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Long-term soil management effects on crop yields and soil quality in a dryland Alfisol

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Title Long-term soil management effects on crop yields and soil quality in a dryland Alfisol
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Creator K.L. Sharmaa,*, Uttam Kumar Mandala, K. Srinivasa, K.P.R. Vittala, Biswapati Mandalb, J. Kusuma Gracea, V. Ramesha
 
Subject Soil quality assessment; Soil quality indicators; Alfisol; Tillage; Crop residue; India
 
Description Not Available
Along-termexperimentwasconductedwith theobjectiveofselectingtheappropriatelandmanagementtreatmentsandto identify
the key indicators of soil quality for dryland semi-arid tropical Alfisols. The experiment was conducted using a strip split–split plot
design on an Alfisol (Typic Haplustalf) in southern India under sorghum(Sorghumvulgare (L))-castor (Ricinus communis (L)) bean
rotation. The strip constituted two tillage treatments: conventional tillage (CT) and minimum tillage (MT); main plots were three
residuestreatments:sorghumstover (SS), gliricidialoppings(GL),‘no’residue(NR)andsubplotswerefour nitrogenlevels:0(N0),30
(N30), 60 (N60), and 90 kg ha 1 (N90). Soil samples were collected after the sixth and seventh year of experimentation and were
analyzed for physical, chemical and biological parameters. Sustainable yield index (SYI) based on long-term yield data and soil
quality index (SQI) using principal component analysis (PCA) and linear scoring functionswere calculated.Application of gliricidia
loppings proved superior to sorghumstover and no residue treatments inmaintaining higher SQI values. Further, increasingNlevels
also helped inmaintaining higher SQI.Among the 24 treatments, the SQI ranged from0.90 to 1.27. The highest SQIwas obtained in
CTGLN90 (1.27) followed by CTGLN60 (1.19) and MTSSN90 (1.18), while the lowest was under MTNRN30 (0.90) followed by
MTNRN0 (0.94), indicating relatively less aggradative effects.Theapplication of90 kg N ha 1 underminimumtillage evenwithout
applying any residue (MTNRN90) proved quite effective in maintaining soil quality index as high as 1.10. The key indicators, which
contributedconsiderablytowardsSQI,wereavailableN,K,S,microbialbiomass carbon(MBC)andhydraulicconductivity(HC).On
average, theorderofrelativecontributionoftheseindicatorstowardsSQIwas:availableN(32%),MBC(31%),availableK(17%),HC
(16%), and S (4%). Among the various treatments, CTGLN90 not only had the highest SQI, but also the most promising from the
viewpoint of sustainability, maintaining higher average yield levels under sorghum–castor rotation. Fromthe viewpoint of SYI,CT
approach remained superior toMT.Tomaintain the yield as well as soil quality in Alfisols, primary tillage alongwith organic residue
and nitrogen application are needed.
Not Available
 
Date 2018-09-15T05:08:39Z
2018-09-15T05:08:39Z
2004-08-04
 
Type Research Paper
 
Identifier Not Available
Not Available
http://krishi.icar.gov.in/jspui/handle/123456789/6822
 
Language English
 
Relation Not Available;
 
Publisher ELSEVIER