Disentangling the origin of chemical differences using GHOST
Enhancing NUE through site specific nutrient management and in problematic soils
1. Enhancing NUE through Site Specific
Nutrient Management and in
problematic soils
By
Bainade S. P.
Research Guide
Dr. W. N. Narkhede
Seminar Incharge
Dr. Mirza I. A. B.
Department of Agronomy
Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth
Parbhani
Doctoral seminar
on
3. INTRODUCTION:
Nutrient use efficiency (NUE) is a critically important concept
in the evaluation of crop production systems.
Many agricultural soils of the world are deficient in one or
more of the essential nutrients to support healthy and
productive plant growth.
Efficiency can be defined in many ways and easily increased
food production could be achieved by expanding the land area
under crops and by increasing yields per unit area through
intensive farming.
Worldwide, elemental deficiencies for essential macro and
micro nutrients and toxicities by Al, Mn, Fe, S, B, Cu, Mo,
Cr, Cl, Na, and Si have been reported
(Paul et al., (2008)
4. Nutrient use efficiency:
Nutrient use efficiency is a critically important concept for
evaluating crop production systems and is greatly impacted by
fertilizer management as well as soil and plant- water
relationships.
Nutrient use efficiency can be expressed several ways:
Four agronomic indices commonly used to describe nutrient use
efficiency are: Partial factor productivity, Agronomic efficiency,
Apparent recovery efficiency and Physiological efficiency
(Baligar et al., 2001).
5. Nutrient use efficiency:
Nutrient use efficiency is defined as the amount of dry matter
produced per unit of nutrient applied or absorbed.
Nutrient Use Efficiency : Physiological efficiency X Apparent
recovery efficiency
Classification of NUE:
1. Agronomic Efficiency: it is defined as the economic production
obtained per umit of nutrient applied. It is calculated by the
following equation:
Agronomic Efficiency=
(Grain yield of fertilized crop in kg) - (Grain yield of unfertilized crop inkg)
(Quantity of fertilizer applied inkg)
6. 2. Physiological efficiency: It is defined as the biological production
obtained per unit of nutrient applied.It is calculated by the following
equation
:
(Total dry matter yield of (Total dry matter yieldof
fertilized crop in kg) unfertilized crop in kg)
Physiological Efficiency=
(Nutrient uptake by fertilized crop in kg) - (Nutrient uptake by unfertilized crop inkg)
3. Apparent recovery efficiency: It is defined as the quantity of
nutrient absorbed per unit of nutrient applied. It is calculated by
the following equation:
Apparent recovery efficiency
(nutrient uptake by (nutrient uptakeby
fertilized crop) unfertilized crop)
=
(Quantity of fertilizer applied)
7. Why there is need to increase nutrient use efficiency
• Import of fertilizers of value Rs. 520 billions.(2019)
• In general about one- third fertilizer N applied to farm fields
in india is loss to the atmosphere.
• 1 % increase in NUE in N & P will save Rs. 10056 million
• Human health issue- in Punjab & Haryana ground water
samples had Nitrate-N ranges of 38.45 – 198.05 mg/L.
• crop response to fertilizers has been declining continuously.
The average crop response to fertilizer application (kg grain
produced per kg of NPK applied) decreased from 12.1:1
(during the 1960s) to 5:1 (in the 2010s).
• With the decrease in crop response to fertilizers, the
profitability of the farmers has gone down year after year.
8. Fertilizer consumption during
1967-68 to 2011-12 increased
24 times, the increase in food
grain production was only 3.5
times.
Food Grain (Mt) Fertilizer(Mt)
1967-68 2012-13 1967-68 2012-13
74.5 257.5 1.1 25.5
9. The cause for low NUE and declining response to N
fertilizers can be grouped as follows (NAAS)
Low status of soil organic carbon and soil degradation.
Susceptibility of N fertilizers to losses by various mechanisms.
Imbalanced use of fertilizers.
