Productivity enhancement of soybean as influenced by integerated nutrient and other agronomic interventions in sub - humid Punjab, India

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1 Legume Research, 39 (5) 2016 : Print ISSN: / Online ISSN: AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION CENTRE Productivity enhancement of soybean as influenced by integerated nutrient and other agronomic interventions in sub - humid Punjab, India R. Sikka*, D. Singh, J.S. Deol and J. Kaur College of Agriculture, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana , India. Received: Accepted: DOI: /lr.v0iOF.9433 ABSTRACT A field experiment was conducted for three years under irrigated conditions for productivity enhancement of soybean through integrated nutrient and other agronomic interventions. Application of N, P, K and FYM significantly enhanced the yield of soybean over control. Maximum yield was observed in the treatment where FYM was applied with NPK and resulted in an increase of 15.1 per cent over NPK alone. Application of additional 30 kg N ha -1 at pre-flowering or at pod initiation did not significantly enhance the yield over the basal dose of NP applied at sowing. Application of 4 tonnes wheat straw mulch + 30 kg N +60 kg P 2 and 30 kg N + 60 kg P 2 ha -1 showed similar effect on seed yield of soybean. No statistical difference in soybean yield was obtained in the conventional flat and bed sowing treatments. Pre-emergence application of 1.5 l ha -1 along with one hand weeding at 40 days after sowing (DAS) and two hand weeding at 20 and 40 DAS were equally effective for weed control and in influencing the soybean yield. The application of N, P, K, FYM, in different treatments, treatment with Bradyrhizobium japonicum and sowing on beds all significantly improved the N, P and K uptake by soybean over control. Application of FYM to soybean resulted in maximum enhancement of nutrient uptake by soybean. After three years a significant improvement in soil OC, available N, P and K was observed in all treatments over control. Key words: Farm yard manure, Integrated, Nutrients, Organic carbon, Productivity, Soybean, Uptake. INTRODUCTION Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] is an important oilseed and pulse crop and plays not only an important role in food security of soybean producing states but also in crop diversification (Nimje, 2003). Soybean being a leguminous crop helps in maintenance of soil fertility and improvement in growth and yield of the succeeding crops (Dahama and Sinha, 1985). On the other hand soybean being a highly nutrient-exhaustive legume requires higher amount of nutrients, particularly P and K for its optimum production (Hasan, 1994). The productivity and income from soybean has declined over the years because of nutrient depletion. The application of imbalanced and/or excessive nutrients has led to declining nutrient-use efficiency making fertilizer consumption uneconomical and producing adverse effects on atmosphere (Aulakh and Adhya, 2005) and groundwater quality (Aulakh et al., 2009) causing health hazards and climate change. The deficiencies of N, P and K are principal yield-limiting factors for crop production. Integrated nutrient management (INM), which entails the maintenance/ adjustment of soil fertility to an optimum level for crop productivity to obtain the maximum benefit from all possible sources of plant nutrients organics as well as inorganics in an integrated manner (Aulakh and Grant, 2008), is an essential step to address the twin concerns of nutrient excess *Corresponding author s rajeevpau@gmail.com. and nutrient depletion (Kumar and Shivay, 2010). Hegde and Dwivedi (1994) reported that continuous application of FYM maintained and improved yield and stabilized the soil health. So integrated use of organic and inorganic nutrients seems to be a viable option to achieve higher crop production with minimal environmental degradation. Other than added nutrients the response of any crop is also influenced by several eco-edaphic factors and management practices. Evans (1980) observed that improved management practices and their interaction are critical to ultimate optimization of crop yields. Thus, the present investigation was conducted for productivity enhancement of soybean as influenced by integrated nutrient and some other agronomic management practices. MATERIALS AND METHODS A field experiment was conducted at the Regional Research Farm of the Punjab Agricultural University, Langroya (Distt. SBS Nagar) for three years under irrigated conditions for productivity enhancement of soybean through integrated nutrient and some other interventions. The soil of the experimental field was silty clay loam in texture, low in available N (138.0 kg/ha), medium in available P (22.2 kg/ ha) and available K (175.0 kg/ha) and alkaline in reaction (ph 8.31). Soybean variety SL 525 was sown during second fortnight of July and harvested during second fortnight of

