Effect of FYM, biofertilizers and zinc on yield and micronutrients uptake in maize

An Asian Journal of Soil Science Volume 9 Issue 1 June, 2014 e ISSN 0976 7231 Open Access www.researchjournal.co.in Research Article Effect of FYM, biofertilizers and zinc on yield and micronutrients uptake in maize R.S. FAUJDAR, M. SHARMA, R.L. SOLANKI AND R.C. DANGI MEMBERS OF RESEARCH FORUM : Corresponding author : R.L. SOLANKI, Krishi Vigyan Kendra (M.P.U.A.T.) CHITTORGARH (RAJASTHAN) INDIA Email: solanki_rl@yahoo.com Co-authors : R.S. FAUJDAR AND M. SHARMA, Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, UDAIPUR (RAJASTHAN) INDIA R.C. DANGI, Krishi Vigyan Kendra (M.P.U.A.T.) CHITTORGARH (RAJASTHAN) INDIA Received : 17.02.2014; Revised : 14.05.2014; Accepted : 23.05.2014 Summary A field experiment was conduct to study the effect of FYM, biofertilizers and zinc on grain, stover yield and micronutrients uptake of maize under maize- wheat cropping system two consecutive years of 2006-07 and 2007-08 at Instructional Farm, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur (Rajasthan) on Typic Haplustepts. The experiment consisted of 32 treatment combinations comprising of two levels of farmyard manure (0 and 10 t FYM ha -1 ), four levels of biofertilizers [no inoculation, Azotobacter, vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM) andazotobacter + VAM co-inoculation]. Azotobacter and VAM were used as biofertilizers for fixing atmospheric nitrogen and increasing phosphorus availability and four levels of zinc (0, 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 kg Zn ha -1 ). The application of FYM @ 10 t ha -1, inoculation, Azotobacter, vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM) and Azotobacter + VAM co-inoculation] and zinc application resulted in significant increase in grain yield and stover yield of maize and significantly increased micronutrients uptake of (Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn) was higher over control. Key words : FYM, Biofertilizers, Zinc, Yield, Micronutrients uptake, Maize How to cite this article : Faujdar, R.S., Sharma, M., Solanki, R.L. and Dangi, R.C. (2014). Effect of FYM, biofertilizers and zinc on yield and micronutrients uptake in maize. Asian J. Soil Sci., 9(1):. Introduction Maize (Zea mays L.) is third most an important cereal crop of India and plays a pivotal role in agricultural economy both as staple food for larger section of population, raw material for industries and feed for animals. There is no cereal on earth which has so immense yield potential as maize and that is why it is called as queen of cereals. Being a C 4 plants, maize is capable of utilizing solar radiation more efficiently compared to other cereals. Despite high potential and photosynthesis explorative crop, its average productivity achieved in India is only 2507 kg ha -1 with the production of 21.29 M tones (Eco Stat., 2011). It has diverse uses in various forms. Out of the total production, 45 per cent are consumed as staple food in various forms. In Rajasthan maize is grown on 1.05 m ha with the production and productivity of 1.95 M tones and 1860 kg ha -1, respectively. The application of organic manure increase yield might be due to steady decomposition of FYM and release of nutrients throughtout the crop growth period coupled with better assimilation of nutrients and improved physicochemical properties of soil with FYM. The beneficial effect of FYM on yield was also reported by Meena (2011) and Chandel et al. (2013). Azotobacter and VAM were used as biofertilizers can have a greater importance in increasing fertilizer use efficiency and fixing atmospheric nitrogen. The seed inoculation with phosphate solubilizing bacteria secrete acidic substances which acts as solubilizers to unavailable soil phosphorus. These biofertilizer may increase yield of crop by 10-30 per cent. Such mutually beneficial synergistic effect has also been reported by Radwan (1998) and Choudhary et al. (2013a). Zn plays an important role in the production of indole acetic acid, a growth hormone where results in higher value of auxin content which helps in increased growth and yield of the maize crop. The beneficial effect has also been reported by Tripathi et al. (2011). HIND AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING INSTITUTE