Poor management for secondary and micronutrients, especially
S, Zn, Mn, Fe and B.
Use of high analysis fertilizers like urea and Diammonium phosphate
(DAP) and inadequate addition of organic manures.
Inappropriate Rate, Time and Method of application.
10. Importance of nutrient use efficiency:
• To increase the overall performance of cropping systems.
• Providing economically optimum nourishment to the crop.
• Minimizing nutrient losses from the field and
• Supporting agricultural system sustainability through
contributions to soil fertility or other soil quality components.
11. Cont…
NUE is a critically important concept for evaluating
crop production systems and can be greatly
impacted by fertilizer management as well as soil-
and plant- water relationships.
NUE indicates the potential for nutrient losses to the
environment from cropping systems to meet the
increasing societal demand for food, fiber and fuel.
12. Nutrient use efficiency of different nutrients:
Nutrient Efficiency Cause of low efficiency
Nitrogen 30-50 % Immobilization, volatilization, de-
nitrification ,leaching
Phosphorus 15-20% Fixation in soils Al – P, Fe – P,
Ca – P
Potassium 70-80% Fixation in clay - lattices
Sulphur 8-10% Immobilization, Leaching with
water
Micro-nutrients (Zn,
Fe,Cu, Mn, B)
1-2% Fixation in soils
(Meena et al, (2017)
13. Techniques to increase nutrient use efficiency
(1)Fertigation :
Application of fertilizer through micro irrigation water.
This technique was first started in Israel.
Fertigation in a way can be compared with spoon feeding
to plants. It ensures supply of plant nutrients to the
root zone along with micro irrigation system.
14. Advantages of fertigation:
I. Increase in crop yield by 25–30%.
II. Savings in fertilizers by about 30%.
III. Precise application and uniform distribution of fertilizers.
IV. Nutrients can be applied as per plant requirements.
V. Increases nutrient use efficiency by minimizing loss of nutrients.
VI. Exact concentration of fertilizers can be injected as per requirement
of crops.
VII. Cost effective technique due to saving of time, labour and energy.
(Patel et al,(2017)
15. Foliar Application:
• Foliar application refers to the spraying of fertilizer solution on foliage (leaves)
of growing plants. Normally, these solutions are prepared in low
concentrations (2–3%) either to supply any one plant nutrient or a
combination of nutrients.
1.Advantages:
•Foliar spraying is useful to correct the nutrient deficiency growing crops.
•In extremely dry weather condition where the plants are not able to take
up nutrients from soil because of low moisture contents of soil, foliar
spray is useful.
• When quick response of fertilizer (especially nitrogenous fertilizer) is
required.
2.Disadvantages:
•Marginal leaf burns or scorching, may occur if strong solutions are used.
•As a solution of low concentration, only a small quantity of nutrients can
be supplied at a time.
• It cannot be recommended as a sole method of application of fertilizer.
•Only urea and micro nutrients can be applied through this method.
16. (2)Nanotechnology: :
“Nanotechnology as design, characterization, production and
application of structure, devices and systems controlling
shape, size and composition at the nano- scale.’’
Nano materials are defined as materials that have a single
unit, with size between 1 nanometer (nm) and 100 nm.
Nanofertilizer :
Nano fertilizer may be define as the nano particles which can
directly supply of essential nutrient for plant growth, have
higher nutrient use efficiency and can be delivered in a timely
manner to a rhizosphere target or by foliar spray.
10 gm nano zinc is sufficient for 1 ha land.`
17. Importance of nano fertilizer for increasing NUE:
Nano-fertilizers are more beneficial as compared to
chemical fertilizers.
(i) Three-times increase in Nutrient Use Efficiency (NUE)
(ii) 80-100 times less requirement of chemical fertilizers
(iii) 10 times more stress tolerant by the crops
(iv) Complete bio-source, so eco-friendly
(v) 30% more nutrient mobilization by the plants.
(vi) 17-54 % improvement in the crop yield.