2 October. The experiment was laid in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with twelve treatments and three replications on fixed site. The treatments consisted of: T 1 : Control (N 0 P 0 K 0 ) T 2 : 30 kg N ha -1 at sowing T 3 : 30 kg N ha kg P 2 at sowing + 30 kg N ha -1 at preflowering T 4 ha -1 at sowing T kg K 2 O ha -1 at sowing + 10 tonnes FYM ha -1 at sowing T kg K 2 O + 10 tonnes FYM ha -1 at sowing T 8 ha -1 at sowing without seed treatment with Bradyrhizobium japonicum T 9 at sowing + 4 tonnes wheat straw mulch ha -1 immediately after sowing T 10 at sowing + Pre-emergence application of 0.45 kg/ ha + one hand weeding 40 days after sowing T 11 at sowing + 30 kg N ha -1 at pod initiation Stage T t FYM ha -1 at sowing on beds spaced 67.5 cm (2 soybean rows apart on 37.5 cm wide bed and 30 cm wide furrow between two beds). As per the treatments FYM was incorporated at the time of field preparations. The nutrient elements N, P and K were applied as per treatments through urea, SSP/DAP and MOP, respectively. Entire dose of N, P and K were applied at the time of sowing to soybean. Soybean seed was treated with Bradyrhizobium japonicum culture except in treatment T 8 and two hand weeding were performed in all treatments except in treatment T 10. Soybean was sown at a row spacing of 45 cm and the crop was irrigated as and when required. All the recommended cultural operations other than the treatments were practiced to raise the crop. For determination of changes in soil fertility and to determine the uptake of NPK by soybean, soil and plant samples of different treatments were collected for their analysis. Soil samples Volume 39 Issue 5 (2016) 769 were collected from 0 to 15 cm layer, dried in shade and ground to pass through 2 mm sieve. Soil samples were then analysed for organic carbon (Walkley and Black, 1934), available N (Subbiah and Asija, 1956), available P (Olsen et al., 1954) and available K (Merwin and Peech, 1950). At the time of harvest, grain and straw samples of soybean were collected from different treatments and oven-dried at a temperature of 70 o C. The dried samples were ground in a stainless steel Willey mill. For the determination of N in soybean grain and straw, a known weight of grain and straw were digested in concentrated H 2 SO 4 at 350 o C and the digest was analysed for N by Kjeldahl distillation method. For the determination of P and K the grain and straw samples were digested at 150 o C in diacid mixture of HClO 4 and HNO 3 in the ratio of 3:1. The uptake of NPK by grain and straw was calculated by multiplying the NPK content with the respective oven dried grain and straw yield of soybean. The total NPK uptake was then calculated by summing the grain and straw uptake. The data were analysed in RCBD to determine the significance among different treatments. The correlation and path analysis (Dewey and Lu, 1959) were carried out using SAS (6.2) statistical software. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Growth characters and yield of soybean: The yield attributes and yield of soybean were significantly affected by different treatments. Plant height was significantly more in all the treatments as compared to control (Table 1). However, the plant height in T 3 and T 4 was statistically similar. It was also statistically same among T 5,, T 9, T 10 treatments. Seed treatment with Bradyrhizobium japonicum resulted in significant increase in number of nodules per plant in different treatments over control (Table 1). Maximum number of nodules was recorded in T 2 followed by in where 10 tonnes of FYM ha -1 was applied along with 30 kg N, 60 kg P 2 and 30 kg K 2 O per ha. The differences in nodules per plant among T 2, T 3, T 10 and Table 1: Effects of different treatments on yield attributes and yield of soybean (Mean of three years) Treatments Plant height Nodules/ Dry weight Pods/ 100 seed Seed Stover (cm) plant of nodules/ plant weight yield yield plant (mg) (g) (q/ha) (q/ha) T 1 Control (N 0 P 0 K 0 ) T T 3 + at pre F T T 5 K t FYM T 7 K t FYM T 8 without Rhizobium T 9 + 4t straw mulch T kg/ ha+ 1 HW T 11 + at pod initiation T t FYM on beds CD (P=0.05) NS

