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Nutrient use efficiency is reported as a strong indicator of the buildup soil nutrient status for nutritional security of crops through an integrated nutrient management approach under a rice-wheat system. The data revealed that integrated application of manures and fertilizers reported maximum organic carbon (0.39%) in the treatment receiving 100% of the recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) + farmyard manure and lowering the pH to 6.39. The maximum available N (360.8 kg ha−1) was found in 100% RDF + press mud treatment; available P (66.30 kg ha−1) was found in 75% RDF + poultry manure; and available K, Zn, Cu, and Fe (226.3 kg ha−1 and 2.220, 0.732, and 36.87 mg kg−1, respectively) in 100% RDF + farmyard manure treatments. Similarly, total macro- and micronutrient content in soil increased with the addition of organic manures alone or in combination with chemical fertilizers. The highest agronomic efficiency and utilization efficiency of nitrogen (41.83 and 102.55 kg kg−1, respectively) and phosphorous (83.57 and 204.9 kg kg−1, respectively) were recorded in the treatment receiving 75% RDF + poultry manure. This study concluded that the integrated application of manures and chemical fertilizers is a must for improving soil nutrient status and nutrient use efficiency and ultimately enhances nutritional security under a rice-wheat system.

Integrated nutrient management (INM) is a widely recognized tool to ensure sustainable crop productivity while preserving soil fertility. The addition of organic manures in soil has been evidenced to improve soil characteristics, in addition to improving nutrient availability. The soil samples, with five treatment combinations of chemical fertilizers with farmyard manure (FYM), were collected from a 17-year-old field experiment conducted at PAU, Ludhiana to investigate the effect of INM on the buildup of organic carbon (OC), microbial community, soil nutrient status and improvement in soil physical properties under the maize–wheat cropping system. The INM technique enhanced the OC content (0.44 to 0.66%), available N (152.8 to 164.9 kg ha−1), P (22.8 to 31.4 kg ha−1) and K (140.6 to 168.0 kg ha−1) after 17 years. The DTPA-extractable and total micronutrients (Zn, Cu, Fe, and Mn) status also improved significantly with FYM supplementation. The organic source, coupled with inorganic fertilizers, improved the water holding capacity, total porosity, soil respiration, microbial biomass C, microbial biomass N, and potentially mineralizable N. However, pH, EC, and bulk density of soil decreased with the addition of FYM, coupled with chemical fertilizers.

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