(Qureshi et al ., 2018)
18. (3) Nutrient briquettes:
•The briquettes are a unique fertilizer concept apart from the
conventional fertilizers in which the fertilizer is manufactured into
a briquette approximately as the size of the end of one`s finger
(about 2.75 gm) as opposed to the more common granular prill
sized fertilizers or liquid fertilizers.
•The land application of briquette is also unique in that it is
banded below the soil surface between planted rows.
•Surface applied urea is reported to reach nitrogen loss as high as
35% however; buried briquettes only lose approximately 4% of its
nitrogen, which is a considerable improvement in nitrogen use
efficiency
19. (5) Seed priming:
•Seed priming is the controlled hydration technique in which
seeds are soaked in water or low osmotic potential solution
to a point where the germination related metabolic activities
begin in the seeds but radical emergence does not occur.
•Seed priming process:
•Priming allows some of the metabolic processes necessary
for germination to occur without germination take place.
•This prevents the seeds from absorbing in enough water
for radical protrusion,thus suspending the seeds in the lag
phase.
•This hydration is sufficient to permit pre-germinative
metabolic events but insufficient to allow radicle protrusion
through the seed coat.
(Javid et al.,(2013)
20. Seed Priming Methods:
There are four common methods utilized for priming seeds:
(1) Hydro-priming
(2) Osmotic priming
(3) Solid matrix priming
(4) Bio-priming
21. 1) Hydro-priming:
•Hydro-priming involves soaking the seeds in water before sowing
and may or may not be followed by air-drying of the seeds.
•Although, soaking seeds in water and drying before sowing is
the easiest way to achieve hydration.
•Effect of Hydro-priming on Wheat Seed:
Hydro-priming of wheat seed improves:
(1) Vigor
(2) Germination percentage
(3) Seedlings Establishments
(4) Uniform Growth
(5) Water use efficiency
(6) Grain yield
22. (2) Osmotic priming:
• Osmotic priming is the soaking of seeds in solutions
containing chemicals such as:
1) Mannitol
2) Potassium nitrate (KNO3)
3) Potassium chloride (KCl)
4) Polyethylene glycol (PEG)
5) Sodium chloride (NaCl)
23. 3)Solid matrix priming:
Solid matrix priming involves the incubation of seeds in a
solid, insoluble matrix, such as vermiculite or another
highly water absorbent polymer, with a limited amount of
water allowing for slow imbibition.
4) Bio-priming:
Bio-priming is a process of biological seed treatment that
refers to combination of seed hydration (physiological aspect
of disease control) and inoculation (biological aspect of
disease control) of seeds with beneficial organism to protect
the seeds.
24. 5) Halo primimg:
•Halo priming refers to soaking of seeds in solution of inorganic
salts i.e. NaCl, KNO3, CaCl2,CaSO4, etc.
Results:
Improvement in seed germination, seedling emergence and
establishment and final crop yield in salt affected soils in response to
halo priming.
6) Hormonal priming:
• Hormonal priming is the pre seed treatment with different hormones i.e.
salicylic acid, ascorbate, kinetin,etc. which promote the growth and
development of the seedlings.
25. (4) Water management:
Strategies for efficient management of water for agricultural
use involves conservation of water, integrated water use,
optimal allocation of water and enhancing water use efficiency
by crops.
1.Conservation of water:
•In-situ conservation of water can be achieved by reduction of
runoff loss and enhancement of infiltrated water and reduction
of water losses through deep seepage and direct evaporation
from soil.
•Ex-situ conservation of water can be achieved by harvesting of
excess water in storage ponds for its reuse for irrigation
purpose.
2.Integrated water use:
Integrated use of water from different sources viz. by irrigation
to supplement profile stored rainwater, conjunctive use of
surface- water and groundwater, poor and good quality water
and recycled (waste) water for irrigation.
26. 3) Enhancing water-use efficiency crops:
•Water-use efficiency by crops can be improved by selection of crops
and cropping systems based on available water supplied and
increasing seasonal evapotranspiration (ET).