3 770 LEGUME RESEARCH - An International Journal T 11 treatments remained statistically at par. A significant increase in number of pods per plant was observed under different treatments over control and application of FYM in combination with NPK in T 7 treatment resulted in the highest number of pods per plant followed by that in T 12 treatment. Minimum pods per plant were observed in control (T 1 ). Inclusion of P, K and FYM in the treatments resulted in significant increase in pods per plant. The dry weight of nodules per plant was also highest in T 7 followed by that in and minimum was observed under T 8 where inoculation with Rhizobium was not performed. Overall the growth attributes viz. plant height, number of nodules plant -1, pods plant -1 and their dry weight were maximum in the treatments where t ha -1 was applied along with 30 kg N, 60 kg P 2 by 30 kg K 2 O ha -1 (T 7 ). The least values of these attributes were observed in control. The enhancement in these yield attributing characters may be due to improved nutrient supply and microbial activity in the rhizosphere with the application of FYM along with NPK. Highest mean soybean seed yield (29.8 q/ha) was observed under T 7 treatment where 10 tonnes of FYM was applied along with 30 kg N, 60 kg P 2 and 30 kg K 2 O ha -1 and it was closely followed by (28.4 q/ha) (Table 1). Application of 30 kg N ha -1 recorded 9.52 per cent higher yield than the control. When P and K were included in the treatments seed yield of soybean increased significantly from 23.0 in T 2 to 25.4 and 25.9 q ha -1, respectively in T 4 and T 5. There was 10.4 per cent increase in yield with the application of NP in T 4 over application of 30 kg N ha -1 alone in T 2. Application of NPK in T 5 further enhanced the yield over NP in T 4 but the increase remained statistically nonsignificant. Application of 10 tonnes of FYM with NP in and NPK in T 7 registered 17.7 and 15.3 per cent increase in yield over T 4 and T 5 treatments, respectively. Application of NPK (T 5 ), NP + FYM ( ) and NPK + FYM (T 7 ) improved the seed yield by 23.3, 35.2 and 41.9 per cent over control (T 1 ), respectively. Mulching with wheat 4 tonnes ha -1 along with 30 kg N and 60 kg P 2 in T 9 did not improve the yield over T 4 where same level of NP were applied thus indicated no beneficial effect of mulching under irrigated conditions. Additional application of 30 kg N ha -1 either at pre-flowering stage in T 3 or at pod initiation in T 11 treatment did not increase the yield over T 4 where no additional N was applied. Statistically similar yields were obtained in conventional flat sowing ( ) and bed planting (T 12 ) treatments with equal inputs of NP and FYM. The differences in seed yield between T 4 and T 10 were statistically at par indicating thereby that pre-emergence application of pendimethaline at 1.5 l ha -1 along with one hand weeding at 40 days after sowing (DAS) and 2 hand weeding at 20 & 40 DAS were equally effective for weed control. However, overall the use of wheat straw mulch, seed treatment with Rhizobium and bed planting with the same level of inorganic fertilizers did not increase the seed yield significantly. The stover yield of soybean was also significantly affected by different inputs. Maximum stover yield (60.1 q ha -1 ) was obtained in T 7 where 10 t FYM ha kg N+60 kg P 2 and 30 kg N ha -1 were applied. This was however, statistically at par with treatments but significantly higher than all other treatments. Combined application of 10 t FYM ha -1 along with NPK (T 7 ) recorded significantly higher seed and stover yield. As described earlier the increased availability of nutrients with the application of FYM in (T 7 ) improved the growth and yield attributes which in turn might have increased the yield of soybean. Sikka et al. (2012) reported higher yield of soybean due to combined application of organic and inorganic sources and their complementary effects on soil fertility. Saxena and Chandel, (1997) and Sharma and Mishra (1998) reported yield enhancement of soybean consequent upon incorporation of farmyard manure, crop residue (5 tonnes/ha) with recommended nitrogen and farm yard manure (10 tonnes/ha) and with Zn. Billore et al. (2005) also reported that the yield of soybean and economical parameters increased linearly as level of fertility increased while reverse trend was observed with energy use efficiency, energy productivity and energy intensiveness. These results were in agreement with those of Kamble et al. (2002) in groundnut (Arachis hypogaeal L.) crop. Correlation analysis revealed that seed yield was highly positively and significantly correlated with plant height, nodules per plant and pods per plant (Table 2). The results of path analysis revealed that number of pods per plant had a direct effect on seed yield whereas plant height, nodules per plant, dry weight of nodules and stover yield had indirect effect via pods per plant towards seed yield (Table 3). About 95 % yield variation was explained by above stated characters. The study suggested that number of pods per plant is the character of prime importance because the component trait has shown significant association with seed yield of soybean. NPK