Effects of the Rapid Construction of a High-Quality Plough Layer Based on Woody Peat in a Newly Reclaimed Cultivated Land Area

To implement the balance system of cultivated land in occupation and supplement and to adhere to the principle of “supplement the occupied cultivated land of high quality with the one bearing same quality”, in the thesis, a field experiment was conducted to study the effects of woody peat on soil physical, chemical, and biological properties of the plough layer and its crop yield. Furthermore, the correlation between soil indexes and crop yield under the best fertilization mode through the addition of the natural material of woody peat instead of lengthy cultivation of the plough layer to rapidly construct a high-quality plough layer and solve the practical problem that the natural endowment of newly reclaimed cultivated land is far less than the occupied high-quality cultivated land was explored. The land remediation project of Fuping County, Hebei Province, was taken as the experimental area, and the five most representative and effective datasets were selected and studied. The results demonstrated that the addition of woody peat and rotten straw could reduce soil particle size and bulk density and alleviate soil viscosity and acidification. An increase in soil organic matter, soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC), alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium and a decrease in the heavy metal content were also observed. The results indicated that the application of woody peat achieved the expected effect of the rapid construction of a high-quality plough layer. The best mode of fertilization was A2, which provided a good reference for the rapid construction of a high-quality plough layer in the future. The analysis of the correlation between soil indexes and crop yield illustrated that the organic matter content, soil available nutrients, and crop yield had a significant positive correlation; the organic matter content and soil available nutrients showed the same tendency, which suggests that soil organic matter content and soil fertility level are closely related and that soil fertility plays a decisive role in crop yield under the same external conditions. Woody peat exerted an eminent influence on the organic matter content and soil available nutrients to determine the change in crop yield, which provides a reliable basis for future research on land improvement projects to increase crop yield.

Variability in Soil Macronutrient Stocks across a Chronosequence of Masson Pine Plantations

Plantations play a vital role in the global nutrient cycle because they have large stocks of soil macronutrients. However, the impacts of plantations on soil macronutrient stocks combined with stand age and soil physicochemical properties have not been well quantified. We compared soil macronutrient stocks at soil depths of 0−20 and 20−40 cm across a 7-, 14-, 25-, and 30-year chronosequence of Masson pine (Pinus massoniana Lamb.) plantations. The results showed that the nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) stocks first increased and then decreased with stand age. The highest N and P stocks were observed in the 14-year-old plantation, and the 25-year-old plantation displayed the highest K stock. The C, N, and P stocks declined with increasing soil depth across all sites, whereas the reverse trend was found in the K stock. Carbon stocks were highest for all plantations, followed by the K, N, and P stocks. Plantation soils exhibited a higher C:P ratio and a lower P:K ratio at various soil depths. The dominant controlling factors for the soil macronutrient stocks varied significantly at different stand ages and soil depths according to statistical analysis. For the total soil system, the C stock was affected by the available nutrients, organic matter, and stoichiometry; the available nutrients and organic matter were the determinant factors of the N and P stocks. Aggregate stability could be the primary parameter affecting the K stock. Organic matter explained most of the variation in soil macronutrient stocks, followed by the P:K ratio and available K. Collectively, our results suggest that the response of soil macronutrient stocks to stand age and soil depth will be dependent on different soil physicochemical properties, and P and K may be important limiting factors in Masson pine plantation ecosystems.

Potential of Paitan (Tithonia diversifolia) and Cow Manure For Available Nutrients Supply On Sandy Beach Soil