•The later can be achieved by selection of irrigation method,
irrigation scheduling, tillage, mulching and fertilization.
27. (5) Nitrogen use efficiency:
Various strategies for improving nitrogen use efficiency will be
discussed below:
1)SITE SPECIFIC NITROGEN MANAGEMENT (SSNM):
SSNM is a concept which involves field specific N management
strategies that includes quantitative knowledge of field specific
variability in crop N requirement and expected soil N supplying
power.
2)INTEGRATED NITROGEN MANAGEMENT (INM):
INM involves optimum use of indigenous N components i.e. crop residues,
organic manure, biological N fixation as well as chemical fertilizer and
their complementary interactions to increases N recovery.
3) Slow release fertilizers:
Neem coated urea is widely used and demonstrated for slow release N
fertilizer in India.
4) Customized fertilizers:
28. (5) IMPROVED METHOD OF N APPLICATION:
Among the various methods of N application, deep placement,
use of super granules and foliar spray of N fertilizer can enhance
the recovery of applied N fertilizer.
Foliar feeding of nitrogen either through urea spray, can also
improve NUE as it reduce different losses i.e. runoff,
volatilization, immobilization and de- nitrification prior to being
absorbed by the plant.
29. Interventions for increasing nutrient use efficiency in field
crops
1. SOIL BASED INTERVENTIONS
•Rhizosphere management
•Soil chemistry modification.
•Use of controlled release
fertilizers
•and NH3/NH4 inhibitors
•Source, Method, Rate, and
Timing of Application of
Fertilizers.
•Use of Manures.
•Water Management.
2 .PLANT BASED INTERVENTIONS:
•Crop management practices.
•Crop Rotation/ Intercropping.
•Crop Residue Management.
•Green Manuring.
•Use of Nitrogen Efficient
Species/Genotypes.
•Improving biological and Non-
biological N fixation.
•Various tools and techniques.
Foliar application and speciality
fertilizers.
•Customized Fertilizers.
31. Deep Placement of
Urea Supergranules
• Reduces expenditures for urea by
20%- 25%.
• Increases paddy yields by 15%-
25%.
• Encourages algal biological
nitrogen fixation because of
low flood water nitrogen
concentration.
• Reduces phosphorus runoff when
urea- diammonium phosphate is
deep placed.
• Ensures nitrogen availability
beyond the flowering stage when
applied at an appropriate rate
32. Inter cropping for improving nutrient use efficiency
Intercropping Remarks
Maize+ Peanut Maize improved iron nutrition of peanut
phytosiderphore released from maize roots
may mobilize Fe(III) and benefit the iron
nutrition of peanut plant.
Chick pea+Wheat The total N and P uptake (mg plant-1) by
wheat+chickpea association was higher than
their sole crop. nutrition in associated
wheat+ chickpea can mobilize and absorb
some organic P by releasing phosphatase
into soil.
Faba
bean/wheat
intercropping.
Intercropping reduced nitrate accumulation in
soil Profile .The decrease was about 0–41% for
wheat and 0–31% for Faba bean.
33. SSNM aims to increase profit through
• High yield
• High efficiency of fertilizer use
• Providing a locally-adapted nutrient best management
practice tailored to the field- and season-specific needs for a
crop
SSNM
Site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) is the dynamic,
field- specific management of nutrients in a particular
cropping season to optimize the supply and demand of
nutrients according to their differences in cycling through
soil-plant systems. (Dobermann and White, 1999)
34. Source of nutrients taken up by crop
Nitrogen Potassium
Nutrient needed for
yield target
gap
Biological N2 fixation
Irrigation water
Crop residues &
manures
Soil
Indigenous
nutrient
supply
35.
36. The principles of SSNM
Optimal use of existing indigenous nutrient
sources, including crop residues and manures
Timely application of fertilizers at optimal rates to
meet the deficit between the nutrient needs of a
high-yielding crop and the indigenous nutrient
supply
37. Features of SSNM
Optimal use of existing indigenous nutrient sources such as
crop residues and measures.