uptake by the crop: The total N uptake of soybean was significantly affected by different treatments and it ranged from to kg ha -1. All the treatments recorded significantly higher total N uptake than control (Table 4). The maximum N uptake was recorded in the treatment (T 7 ) where 30 kg N, 60 kg P 2, 30 kg K 2 O and 10 tonnes FYM ha -1 was applied followed by in the treatment (T 12 ) where 30 kg N, 60 kg P 2 and 10 tonnes FYM ha -1 was applied and the crop was sown on beds. The N uptake remained statistically similar among T 2, T 5, T 9, T 10 and T 11 and also between treatments. Minimum total P uptake of 24.3 kg ha -1 was recorded in T 1 (Control) and maximum was observed (38.5 kg ha -1 ) in T 7 in which 30 kg N, 60 kg P 2, 30 kg K 2 O ha -1 and 10 tonnes FYM ha -1

4 Table 2: Correlation coefficients of yield and yield attributes of soybean Plant height (cm) Volume 39 Issue 5 (2016) 771 Nodules/ plant Dry weight of nodules/ plant (mg) Pods/ plant 100 seed weight (g) Seed yield (q/ha) Nodules/plant 0.86** Dry weight of nodules/plant (mg) 0.72* 0.80** Pods/plant 0.86** 0.77** 0.74* 100 seed weight (g) * 0.46 Seed yield (q/ha) 0.86** 0.82** 0.74* 0.96** 0.41 Stover yield (q/ha) * 0.69* 0.67* * ** significant at 1% and * significant at 5% Table 3: Direct and indirect effects of yield attributes based on correlation on seed yield of soybean Plant height Nodules/ Dry weight Pods/ 100 seed Stover Correlation (cm) plant of nodules/ plant weight yield with seed plant (mg) (g) (q/ha) yield Plant height (cm) Nodules/plant Dry weight of nodules/plant (mg) Pods/plant seed weight g) Stover yield (q/ha) Explained variation = 95% Diagonal values represent direct effects and off diagonal values represent indirect effects Table 4: Effect of different treatments on total N, P and K uptake (Mean of three years) Treatments T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 T9 T10 T11 T12 Control (N0P0K0) N30 N30P60 + N30 at pre F N30P60 N30P60K30 N30P60 +10t FYM N30P60K30 +10t FYM N30P60 without Rhizobium N30P60 + 4t straw mulch N30P l ha HW N30P60 + N30 at pod initiation N30P60+ 10t FYM on beds Uptake (kg/ha) N P K NPK CD (P=0.05) NS 53.3 was applied and the crop was sown on beds. The treatment T 2, T 3, T 5 and T 10 did not differ significantly among themselves. Inclusion of P and application of FYM significantly increased the total P uptake. Rao et al. (1998) also reported similar enhancement in P uptake due to farm yard manure application. On the other hand total K uptake did not differ significantly among treatments but highest was observed in T 7. Inclusion of N, P, K, straw mulch, additional N and sowing on beds significantly improved total K uptake but the differences remained statistically non-significant among T 3 and T 9 treatments. Significantly higher total NPK uptake which is the sum of N, P and K uptake over control was observed in, T 7, T 9, T 11.This higher NPK uptake in, T 7 treatments might also have contributed towards higher seed yield of soybean (Table 1). Earlier, Nimje (2003) also reported an increase in the nutrient uptake with the increase in fertility levels. Changes in soil fertility: The organic carbon content ranged from 0.43 % in control to 0.71 % in T 12 where 30 kg N, 60 kg P 2 and 10 tonnes FYM ha -1 was applied and the crop was sown on beds (Table 5). The organic carbon in T 12 was significantly higher than all other treatments but at par with and T 7. Generally it was observed that magnitude of increases in content of organic carbon was higher in the treatments where FYM was applied. It was further observed that T 3, T 5, T 10 and T 11 and were statistically at par among themselves. The available N content ranged from 94.6 kg ha -1 in control (T 1 ) to kg ha -1 in T 7. Except for

5 772 LEGUME RESEARCH - An International Journal Table 5: Effect of different treatments on OC and available N, P & K of soil (after three years) Treatments OC (%) Available (kg/ha) N P K T1 Control (N0P0K0) T2 N T3 N30P60 + N30 at pre F T4 N30P T5 N30P60K T6 N30P60 +10t FYM T7 N30P60K30 +10t FYM T8 N30P60 without Rhizobium T9 N30P60 + 4t straw mulch T10 N30P l ha HW T11 N30P60 + N30 at pod initiation T12 N30P60+ 10t FYM on beds CD (P=0.05) T 7 the available N content of T 12 treatment was significantly higher than all other treatments. The available P content was also maximum under T 7 treatment but was minimum in T 1 treatment where no fertilizer was applied and also might be because of its removal by the crop. Inclusion of P in the fertilizer treatments significantly increased its levels from the treatments T 1 and T 2 where no fertilizer or only nitrogen was applied. The available K content of soil was also significantly higher over the control in the treatments where K was part of fertilizer treatments or where