Nutrient Dynamics in Direct-Seeded Rice: Balancing Crop Productivity and Economic Viability Via Integrated Nutrient Management

Abstract

Direct-seeded rice (DSR) is gaining importance due to its lower water requirement and reduced labour demand compared with transplanted rice. However, maintaining soil fertility and crop productivity under DSR systems remains a major challenge. A field experiment was conducted during the 2024 kharif season at the College of Agriculture (Kaul), CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar to evaluate the effect of integrated nutrient management through green manuring on nutrient dynamics, productivity, and economic returns of direct-seeded rice. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with three replications consisting of nine different nutrient management treatments involving recommended dose of nitrogen (RDN) in combination with green manure crops. The treatments included T1 (control), T2 (Dhaincha), T3 (Mungbean), T4 (50% RDN + Dhaincha), T5 (50% RDN+ Mungbean), T6 (75% RDN), T7 (75% RDN + Dhaincha), T8 (75% RDN + Mungbean) and T9 (100% RDN). The results revealed that integration of green manuring with chemical fertilizers significantly influenced nutrient content, uptake, and yield of direct-seeded rice. Although the highest plant height (101.1 cm), effective tillers (236.1 m⁻²), grain yield (31.35 q ha⁻¹), and straw yield (46.15 q ha⁻¹) were recorded in T9, these values were statistically comparable to those in T7. The beneficial effect may be attributed to biological nitrogen fixation and improved nutrient availability in soil due to green manuring. Economic analysis showed that the T9 treatment also resulted in higher gross returns (₹1,50,045 ha⁻¹) and net returns (₹59,268 ha⁻¹). The findings suggest that partial substitution of chemical nitrogen through green manuring can sustain crop productivity while reducing fertilizer requirement, thereby promoting sustainable nutrient management in direct-seeded rice systems.