Application of N,P and K fertilizers is adjusted to the
location and season-specific needs of the crop.
Use of the leaf color chart ensures that nitrogen is applied at the
right time and in the amount needed by the crop which prevents
wastage of fertilizer.
Use of nitrogen omission plots to determine the N, P & K
fertilizers required to meet the crop needs. Selection of most
economic combination of available fertilizer sources.
Integration with other integrated crop management (ICM)
practices such as the use of quality seeds, optimum plant
density, integrated pest management and good water
management.
39. Meeting P and K demands
Phosphorus
Particularly
important for root
development
Apply basal
Potassium
Can improve grain filling
and resistance to insects
& diseases
Apply in splits
basal
early panicle
initiation
When should P or K fertilizer be
applied?
40. Approaches of SSNM :
Soil test based SSNM approach
Soil test and GIS based SSNM
to soil
Plant based SSNM
Initiated by IRRI With Rice( tanno, 1988)
It support poor farmers without asses
testing
Focused on managing field specific variation in
soil N ,P and K supply
model(
nutrient
janssen et al.,1990) to
to increase requirement
Uses QUEFTS
estimatecrop
yield.
41. Case study 1: Performance of SSNM as compared to farmer's
fertilizer practice under RWCS
Faizabad
Kanpur
Modipuram
Varanasi
System productivity (t/ha)
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Farmer's practice
SSNM
Singh et al., 2016
42. Nutrient
management
option
Rice-
wheat
Maize-
wheat
Pigeonpea
- wheat
sesamum
-wheat
groundnut
-wheat
Sorghum
- wheat
mean
Monsoon crop
FFP 6.80 5.64 1.49 0.72 1.36 16.73 5.46
SR 7.28 6.00 1.64 0.82 1.40 17.89 5.84
ISR 8.28 6.93 1.88 0.85 1.61 18.68 6.37
STLR 7.53 6.23. 1.64 0.76 1.47 17.76 5.90
SSNM 9.11 7.79 2.17 0.95 1.78 19.66 6.91
Mean 7.80 6.52 1.76 0.82 1.52 18.14 -
Winter crop (wheat)
FFP 4.33 5.66 5.18 4.54 5.15 4.23 4.85
SR 5.13 5.62 5.51 5.34 5.54 4.83 5.33
ISR 5.48 5.80 5.77 5.77 5.91 5.50 5.71
STLR 4.96 5.62 5.53 5.53 5.59 5.05 5.36
SSNM 5.67 6.31 5.99 5.99 6.20 5.86 6.04
Mean 5.11 5.80 5.43 5.43 5.68 5.09 -
Case study 2:Productivity (tonnes/ha) of different crops and cropping
systems as influenced by various nutrient management options
Shukla et al., 2014
43. Case study 3: Performance of SSNM on rice crop at different location
18.00
16.00
14.00
12.00
10.00
8.00
6.00
4.00
2.00
0.00
Riceequivalentyield(t/ha)
Ludhiana Modipuram Kanpur Pantnagar Faizabad Sabour R.S. Pura
TGP UGP MGP Western Himalaya
Region
Tiwari et al. (2006)
44. Case study 4: Response of pearlmillet-wheat system to fertiliser
options (8 on-farm experiments averaged)
Treatment
Grain yield (t/ha) Net return over FFP, Rs./ha
Pearlmillet Wheat System
(PMEY)
Pearlmillet Wheat System
(PMEY)
SSNM 4.12 5.61 13.69 10,468 25,389 35,856
TY 3.65 4.88 11.97 10,151 16,406 26,558
TY+Micro 3.93 5.27 12.91 10,789 20,766 31,556
SR 3.10 4.03 9.97 5,934 6,652 12,586
SR+K 3.68 4.83 11.92 9,649 16,126 25,775
FFP+K 2.60 3.78 9.05 2,854 4,034 6,885
FFP 2.21 3.40 8.00 - - -
CD
(p=0.05)
0.18 0.15 0.25 - - -
Dwivedi et al., 2009