FYM was applied. The maximum available K was observed in T 7 where 30 kg N, 60 kg P 2, 30 kg K 2 O and 10 tonnes FYM ha -1 was applied and it was also observed that this was significantly higher than all other treatments. Abraham and Lal (2003) too reported that organic carbon and available status of P and K in the soil increased due to the integration of organic and inorganic sources of nutrients in soybean- Indian mustard-fodder cowpea in north eastern plains zone of India. CONCLUSIONS It could be concluded that soybean responded to the application of FYM along with 30 kg N, 60 kg P 2 and 30 kg K 2 O ha -1 and resulted in enhancing the productivity of soybean. No beneficial effect of application of additional nitrogen either at preflowering or at pod initiation, sowing on beds and straw mulching was observed on soybean yield. The integration of organic manures (FYM) along with inorganic fertilizers helped in improving soil fertility parameters. REFERENCES Abraham, T and Lal, R B (2003). Strategies for INM technology in sustainable edapho-cultivar management for a legume based (soybean-mustard-fodder-cowpea) cropping system for the inceptisols in the NEPZ. Crop Res., Hissar 26: Aulakh, M S and Adhya, T K (2005) Impact of agricultural activities on emission of greenhouse gases Indian Perspective. In International Conference on Soil, Water and Environmental Quality Issues and Strategies, pp (Indian Society of Soil Science: New Delhi). Aulakh, M S and Grant, C A (2008) Integrated Nutrient Management for Sustainable Crop Production. (The Haworth Press, Taylor and Francis Group: New York). Aulakh, M S, Khurana, M P S and Singh, D (2009). Water pollution related to agricultural, industrial and urban activities, and its effects on food chain: Case studies from Punjab. Journal of New Seeds 10: Billore, S D, Vyas, A K and Joshi, O P (2005). Effect of integrated nutrient management on productivity, energy use efficiency and economics of soybean-wheat cropping system. Indian J. Agric. Sci. 75: Dahama, A K and Sinha, M N (1985). Residual and cumulative effects of kharif legumes and P applied to them on succeeding wheat. Indian J. Agron. 30: Dewey, D R and Lu, K H (1959). A correlation with path analysis of component of crested wheat grass seed production. Agron. J. 51: Evans, L T (1980). The history of crop yield. Am. Sci. 68: Hasan, R (1994). Phosphorus fertility status of soils in India. (In) Phosphorus Researches in India, pp Potash and phosphate of Canada-India Programme, Gurgaon, Haryana.

6 Volume 39 Issue 5 (2016) 773 Hegde, D M and Dwivedi B S (1994). Crop response to biofertilizers in irrigated areas. Fertil. News 39: Kamble, M S, Kathmale, D K, Rajan, B R and Gondkar, P P (2002). Effect of recycling of organic farm wastes on yield of groundnut (in) Extended summaries of II international Agronomy Congress on balancing food and environmental security A continuing challenge, Vol.II, held during November 2002 organized by Indian Society of Agronomy, Indian Council of Agricultural Research and National Academy of Agricultural Sciences and IARI, New Delhi, pp Kumar, V and Shivay, Y S, (2010), Integrated nutrient management : An ideal approach for enhancing agricultural production and productivity. Indian J. Fert. 6: Merwin, H.D. and Peech, M. (1950) Exchangeability of soil potassium in the sand, silt and clay fractions as influenced by the nature of the complementary exchangeable cation, Soil Sci Soc Am J. 15: Nimje, P M (2003). Effect of phosphorus fertilization on soybean (Glycine max) based cropping sequences under rainfed conditions. Indian J. Agric. Sci. 73: Olsen S R, Cole C V, Watanabe F S and Dean L A (1954). Estimation of available phosphorus by extraction with sodium bicarbonate. USDA Circular No. 939 pp. 19. Rao, A S, Reddy, D D, Reddy, K S and Takkar, P N (1998). Crop yields and P recovery in soybean-wheat cropping system on typic haplustert under irrigated use of manure and fertilizer phosphorus. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 46: Saxena, S C and Chandel, A S (1997). Effect of micronutrients on yields, nitrogen fixation by soybean and organic carbonbalance in soil. Indian J. Agron. 42: Sharma, R A and Mishra, O R (1998). Crop residues, FYM and fertilizer use in relation to growth, yield and nutrient uptake by soybean. Crop Research 13:51-7. Sikka R, Singh D and Deol J S Productivity and nutrient uptake by soybean as influenced by integrated nutrient and some other agronomic management practices. Legume Research 36: Subbiah, B V and Asija, G L (1956). A rapid procedure for estimation of available nitrogen in soils. Curr. Sci. 25: Walkley A and Black I A (1934). An examination of Degtareff method for determining soil organic matter and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Sci. 4: