Farmyard Manure as K-Fertilizer Modulates Soil Biological Activities and Yield of Wheat Using the Integrated Fertilization Approach

Abstract

Potassium fertilization is often ignored by assuming alluvial soils have sufficient K reserves in the North West Plain Zone of India under cereal-based cropping systems. There is scanty information on the impact of integrated K fertilization on soil enzymes, nutrients availability, microbial population, and wheat yield cultivated in the corn–wheat cropping system. The current study exhibits that treatment (T7) applied with a dose of 90 kg K ha−1 [30 kg K by farmyard manure (FYM) and 60 kg K by muriate of potash (MOP)] significantly enhances the various microbial populations from 48.00 to 123.10% and 39.00 to 124.00%, soil enzymatic activities from 70.31 to 180.00% and 102.42 to 175.68%, and available nutrients from 2.43 to 8.44% and 14.79 to 22.87% for the first and second years of wheat cultivation, respectively. It also improved various yield parameters (12.39–41.71% and 18.24–41.14%) during both the consecutive years of cultivation. Statistical analyses revealed that the treatments (T4, T5, and T7) applied with integrated fertilization of wheat cultivation through FYM and MOP were more promising for improving soil enzymatic activities (11.59–57.22%), microbial populations (5.14–15.70%), available nutrients in soil (7.60–16.54%), and crop yield (1.06–5.85%) during the second year of cultivation as compared to the first year of cultivation. This study might be helpful to reclaim soil health and reduce chemical fertilizers used in agricultural lands.

Microbes-mediated integrated nutrient management for improved rhizo-modulation, pigeonpea productivity, and soil bio-fertility in a semi-arid agro-ecology

“…FYM, being rich in organic carbon, provides favorable growth conditions for plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), which shows a symbiotic relationship with plant roots and enables them to uptake more nutrients and water that ultimately helps in the optimum development of the root rhizosphere ( Paramesh et al, 2020 ; Kumar A. et al, 2021 ). FYM, along with microbial inoculants, increases organic carbon, available nutrients, soil biological properties viz ., dehydrogenase activity and improved microbial population ( Kumar A. et al, 2021 ; Kumar S. et al, 2021 ), which becomes the reason for the enhanced root nodulation and root growth attributes ( Singh et al, 2020b , 2021 ). Inoculated organic treatments increase the porosity of soil, which results in an improvement in root growth and raises soil biological/microbial activities, which enhance oxygen/air availability in the region of plant roots ( Dar et al, 2017 ).…”

“…Improvement in aggregates stability under LC + MI application was found to be inefficient. Significant improvement in WSA, MWD, and GMD under MI-mediated organic combinations, especially FYM + MI, might be due to a favorable impact on soil aeration as a result of proper rhizosphere development ( Kumar S. et al, 2021 ) and optimum microbial activity ( Singh et al, 2017 ; Kumar et al, 2018b ; Kumar A. et al, 2021 ). The enhanced level of organic matter under organic treatments also played an important role in raising soil physical health ( Nandapure et al, 2011 ), as is evident from the correlation matrix ( Table 7 ) and the heat map analysis ( Figure 2 ), which indicates a strong relationship between soil properties.…”

“…The improvement in the level of available NPK under VC + MI application might be due to enhanced nutrient release as a result of microbes-mediated accelerated decomposition and mineralization of inoculated manure ( Kuotsu et al, 2014 ; Gupta et al, 2020 ). Application of inoculated manure proved to encourage and sustain soil health by raising the SOC, available NPK status, and uptake of nutrients by plants by reducing the BD of soil ( Tiwari et al, 2011 ; Kumar et al, 2015 , 2018a ; Kumar S. et al, 2021 ). SOC, SOC Stock, and the SOC sequestration rate were found to be influenced in a non-significant way, following the mechanism of soil buffering capacity, which shows that a soil resists the changes in its properties up to a certain period, owing to the buffering ability ( Yigini and Panagos, 2016 ).…”

“…Imbalanced fertilizer use and mismanagement of crop residue via burning and removal from the field are still in practice under cereal-cereal cropping systems ( Kannan et al, 2013 ; Kumar et al, 2018a ; Kumar S. et al, 2021 ), which cause soil and environmental pollution, nutrient mining, multi-nutrient deficiency, losses in soil bio-fertility, the reduction in partial factor productivity, loss of agri-biodiversity, and, ultimately, poor soil health and sub-optimal crop production ( Bastida et al, 2006 ; Mahetele and Kushwaha, 2011 ). Considering these negative implications on agro-ecology, the need for reduced and balanced fertilizer applications, along with crop diversification, is felt more essential than ever before ( Thapa et al, 2017 ; Kumar et al, 2018a ).…”

Effect of PROM and Microbial Inoculants on Growth, Yield and Nutrient Uptake of Mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek]

“…As discussed in preceding paragraphs that nutritional environment in the root zone as well as in plant system improved due to application of PROM and different microbial inoculants, which leads to greater uptake and tran slocation of nutrients especially of N and P in reproductive structures which led to higher concentration and uptake. The increased availability of nitrogen and Phosphorus in the root zone coupled with improved metabolic activity at cellular level might have increased the nutrient uptake and their accumulation in the vegetative plant parts (Dutta et al, 2021 andKumar et al, 2021). Increased accumulation of nutrients in vegetative parts of the plant with improved metabolism led to greater translocation of these nutrients to reproductive organs of crop and ultimately the nutrient contents of seed and straw of crop plant enhanced at harvest.…”