45. Case study 5: Response of pearlmillet- mustard system to fertiliser
options (6 on-farm experiments averaged)
Dwivedi et al., 2009
Treatment
Grain yield (t/ha) Net return over FFP, Rs./ha
Pearlmillet Mustard System
(PMEY)
Pearlmillet Mustard System
(PMEY)
SSNM 4.05 2.88 12.83 8,797 23,549 32,346
TY 3.50 2.45 10.96 7,683 15,484 23,167
TY+Micro 3.83 2.76 12.23 8,900 20,890 29,790
SR 3.08 1.93 8.96 4,176 6,890 11,066
SR+K 3.52 2.18 10.17 7,239 11,417 18,656
FFP+K 2.73 1.71 7.94 2,423 2,253 4,676
FFP 2.36 1.56 7.12 - - -
CD
(p=0.05)
0.16 0.10 0.30 - - -
47. Case study
accumulation
6: Variability of grain
in nutrient omission
yield
plots
and
across
plant nutrient
56 irrigated,
transplanted rice farms in Punjab
Measurement Mean SD Min Max CV among sites
in each region,%
Grain yield in 0-N plot, t/ha 3.82 0.99 1.8 5.6 16 (12-25)
Grain yield in 0-P plot, t/ha 5.45 1.24 2.7 7.6 10 (6-16)
Grain yield in 0-K plot, t/ha 5.41 1.01 3.1 7.7 10 (7-13)
Plant N in 0-N plot, kg/ha 51.1 15.3 19.8 86.6 18 (12-27)
Plant P in 0-P plot, kg/ha 15.7 4.18 7.8 25.1 18 (13-28)
Plant K in 0-K plot, kg/ha 83.6 21.4 48.4 124 12 (9-14)
Singh et al., 2008
48. Case study 7:Variability of grain yield and plant nutrient accumulation in
nutrient omission plots across 56 irrigated wheat farms in Punjab
Measurement Mean SD Min. Max CV among
sites in each
region,%
Grain yield in 0-N plot, t/ha 3.08 0.85 1.1 4.4 21 (13-35)
Grain yield in 0-P plot, t/ha 4.55 1.02 2.1 6.1 12 (7-19)
Grain yield in 0-K plot, t/ha 4.35 0.81 2.3 6.0 12 (8-19)
Plant N in 0-N plot, kg/ha 66.3 15.7 26.1 94.8 15 (11-23)
Plant P in 0-P plot, kg/ha 15.5 4.09 7.5 23.8 19 (13-26)
Plant K in 0-K plot, kg/ha 79.1 18.8 35.9 115 13 (10-17)
Singh et al., 2008
49. Case study 8: Grain yield
of rice and wheat crops in
FFP and SSNM
Fertilizer N applied to rice
and wheat crops in FFP and
SSNM
Singh et al., 2008
50. Problematic soils
Problem soils are those which owing to land or soil
characteristics cannot be economically used for cultivation
of crops without adopting proper management strategies
(Jehangir et al., 2013).
Problem soils are either deficient in plant nutrients or the nutrient
ability are inhibited by the antagonistic effect of nutrient element
present in excessive amounts as soluble or exchangeable ions
52. State wise area of salt affected soils in India
State Saline Sodic Total
Andhra Pradesh 77598 196609 274207
Andaman & Nicobar Island 77000 0 77000
Bihar 47301 105852 153153
Gujarat 1680570 541430 2222000
Haryana 49157 183399 232556
Karnataka 1893 148136 150029
Kerala 20000 0 20000
Madhya Pradesh 0 139720 139720
Maharashtra 1,84,089 4,22,670 6,06,759
Orissa 147138 0 147138
Punjab 0 151717 151717
Rajasthan 195571 179371 374942
Tamil Nadu 13231 354784 368015
Uttar Pradesh 21989 1346971 1368960
West Bengal 441272 0 441272
Total 29,56,809 37,70,659 67,27,468
Projections by 2025 : 11.7 million ha
53. Constraints in problematic soils
Acidic soil:
Increased solubility and toxicity of Al, Mn and Fe
Deficiency of Ca and Mg,
Reduced availability of P and Mo and
Reduced microbial activity
Activity of Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter reduced
significantly.