R.S. FAUJDAR, M. SHARMA, R.L. SOLANKI AND R.C. DANGI Resource and Research Methods A field study was conducted at instructional Farm, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur (Rajasthan) on Typic Haplustepts during Kharif seasons of 2006 and 2007. The soil of the experimental field was sandy clay loam in texture. The values of available NPK status of soil alkaline in reaction (ph 8.2), medium in organic carbon (7.1 g kg -1 ), available nitrogen (233.4 kg N ha -1 ), available phosphorus (13.6 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 ), available potassium (336.2 kg K 2 O ha -1 ) and available zinc (0.52 mg Zn kg -1 ). The experiment consisted of 32 treatment combinations comprising of two levels of organic manure with (without FYM and 10 t FYM ha -1 ), four levels of biofertilizers [control, Azotobacter inoculation, vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM) inoculation and Azotobacter + VAM coinoculation] and four levels of zinc (0, 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 kg Zn ha -1 ). Azotobacter and VAM used for as a biofertilizers for fixing atmospheric and increasing phosphorus availability. The recommendation doses of fertilizers were applied to maize crop at the rate of 90 kg N ha -1 and 40 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1.The sources of N and P were urea, diammonium phosphate (adjusted for its N content), respectively, zinc sulphate (ZnSO 4.7H 2 O) was used to supply zinc. The other sources of nutrients were FYM and biofertilizers (Azotobacter +VAM ).The field experiment was laid out in Split Plot Design allocating organic manure and biofertilizers in main plot and zinc in sub plots and replicated three times and maize as test crop in Kharif season. The test variety Pratap Makka-5 was sown with onset of rain on 23 and 19 June, during both the years using 25 kg seed ha -1. In well prepared field, furrows were opened at 60 cm apart and two seeds were placed manually using 25 cm spacing at a depth of 3-4 cm. The crop was harvested on 27 and 23 October during both the years. Observations were recorded on grain and stover yield from net plot area of 9.6 m 2. The uptake of Cu, Zn, Fe and Mn at harvest by grain and stover were computed by multiplying content value with yield data. The grain and stover samples collected at harvest were oven dried at 65 C to a constant weight and ground in laboratory mill. These samples were digested in di acid mixture (HNO 3 : HClO 4 ) for Cu, Zn, Fe and Mn determined by method used atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Elwell and Gidley, 1966). Research Findings and Discussion The results obtained from the present investigation as well as relevant discussion have been summarized under following heads : Yield of maize : Effect of FYM : Table 1 shows the effect of FYM, biofertilizers and zinc levels on grain yield of maize during both the years of investigation. All the applied treatments significantly affected HIND AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING INSTITUTE 122 Asian J. Soil Sci., (June, 2014) 9 (1) : grain yield of maize during both the years of experimentation. The application of @ 10 t FYM ha -1 resulted in significant increase in grain yield of maize (32.78 q ha -1 ) by 19.8 per cent over no FYM application (27.36 q ha -1 ).The corresponding increase in stover yield with application of @ 10 t FYM ha -1 (59.71 q ha -1 ) was 19.7 per cent than without FYM application (49.89 q ha -1 ) (Table 1). Addition of FYM is known to favourably improve soil physical and biological properties. FYM as a source of organic matter improves soil structure, reduces soil compaction, and increases water holding capacity (Biswas and Mukherjee, 1997). FYM also provides energy for N-fixation by free living heterotrophic microorganisms. The amount of N fixation by microorganisms if influenced by energy available