Soil Organic Matter Pools Under Integrated Nutrient Management

To study Soil organic matter pools under integrated nutrient management in continuous Maize-Wheat Cropping System, soil samples were drawn at a depth of 0-15 cm from long term fertilizer experiment trial of AICRP, at Instructional Farm of Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Udaipur after nine years rotation of maize-wheat crop.. The experiment consisted of 12 treatment combinations viz., T1-100% NPK; T2-100% NPK + Zn; T3-100% NPK + Zn + S; T4-100% NPK + S; T5-100% NPK + seed treatment with Azotobacter; T6-FYM @ 10 t ha-1 + (100% NPK – NPK content of FYM); T7-100% NPK + FYM @ 10 t ha-1; T8-FYM @ 20 t ha-1; T9-150% NPK; T10-100% NP; T11-100% N; T12-control (no manure and no fertilizer) with four replications in a randomized block design. A significant improvement in the physical properties bulk density, hydraulic conductivity and in chemical properties cation exchange capacity and organic carbon content of the soil by the incorporation of FYM alone or in combination with chemical fertilizers.The soil organic matter pools were noticeably higher in plots dressed with organic and inorganic (100% NPK + FYM) compared to the plots receiving only inorganic fertilizers (100% NPK).