Agronomic Performance of Organic Nutrient Sources on Soil Productivity after Wheat Harvest under Organic Production System

Abstract

Wheat productivity is affected by soil degradation due to excessive chemical fertilizers. Organic amendments improve soil health, nutrient availability, and microbial activity, supporting sustainable and long-term crop production. The field experiment was conducted during Rabi season 2015-16 and 2016-17 at Crop Research Farm, SHUATS Model of Organic Farm (SMOF), Department of Agronomy, Naini Agricultural Institute, SHUATS, Prayagraj (U.P.). The treatments included System of Wheat Intensification (SWI) technique, Kera method and Furrow Irrigated Raised Bed (FIRB). The results revealed that soil pH and electrical conductivity remained within the normal range and were not significantly affected by the planting methods. However, SWI recorded comparatively lower EC and pH values closer to neutrality. Organic carbon content improved from the initial values (0.40 to 0.46%) and increased by about 9.30% under SWI and Kera method in pooled analysis. Similarly, improvement in soil nutrient status was observed after harvest. Under SWI, available nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium increased by 8.03%, 16.16%, and 5.43%, respectively in pooled analysis. Micronutrients also showed improvement, where sulfur, zinc, iron, manganese, copper, and boron increased by 2.52%, 4.60%, 3.21%, 3.57%, 10.87% and 4.84%, respectively in pooled analysis. Application of different organic nutrient sources also influenced the soil chemical properties and nutrient availability after harvest of wheat. The treatments consisted of poultry manure (2.6 t/ ha), farmyard manure (16 t/ ha) and Bokashi manure (3.2 t/ ha). Soil pH and electrical conductivity remained within safe limits with all organic nutrient sources. Among the treatments, farmyard manure (16 t/ ha) recorded comparatively lower EC and pH values closer to neutral and significantly improved soil organic carbon, which increased by 9.30% in pooled over the initial soil organic carbon status. The availability of major nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium also increased with the application of farmyard manure by 9.31%, 18.69% and 5.68%, respectively in pooled, compared with the initial soil status. Similarly, micronutrient availability improved, where sulfur, zinc, iron, manganese, copper and boron increased by 2.79%, 4.60%, 3.33%, 4.02%, 10.87%, and 4.84%, respectively in pooled.