in the form of organic residues. All these factors contributed to enhance crop yields. Results of present investigation also corroborate the findings of Verma et al. (2006) and Meena (2011). Effect of biofertilizers : The grain yield of maize increased with inoculation by Azotobacter, VAM and Azotobacter + VAM over no inoculation. Dual inoculation of Azotobacter + VAM was resulted 19.5 per cent higher grain yield over no inoculation (26.98 q ha -1 ). A perusal of data in Table 1, indicates that a significantly increase in stover yield was recorded with biofertilizers inoculation during both the years of experiment. On pooled basis inoculation of Azotobacter, VAM and Azotobacter + VAM resulted in 10.1, 12.5 and 18.8 per cent increases in stover yield over no inoculation (49.56 q ha -1 ) (Table 1). The improvement in yield were limited when these biofertilizers were used singly, however, a significant additive effect was observed when they were used together. The observed additive influence of biofertilizers is attributable to mutually beneficial and synergistic role played by each group of biofertilizers used. Such mutually beneficial synergistic effect has also been reported by Radwan (1998) and Choudhary et al. (2013b). Effect of zinc : improved the grain yield of maize up to 5 kg Zn ha -1. Further increase in level up to 7.5 kg ha -1 though had positive influence but failed to bring about significantly enhancement during both the years. Application of 2.5, 5 and 7.5 kg Zn ha -1 resulted in 9.57, 15.86 and 17.2 per cent increased the stover yield of maize over control, respectively. improved the stover yield of maize up to 5 kg Zn ha -1 during both the years and on pooled basis. Further increase in level up to 7.5 kg ha -1 though had positive influence but failed to bring about significantly enhancement during both the years. On pooled basis, application of 2.5, 5 and 7.5 kg Zn ha -1 resulted in 8.30, 14.06 and 16.12 per cent increased the stover

EFFECT OF FYM, BIOFERTILIZERS & ZINC ON YIELD & MICRONUTRIENTS UPTAKE IN MAIZE yield of maize over control, respectively. Such improvement in yield with increased zinc levels have also been observed by several workers (Dwivediet al., 2002 and Khan et al., 2007). Micro nutrients uptake by seed and stover of maize: Zinc uptake: The uptake of nutrient presented in Table 1 showed that zinc uptake by grain and stover of maize significantly with increased in FYM during both the years. On pooled basis application of 10 t FYM ha -1 increased the zinc uptake by grain and stover over no FYM by a margin of 22.3 and 29.2 per cent, respectively. Results of present investigation also corroborate the findings of Verma et al. (2006). Table 1 revealed that zinc uptake by grain and stover of maize increased with Table 1: Effect of FYM, biofertilizers and zinc on grain and stover yield and uptake of Micro nutrients of maize Zn uptake (g ha -1 ) Grain yield qha -1 Stover yield qha -1 Treatments Grain Stover 2006 2007 Pooled 2006 2007 Pooled 2006 2007 Pooled 2006 2007 Pooled FYM (t ha -1 ) 0 26.97 27.74 27.36 49.11 50.67 49.89 153.30 155.60 154.48 113.25 119.22 11.24 10 32.17 33.38 32.78 58.71 60.71 59.71 197.02 202.42 199.72 145.88 154.45 150.17 S.E.+ 0.37 0.38 0.26 0.68 0.69 0.49 2.68 2.48 1.82 1.95 1.96 1.38 C.D. (P=0.05) 1.11 1.15 0.76 2.07 2.10 1.41 8.11 7.51 5.28 5.92 5.95 4.01 Biofertilizers No inoculation 26.55 27.42 26.98 48.65 50.46 49.56 152.52 154.89 153.70 113.35 120.47 116.91 Azotobacter 30.14 30.81 30.47 54.04 55.99 55.01 174.79 174.23 174.51 126.91 134.88 130.89 VAM 30.10 31.05 30.58 55.01 56.52 55.76 180.81 185.43 183.12 134.17 140.76 137.47 Azoto+VAM 31.49 32.97 32.23 57.94 59.80 58.87 192.50 201.61 197.06 143.83 151.24 147.54 S.E.+ 0.59 0.54 0.37 0.96 0.98 0.69 3.78 3.50 2.58 2.76 2.77 1.96 C.D. (P=0.05) 1.57 1.63 1.08 2.93 2.96 1.99 11.48 10.62 7.47 8.37 8.41 5.67 Zinc levels (kg ha -1 ) 0 26.65 27.70 27.17 49.12 50.85 49.99 134.22 141.44 137.83 101.13 108.06 104.59 2.5 29.51 30.04 29.77 53.34 54.94 54.14 170.02 170.56 170.29 124.62 130.22 127.42 5.0 30.93 32.02 31.48 56.11 57.93 57.02 192.88 195.68 194.28 141.25 148.48 144.86 7.5 31.21 32.49 31.85 57.06 59.04 58.05 203.51 208.50 206.00 151.27 160.59 155.93 S.E.