and PM were applied at the rate of 2.5 t ha−1 along with 75% RD. Uptake of nutrients and their subsequent use efficiencies appeared higher and satisfactory from the combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers. The addition of organic fertilizer significantly influenced the organic carbon, total carbon, total nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, soil pH, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, calcium, and magnesium contents in post-harvest soil, which indicated enhancement of soil fertility. The maximum value of the organic carbon stock (18.70 t ha−1), total carbon stock (20.81 t ha−1), and organic carbon sequestration (1.75 t ha−1) was observed in poultry manure at the rate of 5 t ha−1 with 50% RD. The soil bulk density decreased slightly more than that of the control, which indicated the improvement of the physical properties of soil using organic manures. Therefore, regular nourishment of soil with organic and inorganic fertilizers might help rejuvenate the soils and ensure agricultural sustainability.

Highlights

Agriculture is challenging because of climate change and soil health degradation
The highest straw yield (7.35 t/ha) was found when VC was applied at the rate of 2.5 t ha−1 with 75% recommended inorganic fertilizers (RD) and a statistically similar straw yield (7.24 t/ha) was found when poultry manure (PM) was applied at the rate of 2.5 t ha−1 with 75% RD
The nutrients that were released from the organic fertilizer favored higher nutrient availability and nutrient uptake which resulted in greater source accumulation and efficient translocation of photosynthates into sink, a higher grain yield was obtained

Summary

Introduction

Agriculture is challenging because of climate change and soil health degradation. Organic matter (OM) is a vital component to keep soil alive and productive, and for providing better ecosystem services [1,2]. The importance of soil OM is further revealed through the “4 per 1000 initiative” at the COP21 Paris climate summit in 2015. Even though crop production has increased many fold since the last 50-years, crop yields still need to be increased to meet the food requirements of an ever-burgeoning global population. Bangladesh faces the challenge of producing crops from its limited land resources to meet the huge demand from its population. The scope is limited to bring new land under cultivation. Every year, cultivated land is being reduced due to human settlement and rapid urbanization and industrialization

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