Saline soil:
Presence of salts leads to alteration of osmotic potential of
the soil solution.
Consequently water intake by plants restricted and thereby
nutrients uptake by plants are reduced.
high salt levels microbial activity is reduced.
Specific ion effects on plants are also seen due to toxicity of
ions like chloride, sulphate, etc
54. Constraints in problematic soils
Alkali soil/ sodic soil:
Excess exchangeable sodium in alkali soils affects both the
physical and chemical properties of soils.
a) Dispersion of soil colloids
b) Specific ion effect
55. Effect of pH on the availability of nutrients important in plant growth and of
microorganisms. As the band for a particular nutrient or microbe widens, the
availability of the nutrient or activity of the microbes is greater. For example,
with K the greatest availability is from pH ~6–9. From Brady (1984),
56. NUE in problematic soil (Acidic soil)
Managing acidity
• Soil amelioration – lime
Soil Colloid + CaCO3 Soil Colloid-Ca++ + H2O +CO2
Crop choice
Varieties tolerant to soil acidity
Use of micronutrients
Integrated nutrient management
Soil test to determine nutrient deficiency
The growing deep rooted perennial pasture (lucern) is seen as
answer to slowing the acidification process( Ridley et al. 1998)
The native eucalypts increase the surface soil pH( Wilson 2002)
To maintain soil pH of acidic soils above the critical values for crops is
of practical importance for enhancing nutrient use efficiency
(NUE) and sustainable food production in acidic soils.
58. Paper mill sludge- Low cost management technology for acid
soils
Low cost liming material like paper mill sludge was used to ameliorate acid
soils. This industrial by-product of paper mill will not only raiseagricultural
production with low cost but also reduce environmental pollution in the
surrounding areas of the factory.
(ICAR News, 2015)
59. Nutrient management in salt affected soil
Nitrogen : Fertilizer- N placed in soil (UPP & UB) reduced
losses to about 5-6%. Increase dose of N by 25% and
given in split doses.
• Phosphorus: water soluble P are more effective than those
containing wholly or partially water insoluble P.
Potassium: higher doses of K fertilizers are useful in sodic
& saline soils
Fe ,Zn, and Mn solubility and availability are less in
sodic soils.
Boron toxicity is minimized by addition of gypsum and
leaching the soil.
60. Nutrient management in salt affected soil
• Most of nutrients are deficient in salt affected soil except
Ca, Mg and Mo.
• There are special nutrients manage mental practices
are required to attain maximum production under
these condition. Some measures like application
organic residues, FYM, compost, green manures should
be applied to reclaim of these soil.
• Leaching is required under saline soil condition and
application of amendments like gypsum should be
applied to exchange Na from exchangeable site by Ca.
• Fertilizers are should be used on the base of their
residual effects or on basis of their equivalent acidity or
basicity nature.
