Continuous addition of chemical fertilizers poses problems like toxicity due to high amounts of salts as residues of fertilizer and deterioration of the physico-chemical properties. Organic manure ameliorates this problem as organic matter helps in increasing adsorptive power of soil for cations and anions particularly phosphate and nitrate. The continuous use of chemical fertilizers over a long period may cause imbalance in the microbial population and there by indirectly affect the biological properties. The microbial biomass, which is the total sum of all microorganisms present in soil, serves as a temporary sink for nutrients including nitrogen and can be considered as an index of soil fertility. Soil harbours dynamic population of microorganisms, which play major role in decomposition of organic matter and transformation of plant nutrients. The availability of organically bounded nitrogen through transformation in soil to the plant mainly depends on the population of microorganisms, which may be influenced by the application of inorganic fertilizers and organic manure.
Organic farming is a knowledge intensive system and has been developed by practitioners themselves over the years. Organic farming is native to India. The farmers of ancient India are known to have evolved nature friendly farming systems and practices such as mixed farming, mixed cropping and crop rotation. The first “scientific” approach to organic farming can be quoted back to the Vedas of the “Later Vedic Period”, 1000 BC to 600 BC. There has been significant increase in the area under certified organic farming during the last 10 years. With less than 42,000 ha under certified organic farming during 2003-04, the area under organic farming grew by almost 25 fold, during the next 5 years, to 1.2 million ha during 2008-09. Organic farming is one such system which provides healthy and safe food without ecological harm. Hence, the Government started promoting organic farming through various schemes like National Project on Organic Farming (NPOF), National Horticulture Mission (NHM), Horticulture Mission for North East & Himalayan States (HMNEH), National Project on Management of Soil Health and Fertility (NPMSH&F) and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). The interest of several States in promoting organic farming indicates that organic agriculture is being viewed as a precursor to dynamic change for an otherwise stagnant agricultural sector. Despite the initiatives and rapid progress, apprehension about the economic viability and environmental and human health benefits of organic farming continue to bother agricultural researchers and policy makers.
An experiment was conducted for two consecutive years (2011-2012 and 2012-2013) on fine texture soils of Agricultural college farm, Bapatla. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design in wet season with four treatments and five replications. The treatments consisted of M1 (recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) - Control), M2 (10t farmyard yard manure (FYM) ha-1 + RDF), M3 (1.5t vermicompost ha-1 + RDF), M4 (Green manuring + RDF). Data collected on biometric observations (plant height, number of tillers, dry matter accumulation) and yield. The yield of crop was significantly increased with the application of 100%NPK in combination with FYM @10t ha-1. However, it was at par with green manuring along with the application of 100% RDF (NPK).Thus, green manure in situ with Dhaincha may be used as an alternative organic source of nutrients to the FYM.
A field experiment on sugarcane was conducted at Anbil Dharmalingam Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli with the view to identify sodic tolerant variety and suitable amendment for sodic soil. Four sugarcane varieties viz Co Si (Sc) 6, Co C (Sc) 86032, Co C (Sc) 23 and Co G (Sc) 5 and three amendments viz pressmud @ 12.5 t ha-1, gypsum @ 4.8 t ha-1 and bottom slag @ 15 t ha-1 were studied along with the unamended control in the experiment were studied. The experiment was conducted in a factorial randomized block design with three replications. The observations on cane yield, sugar yield and juice quality parameters were recorded. The results revealed that sugarcane varieties Co G (Sc) 5 and Co C (Sc) 23 gave better cane yield as compared to the Co Si (Sc) 6 and Co C (Sc) 86032 under sodic soil. The sugarcane varieties namely Co G (Sc) 5 and Co C (Sc) 23 were found to be superior in respect of both yield and sucrose content, hence these might be considered suitable for growing under sodic soil.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.