Aim: To study the combined effect of tillage and manure addition on bulk soil and aggregate associated carbon and nitrogen in Vertisol. Methodology: The study was conducted in a long-term tillage experiment having two tillage treatments (reduced tillage and no-tillage) together with100% NPK fertilizer without (T1) and with addition of farm yard manure (T2) @ 2.0 ton C ha-1 to soybean in a soybean-wheat cropping system in a Vertisol of Central India, with three replicates in a split plot design. The parameters studied were aggregate size distribution, mean weight diameter, water stable aggregates, bulk soil and aggregate associated organic carbon, available nitrogen and rate of carbon mineralization. Results: The results indicated significantly higher SOC in reduced tillage (0.87%) than no-tillage (0.71%) under100% NPK fertilization in the bulk soil for 0-15 cm depth. However, 100% NPK + FYM showed a significant increase in the bulk soil organic carbon in the no-tillage treatment only. Available nitrogen content in the bulk soil and aggregate fractions were significantly lower under no-tillage than the corresponding reduced tillage treatments. Manure addition led to significantly higher available N content and proportion of WSA in both the tillage practices. The carbon mineralization was significantly higher by 1.4 to 1.6 times under reduced tillage than no-tillage. Interpretation: Long-term tillage study in Vertisol of Central India indicated reduced tillage to be a better option than no-tillage in maintaining organic carbon and nitrogen availability in soil.
Conservation Agriculture (CA) is capable of improving soil health and ecosystem functions. Soil carbon sequestration is one of the ecosystem processes that is of importance in sustainable land management involving reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation to climate change. In this study, we wanted to determine, during the first year of the process of establishing a CA cropping system in rain-fed areas in Madhya Pradesh state of India, which soil health indicators show measurable signs of improvement. Four field trials were selected, each comprising two neighboring plots. One plot (15×15 m) was managed conventionally under farmer practice and was tilled before sowing seeds, and in the adjacent plot Conservation Agriculture practices were applied. No mineral fertilizers or pesticides were applied in both treatments. Soil health indicators of soil aggregate stability, soil-atmosphere CO2 fluxes, water infiltration, soil moisture, potentially mineralizable nitrogen, soil organic content and bulk density were measured. Results demonstrate that soil CO2 emissions in CA soils decreased and soil aggregates stability improved in the first year. Generally, in CA soils, there were measurable improvements in all soil health indicators but only some of them were statistically significant.
The reported study was undertaken to determine which soil health indicators showed measurable signs of improvement, during the first year of the process of introducing a Conservation Agriculture (CA) cropping system in rainfed areas in Madhya Pradesh, India. Soil health indicators of soil aggregate stability, soil-atmosphere CO 2 fluxes, water infiltration, soil moisture, potentially mineralisable nitrogen, soil organic content and bulk density were measured. Results demonstrate that generally, there were improvements in all measured soil health indicators in CA soils, with decrease in CO 2 emissions and increase in soil aggregates being statistically significant.
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