+ 0.49 0.52 0.36 0.92 0.87 0.63 3.09 3.30 2.26 1.99 2.25 1.50 C.D. (P=0.05) 1.40 1.47 1.00 2.61 2.47 1.77 8.79 9.37 6.34 5.65 6.40 4.21 Table 1 contd. Cu uptake (g ha -1 ) Fe uptake (g ha -1 ) Mn uptake (g ha -1 ) Grain Stover Grain Stover Grain Stover 2006 2007 Pooled 2006 2007 Pooled 2006 2007 Pooled 2006 2007 Pooled 2006 2007 Pooled 2006 2007 Pooled 81.82 82.36 82.09 42.58 44.50 43.54 225.70 229.63 227.67 657.26 686.58 671.92 51.94 53.11 52.53 175.27 184.01 179.64 102.81 104.40 103.60 53.58 55.87 54.73 282.55 290.27 286.41 828.77 865.22 846.99 64.87 66.82 65.84 224.59 235.25 229.92 1.18 1.30 0.88 0.68 0.64 0.47 3.58 3.95 2.66 9.74 9.74 6.89 0.74 0.81 0.55 2.69 2.61 1.88 3.57 3.94 2.54 2.06 1.96 1.36 10.85 11.96 7.71 29.54 29.54 19.95 2.24 2.45 1.59 8.17 7.93 5.44 80.76 81.48 81.12 42.34 44.30 43.32 222.59 227.49 225.04 656.98 687.62 672.30 51.22 52.48 51.85 174.60 183.56 179.08 92.33 92.25 92.29 47.51 49.82 48.67 255.31 258.55 256.93 733.54 770.27 751.91 59.03 59.65 59.34 199.48 208.15 203.81 95.60 96.50 96.05 49.57 51.65 50.61 262.21 268.08 265.14 767.38 794.57 780.97 59.99 61.89 60.94 206.47 216.56 211.52 100.56 103.28 101.92 52.90 54.98 53.94 276.38 285.70 281.04 814.14 581.14 832.64 63.37 65.84 64.60 219.17 230.26 224.72 1.67 1.84 1.24 0.96 0.91 0.66 5.06 5.58 3.77 13.78 13.78 9.70 1.04 1.14 0.77 3.81 3.70 2.65 5.05 5.58 3.59 2.91 2.77 1.92 15.35 16.92 10.91 41.78 41.78 28.22 3.17 3.47 2.24 11.55 11.21 7.69 83.45 85.12 84.29 44.18 46.37 45.27 233.88 240.37 237.13 693.50 728.62 711.06 52.94 54.57 53.76 183.83 193.22 188.52 92.15 91.87 92.01 47.59 49.53 48.56 254.60 256.16 255.38 739.08 768.69 753.88 58.34 58.94 58.64 198.47 207.10 202.79 96.38 97.59 96.98 49.91 52.02 50.96 263.75 269.93 266.84 765.29 799.25 782.27 60.95 62.73 61.84 207.49 217.44 212.46 97.28 98.93 98.10 50.65 52.83 51.74 264.26 273.36 268.81 774.18 807.05 790.61 61.40 63.62 62.51 209.93 220.76 215.34 1.55 1.63 1.13 0.90 0.89 0.63 4.75 5.20 3.52 13.51 13.23 9.45 0.98 1.07 0.73 3.66 3.34 2.48 4.42 4.64 3.16 2.57 2.54 1.78 13.52 14.78 9.89 38.40 37.60 26.33 2.80 3.05 2.04 10.40 9.49 6.95 HIND AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING INSTITUTE 123 Asian J. Soil Sci., (June, 2014) 9 (1) :

R.S. FAUJDAR, M. SHARMA, R.L. SOLANKI AND R.C. DANGI inoculation of Azotobactor, VAM and dual inoculation of Azotobactor and VAM and over uninoclated control during both the years of experiment and on pooled data. Dual inoculation of Azotobactor + VAM increased 13.52, 19.14 and 28.29 per cent higher by grain and 11.96, 17.59 and 26.20 per cent higher by stover of maize, respectively over no inoculation. Application of 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 kg Zn ha -1 resulted in 23.5, 41.0 and 49.5 per cent increase in zinc uptake by grain and 21.8, 38.5 and 49.1 per cent by stover, respectively, over control (Table 1). Similar finding have been also reported by Khurana et al. (2002) and Tripathiet al. (2011). Because zinc is one of the seven micro nutrients essential for crop growth. Zinc is directly or indirectly required by several enzymes system, auxin and in protein synthesis. Copper uptake: Application of 10 t FYM ha -1 significantly enhanced copper uptake by grain and stover of maize over no FYM application. Application of 10 t FYM ha -1 increased the copper uptake by grain and stover over no FYM by a margin of 26.20 and 25.70 per cent, respectively. Copper uptake by grain and stover of maize increased with the inoculation of Azotobactor, VAM and dual inoculation of Azotobactor + VAM over uninoclated. Dual inoculation of Azotobactor + VAM increased the copper uptake by grain 13.77, 18.40 and 25.60 per cent and copper uptake in stover of maize by 12.35, 16.83 and 24.52 per cent higher copper uptake over no inoculation, respectively. The application of zinc at increasing levels significantly influenced the copper uptake by grain of maize. Application of 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 kg Zn ha -1 resulted in 9.16, 15.06 and 16.38 per