An Overview of Green Manuring Crops for Their Potential Impacts in Arable Crops Production

Abstract

The green manuring (GM) crops are highlighted for their role in impacting nutrition to different arable crops (rice, wheat, maize, sugarcane, cotton, etc.). With increase in nutrient requirement in arable crop production, it will be essential to found more and more valid alternative sources of crop nutrition beside regular inorganic fertilizers and organic manure. The GM crops are group of crops being investigated to a great extent for their impact on growth and yield of cereals and pulses; while their investigation on other different properties yet to be investigated with increase in interest in organic and natural farming. The major GM crops are Sesbania, Dhaincha, sunhemp, cowpea, green gram and cluster bean being used as in-situ green manuring; while gliricidia, neem, Pogamia, Gulmohar and Peltophorum being used as green leaf manuring in India. The article review GM crops for their potential and prospects to be a part of organic and natural farming, as a seed crop and their impact on soil biological properties. The GM crops will fit well in present concept of natural farming due its multiple role such as providing mulch materials, acting as fodder, suitable restorative crop for crop diversification/ rotation and it significant impact on soil biodiversity. As a seed crop, this cultivation of GM crops are profitable with possibility to increase net returns with increase in demand of quality seed due to increase in area under organic and natural farming. The biological properties of soil were reported to be significantly and positively affected by GM crops with improvement in soil organic carbon, soil available nitrogen and more root-rhizosphere microbes’ interactions. Considering these three things, it will be worthy to investigate GM crops in different perspective along with its effect on crop growth and development.