Long Term Effects of Integrated Plant Nutrition System on Rice Yield, Nitrogen Dynamics and Biochemical Properties in Soil of Rice-rice Cropping System

Abstract

Long term fertilization from manure and fertilizer influences crop yield as well as soil nutrient cycling. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted from 2010 to 2014 in order to observe the long term effects of integrated application of manure and fertilizers on rice yield, soil nitrogen dynamics and soil biochemical properties. The field experiment was carried out in a rice-fallow-rice cropping pattern under wetland condition with four fertilizer management practices: NPKS fertilizer as soil test based (STB), Cow dung (CD) @ 3 t ha-1 + NPKS as integrated plant nutrition system (IPNS) [CD+IPNS], Poultry manure (PM) @ 2 t ha-1 + NPKS as IPNS [PM+IPNS] and N control. The rice grain yield, soil N dynamics and the biochemical properties assessed in our study significantly varied with the organic sources used in IPNS system. The annual grain yield of double cropped rice with PM+IPNS was similar to the STB treatment over the five cropping years while CD+IPNS responded from the third year. After five years of rice cropping PM+IPNS showed better impact on soil nitrogen dynamics and biochemical properties compared to STB fertilizer management. Considering the soil health, our study suggests that PM+IPNS could be a good practice for sustainable rice production in long run reducing the use of chemical fertilizer.

Integrated Plant Nutrient Systems Improve Rice Yields without Affecting Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Lowland Rice Cultivation

“…This issue is more critical in the current context of increasing fertilizer prices in the global market due to COVID−19 and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Therefore, fertilizers should be applied judiciously, particularly by maintaining a proper combination of organic and inorganic inputs, so that both soil fertility and crop productivity can be improved with minimal effects on atmospheric pollution [5,[12][13][14][15]. Application of organic inputs, including crop residues, manures, and compost, improves soil fertility and crop productivity by increasing carbon sequestration and mineralization of nutrients in the soil [13][14][15][16][17].…”

“…Therefore, fertilizers should be applied judiciously, particularly by maintaining a proper combination of organic and inorganic inputs, so that both soil fertility and crop productivity can be improved with minimal effects on atmospheric pollution [5,[12][13][14][15]. Application of organic inputs, including crop residues, manures, and compost, improves soil fertility and crop productivity by increasing carbon sequestration and mineralization of nutrients in the soil [13][14][15][16][17]. Organic inputs improve the soil's physical, chemical, and biological properties, resulting in an increased nutrient supply to plants [12,18].…”

“…Organic inputs improve the soil's physical, chemical, and biological properties, resulting in an increased nutrient supply to plants [12,18]. Locally available organic inputs, such as poultry litter, supply carbon (C) and N in soils consistently throughout the crop-growing period, which helps to increase crop productivity and sustainably maintain soil health [13][14][15]. Use of organic residues may also decrease nutrient loss by leaching [19], but a larger application rate is required, due to their lower nutrient density compared to chemical fertilizers, to match the crops nutrient requirements, and this may reduce the rice yield [13,14].…”

“…Locally available organic inputs, such as poultry litter, supply carbon (C) and N in soils consistently throughout the crop-growing period, which helps to increase crop productivity and sustainably maintain soil health [13][14][15]. Use of organic residues may also decrease nutrient loss by leaching [19], but a larger application rate is required, due to their lower nutrient density compared to chemical fertilizers, to match the crops nutrient requirements, and this may reduce the rice yield [13,14]. Therefore, an appropriate ratio of inorganic fertilizers and organic inputs could be more effective in meeting the plant's nutrient demand and improving rice yield and soil fertility [12,15].…”

“…Therefore, an appropriate ratio of inorganic fertilizers and organic inputs could be more effective in meeting the plant's nutrient demand and improving rice yield and soil fertility [12,15]. It has been reported that continuous use of organic inputs can alter the GHG emissions from soil [4,11,17,[20][21][22][23], though it has been revealed that integrated use of poultry litter and prilled urea (PU) as an IPNS could improve soil fertility and crop yields [13,24] without increasing GHG emissions [5,13,14]. Similarly, the incorporation of organic inputs, such as biochar, could maintain soil fertility without increasing GHG emissions [21,22].…”