cent increased copper uptake by grain over control. The applications of zinc at increasing levels significantly influence the copper uptake by stover of maize up to 5.0 kg Zn ha -1 Application of 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 kg Zn ha -1 resulted in 7.27, 12.57 and 14.29 per cent increased copper uptake by stover of maize, respectively over control (Table 1). Iron uptake : The application of 10 t FYM ha -1 significantly improved iron uptake by grain and stover of maize over no FYM application. Application of 10 t FYM ha -1 increased iron uptake by grain and stover of maize over no FYM by a margin of 25.80 and 26.06 per cent, respectively. The iron uptake by grain and stover of maize increased significantly with the inoculation of Azotobactor, VAM and dual inoculation of Azotobactor + VAM over uninoclated. Dual inoculation of Azotobactor + VAM increased the iron uptake by grain 14.17, 17.82 and 24.88 per cent and 11.84, 16.16 and 23.85 per cent increased iron uptake in stover, respectively over no inoculation. influenced the iron uptake by grain and stover of maize up to HIND AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING INSTITUTE 124 Asian J. Soil Sci., (June, 2014) 9 (1) : 5.0 kg Zn ha -1. Further increased in level of zinc up to 7.5 kg Zn ha -1 though had positive influence but failed to bring about significant enhancement. Application of 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 kg Zn ha -1 resulted in 7.70, 12.52 and 13.36 per cent increased iron uptake by grain and 6.02, 10.01 and 11.19 per cent increased iron uptake by stover of maize over control, respectively (Table 1). These results are in conformity with finding of Dwivedi et al. (2002) and Tripathi et al. (2011). Manganese uptake: Application of 10 t FYM ha -1 increased the manganese uptake by grain and stover of maize over no FYM by a margin of 25.34 and 27.99 per cent, respectively. Similar finding have been also reported by Das et al. (2010). The manganese uptake by grain and stover of maize increased significantly with the inoculation of Azotobactor, VAM and dual inoculation of Azotobactor and VAM over uninoclated. Dual inoculation of Azotobactor + VAM increased the manganese uptake by grain 14.45, 17.53 and 24.59 per cent higher and 13.81, 18.11 and 25.49 per cent higher, manganese uptake in stover of maize, respectively over no inoculation. influenced the manganese uptake by grain and stover up to 5.0 kg Zn ha -1. Further increased in level though had positive influence but failed to bring about significant enhancement. Application of 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 kg Zn ha -1 resulted in 9.08, 15.03 and 16.28 per cent increased manganese uptake by grain of maize and 7.57, 12.70 and 14.23 per cent increased manganese uptake by stover of maize, respectively, over control (Table 1). Summary : Grain and stover yield of maize increased significantly with application at 10 t FYM ha -1, biofertilizers inoculation (Azotobacter+VAM) and increasing levels of zinc application (up to 5.0 kg ha -1 ) to maize. Combined effect of zinc and FYM significantly increased grain and stover yield of maize. The application of 10 t FYM ha -1, biofertilizers (Azotobacter + VAM) and zinc (0 to7.5 kg Zn ha -1 ) significantly increased the uptake of Zn, Cu, Fe, and Mn by maize 86.8, 42.5, 37.7 and 43.0 per cent, respectively over the estimated under control. While application of zinc significantly increased the uptake of zinc and decreased the content of Fe in maize crop. Combined use of FYM and biofertilizers and combined use of FYM and zinc also resulted in significantly increase in uptake of zinc, copper, iron and manganese by maize. This could be attributed sustained availability of major as well as trace elements which is evident from higher accumulation of nutrients by the plants that consequently led to higher productivity due to combined application of manure and fertilizers. Literature Cited Biswas, T.D. and Mukherjee, S.K. (1997). Textbook of Soil Sciences. Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Ltd., New Delhi, 433 p.

