Correlation of Physical Properties with Yield & Uptake of N, P and K by the Effect of Inorganic Fertilizers and Organic Manures under Wheat-Maize Cropping Sequence Grown on Normal and Saline-Sodic Inceptisol

Abstract

The present study was conducted at PGI Research farm, Department of Soil Science and Agriculture Chemistry, Post Graduate Institute, MPKV., Rahuri during Rabi-2021 and Summer-2022. The experiment consists of eight treatments in the wheat crop viz., T1: RDN (50% N) + 50% N through FYM, T2: RDN (50% N) + 50% N through vermicompost, T3: RDN (50% N) + 50% N through poultry manure, T4: (50% N) + 50% N through press mud compost, T5: (50% N) + 50% N through goat manure, T6: (50% N) + 50% N through urban compost T7: GRDF (120:60:40 N:P2O5:K2O kg ha-1) + 10 t FYM ha-1 and T8: absolute control. In the maize crop, treatments T1 to T6 received 50% of the recommended dose of nitrogen (RDN) through inorganic fertilizer, with residual nitrogen applied to wheat through farmyard manure (FYM), vermicompost, poultry manure, press mud compost, goat manure, and urban compost, respectively and T7: GRDF (120:60:40 N: P2O5:K2O kg ha-1) + 5 t FYM ha-1 and T8: Absolute control were also included. These treatments replicated thrice in Randomized Block Design. The soil samples were examined for the physical properties viz. soil temperature, soil moisture content, hydraulic conductivity, aggregate stability, soil moisture tension and soil available water content for both normal and saline-sodic Inceptisol. Along with this, the chemical properties and biological properties were examined for initial samples only and wheat and maize plant growth parameters, yield and uptake of N, P and K from both normal and saline-sodic Inceptisol were measured. The results showed soil temperature and soil moisture tension exhibit a negative correlation, whereas soil moisture content, aggregate stability, hydraulic conductivity and soil available water content demonstrate a positive correlation with grain yield, straw yield and uptake of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) at the 5% and 1% levels of significance in both wheat and maize under normal and saline-sodic Inceptisol.