HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Manna, M. C. Articles by Saha, M. N. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Manna, M. C. Articles by Saha, M. N. Agricola Articles by Manna, M. C. Articles by Saha, M. N. Related Collections Plant Nutrition Soil Fertility and Productivity

Soil & Water Management & Conservation

Soil Organic Matter in a West Bengal Inceptisol after 30 Years of Multiple Cropping and Fertilization

^a Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal-462 038, Madhya Pradesh, India
^b Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India
^c Central Research Institute-132001 for Jute and Allied Fibers, Barrackpore-743 101, West Bengal, India

^* Corresponding author (aswarup{at}cssri.ernet.in)

Rice-based multiple cropping systems are predominant in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of Indian subcontinent. A decline in yield of such systems has been observed and ascribed to quantitative and qualitative variations of soil organic matter (SOM). We evaluated the impact of the annual rotation: rice (Oryza sativa L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), jute (Corchorus olitorius L.), with and without fertilizer treatments (control, N, N–P, N–P–K, and N–P–K plus farmyard manure [FYM]) on SOM and aggregate properties. At 0- to 15-cm soil depth, microbial biomass C and N, hot water–soluble C and N and hydrolyzable carbohydrates, and particulate organic matter C (POMC) and N (POMN) were found in the order N–P–K plus FYM > N–P–K > N–P > N > control. Over the course of the experiment, application of N alone decreased total organic C (TOC) by 20.4%, whereas N–P–K with or without FYM addition either maintained or enhanced compared to initial. Total soil N and mineralizable N declined in all the treatments except N–P–K plus FYM. Irrespective of treatments, microaggregates (53–250 µm) dominated with 43.9 to 51.3% of total soil aggregate size distribution, followed by macroaggregates (250–2000 µm with 34.6 to 40.1%). The C and N mineralization rate was greater in macroaggregates than in microaggregates, and correlated significantly with POMC (r = 0.67, P 0.01) and POMN (r = 0.88, P 0.01). Nitrogen–phosphorus–potassium plus FYM also improved overall soil aggregation as compared to other treatments. Therefore, the results suggest that the gradual depletion of nutrients and structural degradation may have collectively contributed to the crop yield declines in the rice–wheat–jute rotation and that the integrated use of N–P–K and FYM is an important nutrient management option for sustaining this cropping system.

Abbreviations: FA, fulvic acid • FYM, farmyard manure • HA, humic acid • LFC, light fraction of C • LFN, light fraction of N • MBC, microbial biomass C • MBN, microbial biomass N • POM, particulate organic matter • POMC, particulate organic matter C • POMN, particulate organic matter N • SOM, soil organic matter • TN, total soil N • TOC, total organic C • WSC, water-soluble C • WSN, water-soluble N