The primary macronutrients are required in large amounts for optimum plant growth. Sandy beach soil that is widely distributed, has a granular structure and is poor in primary macronutrients. Cow manure can improve the struktur of soil and Paitan (Tithonia diversifolia) can increase the availability of primary macro nutrients. This study aims to determine the effect of cow manure and Paitan (Tithonia diversifolia) on the nutrient availability of sand beach soil. The study used a completely randomized design (CRD) with 2 factors, the first factor was the dose of cow manure consisting of 3 levels 0; 2.5 and 5% of the weight of the soil. The second factor is the dose of Paitan (Thitonia diversifolia) which consists of 4 levels of 0; 2.5; 5 and 7.5%. of soil weight To determine the effect of treatment, variance analysis (ANOVA) was used and followed by a follow-up test using Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at a test level of 5%. The results showed that the application of cow manure and Paitan (Thitonia diversifolia) had a significant effect on increasing N available , P available and K available nutrients. The application of 5% cow manure and Paitan (Thitonia diversifolia) 5% has the potential to increase N available , P available and K available. sand beach soil is the highest

Profile distribution of available nutrients in a Vertisol and Inceptisol as influenced by irrigated and rainfed cotton crops

Current study was conducted in cotton growing belt of South Gujarat (Gujarat) i.e. in 11 talukas namely, Bharuch, Surat, Jhagadia, Jambusar, Amod, Vagra, Narmada, Tilakwada, Dediapada, Sagbara and Hansot. To fullfil the objectives of present research GPS based 22 nos. of pedons representative (11 irrigated and 11 rainfed situation) were dug out, studied and depth-wise samples (0-15, 15-30, 30-60, 60-90 and 90-120 cm) of above 11 talukas were collected. During course of study it was observed that available N, P2O5, K2O, S and DTPA-Fe and Zn in irrigated pedons, varied respectively from 111.4 to 303.2 kg ha-1 (low to medium), 17.1 to 63.3 kg ha-1 (low to high), 221.4 to 1164.8 kg ha-1 (medium to very high), 6.5 to 20.1 ppm (low to marginally high), 2.47 to 10.42 mg kg-1 (low to high) and 0.06 to 0.51 mg kg-1 (low to medium), while the corresponding values of rainfed pedons were 94.7 to 299.8 kg ha-1 (low), 10.8 to 57.1 kg ha-1 (low to marginally high), 160.7 to 1180.7 kg ha-1 (medium to very high), 6.2 to 18.7 ppm (low to medium), 1.63 to 10.27 mg kg-1 (low to high), and 0.08 to 0.48 mg kg-1 (low), respectively. Means of above available nutrients were found slightly higher under irrigated situations in comparison compared to those of rainfed situation.

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

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.

Study on Integrated Effect of Inorganic Fertilizers and Organic Manure on Available Nutrients, Yield and Nutrient Uptake in Scented Rice

Field experiments were conducted at the Instructional-cum-Research (ICR) Farm, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat during the year 2017 and 2018 to study the integrated effect of inorganic fertilizers and organic manure on available nutrients, yield and nutrient uptake in scented rice. Before the test crop experiment, fertility gradient experiment was conducted by using kharif rice (cv. Ranjit) as an exhaust crop to create three fertility gradient strips. After harvesting the gradient crop, test crop experiment was conducted in the same field with scented rice (cv. Keteki joha) by superimposing 24 combination treatments consisting of five levels of N (0, 10, 20, 40 and 60 kg ha-1), four levels of P2O5 (0, 5, 10 and 20 kg ha-1), three levels of K2O (0, 10 and 20 kg ha-1) and three levels of vermicompost (0, 2 and 3 t ha-1) in each of these fertility gradient strips. Results show that application of integrated nutrient management approach brought about a positive influence on organic carbon, nutrient availability, crop yield and nutrients uptake by scented rice. Combined application of 60 kg N, 10 kg P2O5 and 10 kg K2O per hectare along with 3 tons of vermicompost per hectare resulted in the highest concentration of available NPK in soils, the highest crop yield and uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium by rice.

Summer Mixed Seeding For Green Fodder As A Preceder For Winter And Spring Grain Crops

Mixed summer crops are used to obtain green forage in the late autumn period and are very effective precursors for winter and spring crops. The use of summer crops as a precursor for winter and spring crops saturated with legumes, which, thanks to a well-developed, deeply penetrating root system, raise available nutrients into the arable horizon, structure the soil and leave biological nitrogen for forage after harvesting, using nitrifying bacteria in the rhizosphere.