EFFECT OF FYM, BIOFERTILIZERS & ZINC ON YIELD & MICRONUTRIENTS UPTAKE IN MAIZE Chandel, B.S., Verma, D. and Upadhyay, A.K. (2013). Integrated effect of iron and FYM on yield and uptake of nutrients by wheat. Ann. Plant & Soil Res., 15 (1) : 39-42. Choudhary, R., Singh, D., Singh, P., Dadarwal, R.S. and Chaudhari, R. (2013a). Impact of nitrogen and sulphur fertilization on yield, quality and uptake of nutrient by maize in Southern Rajasthan. Ann. Plant & Soil Res., 15 (2) : 118-121. Choudhary, S.K., Sharma, S.R. and Singh, P. (2013b). Effect of organic manures and biofertilizers on soil organic carbon and productivity of groundnut in loamy sand soil. Ann. Plant & Soil Res., 15 (1) : 77-78. Das, A., Patel, D.P., Munda, G.C. and Ghosh, P.K. (2010). Effect of organic and inorganic sources of nutrients on yield, nutrient uptake and soil fertility of maize ( Zea mays) - mustard ( Brassica campestris) cropping system. Indian J. Agric. Sci., 80 (1) : 85-88. Dwivedi, S.K., Singh, R.S. and Dwivedi, K.N. (2002). Effect of sulphur and zinc nutrition on yield and quality of maize in typic Ustochrept soil of Kanpur. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci., 50 (1) : 70-74. Elwell, W.T. and Gidley, J.F. (1966). Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry, 2nd Ed., Pergamon Press, London, UNITED KINGDOM. Govt. of India (2011). Directorate of economics and statistics, Department of Agriculture and co-operation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. Joshi, Ekta (2011). Studies on nutrient management in maize (Zea mays L.). M.Sc. (Agron.) Thesis, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur, 9 RAJASTHAN (INDIA). t h Year of Excellence Khurana, M.P.S., Nayyar, V.K. and Bansal, R.L. (2002). Effect of direct and residual availability of zinc on yield and uptake by maize (Zea mays L.) and raya (Brassica juncea L.). Ann. Agric. Res., 23 (2) : 206-210. Meena, R. (2011). Effect of site specific nutrient management on yield and nutrient utilization by maize (Zea mays). M.Sc. (Agron.) Thesis, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur, RAJASTHAN (INDIA). Pathak, S.K., Singh, S.B., Jha, R.N. and Sharma, R.P. (2005). Effect of nutrient management on nutrient uptake and changes in soil fertility in maize (Zea mays)- wheat ( Triticum aestivum) cropping system. Indian J. Agron., 50 (4) : 269-273. Radwan, F.L. (1998). Response of some maize cultivars to VA mycorrhizae inoculation, biofertilization and soil nitrogen application. Alexandria J. agric. Res., 43 : 43-56. Tripathi, H.C., Pathak, R.K., Kumar, A. and Dimree, S. (2011). Effect of sulphur and zinc on yield attributes, yield and nutrient uptake in chickpea. Ann. Plant & Soil Res., 13 (2) : 134-136. Vat, M.R., Sehgal, D.K. and Mehta, D.K. (2001). Integrated effect of organic and inorganic manuring on yield sustainability in long term fertilizing experiments. Indian J. agric. Res., 30 : 19-24. Verma, A., Nepalia, V. and Kanthalia, P.C. (2006). Effect of integrated nutrient supply on growth, yield and nutrient uptake by maize (Zea mays)-wheat (Triticum aestivum) cropping system. Indian J. Agron., 51 (1) : 3-5. HIND AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING INSTITUTE 125 Asian J. Soil Sci., (June, 2014) 9 (1) :