Organic Matter Management in Cereals Based System: Symbiosis for Improving Crop Productivity and Soil Health

Abstract

The world population is increasing to the 7 billion marks and until the mid-2030s, the planet can expect to shoulder annual additions of 50–70 million more peoples leading to an issue of poverty, food security and access to fertile and healthy soils. Crop productivity, soil fertility and health are continuously declining due to removal of essential plant nutrients from the soils under cereals-based system in the current changing climate scenario. Cereals (wheat, maize, rice etc.) crops provide humankind with more nourishment than any other food class and nearly half of the total caloric requirement globally. As cereals are exhaustive (decline soil fertility) crops and therefore their continuous growth without balanced nutrients management decline crop productivity, soil fertility and soil health. Sustainable soil management (SSM) practices not only increase crop productivity but also improve soil fertility, health and sustainability. Widespread adoption of SSM practices generates multiple socio-economic benefits for both smallholder farmers and large-scale agricultural producers. We concluded from the review that integrated nutrients management (INM) improve soil health for sustained crop productivity in cereal based system. The concept of INM is the combined application of chemical fertilizers [nitrogenous fertilizers (urea, ammonium sulphate etc.), phosphatic fertilizers (Di-ammonium phosphate, single super phosphate etc.), and potash fertilizers (sulphate of potash, muriate of potash etc.) zinc etc.) plus incorporation of different organic matter sources [(1) animal-based sources (poultry manure, cattle manure, sheep manure, goat manure etc.) and (2) plant-based sources e.g. vegetables residues (onion, garlic etc.), cereals residues (wheat, maize, rice etc.), legumes/pulses residues (chickpea, faba bean, mungbean, cowpea etc.) and tree residues (peach, pepper mulberry etc.)] into the soil along with application of biofertilizers (beneficial microbes) improve soil fertility and health, crop growth and yield, growers income and sustainability. We concluded that INM practices which are one of the best SSM practices are recommended in exhaustive cereal-based system to decrease soil degradation due to nutrients losses and increase soil and crop productivity.