Soil test based optimal fertilizer doses for attaining different yield targets of jute in alluvial soils of West Bengal

Abstract

Soil-test-crop-response experiment on jute (JRO 204) was conducted on alluvial soils of West Bengal to assess the fertility status, nutrient requirement, and formulation of prescription equation (with and without integrated plant nutrient supply) for jute on soil test and targeted yield basis. By using yields, initial soil-test values, uptake of nutrients and fertilizer doses applied, the basic data viz., nutrient requirement (NR), and contribution of nutrients from soil (Cs), fertilizers (Cf) and farmyard manure (Cfym) were computed and used to develop fertilizer prescription equation for jute with and without IPNS.A farmer can save nitrogen, phosphorus and potassic fertilizer in amounts of 4.30, 9.04 and 8.59 per cent more as compared to without IPNS in jute. The fertilizer doses were validated for attaining yield targets of 35 and 40 q ha - 1 in farmer’s field. Application of fertilizers as per ST-TY without and with FYM achieved the target of 40 q ha - 1 fibre production of jute with (-) 3.43% and ( + ) 4.00% yield deviation, respectively. Jute yield within ±10% deviation was attained, which indicated that soil test based fertilizer dose was superior. This approach could be adopted for regions with similar soil and agro-climatic conditions to increase jute yield.