Long-term use of balanced fertilization decreases nitrogen losses in a maize-wheat system on Inceptisol of north India

Abstract

ABSTRACT Soil nitrogen (N) distribution and crop utilization are closely related to fertilizer management and crop productivity. The present study, based on 47-year fertilizer focused on a cropping system (maize-wheat) based budgeting of N which is necessary to identify its sources and losses to improve fertilizer use efficiency, crop productivity, and environmental sustainability. Long-term application of fertilizer has a positive effect on soil TN (total nitrogen) and TOC (total organic carbon), which increased by 36–107% and 24–103%, respectively compared to control. Integrated application of fertilizer and farmyard manure registered 266% higher grain yield of maize-wheat over the control but the addition of 50% higher NPK than recommended NPK showed no yield advantage and reduced recovery of fertilizer N by 23% (maize) and 22% (wheat) relative to NPK. Accounting all the N inputs and outputs, NPK application (least N loss) has 49–85 kg ha−1 lower N loss compared to NP and N application, respectively. It has concluded that the long-term use of recommended and balanced fertilizer alone or in combination with FYM has the potential to improve N and C status of soil and its recovery by decreasing its loss, which increases the productivity of the maize-wheat system.