61. Management of saline soil
Leaching
Crops and cropping sequence
Improved cultural practices like
Proper seed placement
Method of raising plant
Method of water application
Use of mulches
Afforestation
Agro-forestry
Pastoral
Silvi-pastoral model
Horticulture
Medicinal and aromatic plants
(Biswas and Biswas, 2014)
62. Management of Alkali soil
Also known as sodic soils, are those that contain
measurable amounts of soluble salts
Management strategies
Application of amendments
Land levelling and shaping
Leaching
Crops and cropping pattern
Green manuring
Plant population
Age of seedlings
Water management
Adequate provision of drainage
Assured source of irrigation water
(Jehagir et al. 2013)
63. Nutrient management in high pH soils
Soil test to determine nutrient deficiency e.g. (Olsen or
modified Olsen for available P)
TSP, DAP or MAP - Phosphorus
Small, regular doses or use slow-release materials-
Nitrogen
Gypsum or calcium nitrate- Calcium
Sulphomag, kieserite and Epsom salts-Mg
Elemental sulphur
Acidifying fertilizers
Balanced plant nutrition programme
(Agro Services International Inc. Florida, 2014)
64. Constraints( WATERLOGGED SOIL)
Limits oxygen supply to the roots and prevents carbon
dioxide from diffusing away
More harmful in warm season as compare to cold season
Causing soil acidity
Low input use efficiency
Management
Improve soil structure and drainage
Grow plants in raised beds
Water logging tolerant crop
Apply a balanced fertiliser
Foliar feeding
Seeding crops early
Increase sowing rates
(Department of Food and AgricultureAustralia)
65. Constraints of black soil
Narrow workable moisture
Low infiltration rate
Poor drainage
Deficient in nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur, zinc and boron
Management
Balance fertilization
Tillage at right moisture consistency
Application of FYM, compost and green manuring
Recycling of rice straw
Construction of ridges
(Mishra et al., 2011)
66. Auger- hole technique for planting trees in alkali soil
Fuelwood/fodder/timber speciesAverage
soil pH
>9.5 Prosopis juliflora, Acacia nilotica,Tamarix articulata
9.1-9.8 Casuarina equisetifolia, Pongamia pinnata, Eucalyptus tereticornis,
8.2-9.0 Butea monosperma, Grevillea robusta, Azadirachta indica
(Dagar et al., 2015)
67. Integrated soil management
Liming acid soil
Gypsum application in sodic soils
Agronomic management
Timely sowing/transplanting
Plant population
Weed control
Water management
Fertilizer materials and their methods of application
Balanced NPK fertilization and site specific nutrient management
Integrated Plant Nutrient Supply System (IPNS)
(Prasad, 2009)
68. Major nutrient management problems
Decreasing fertilizer use efficiency
Deterioration of soil physical health
Increasing nutrient mining
Inadequate availability of FYM and other organic inputs
Inadequate and unbalanced use of fertilizers
Farmers knowledge
Over use of irrigation water
69. Case study 1: Effect of fertigation and conventional method of fertilizer
application on growth parameter of banana (Av. Of 3 years)
Sr.No Treatments
Plant height
(cm)
Stem
girth
(cm)
Days to
50%
flower
Days to
harvest
T1
100%RD-NK
through drip
185 73.0 282 388
T2 75%RD-NK
through drip
181 70.8 284 393
T3 50%RD-NK
through drip
176 69.4 289 402
T4
100%RD-NK
through
soil
180 69.7 291 398
T5 75%RD-NK
through soil
175 68.6 293 406
T6 50%RD-NK through
soil
170 67.2 299 416
S.E± 1.67 0.74 4.01 4.10
C.D.(=0.05) 5.27 2.32 NS 12.91
Bhalerao et al., 2010
70. Case study 2: Effect of fertigation and conventional method of
fertilizer application onyield parameter of banana (Av. Of 3 years)
Sr.No Treatments Hands bunch-1
Fingers
bunch-1
Bunch
weig
ht
(kg)
Yield(t ha-
1)
T1
100%RD-NK
through
drip
8.7 151 20.6 91.4
T2 75%RD-NK
through drip
8.3 144 20.0 88.8
T3 50%RD-NK through
drip
7.9 138 17.9 78.5
T4
100%RD-NK
through
soil
8.2 140 18.8 83.7
T5 75%RD-NK through
soil 7.8 132 17.5 77.8
T6 50%RD-NK
through soil
7.5 126 15.4 68.4
S.E± 0.12 2.38 0.30 1.04
C.D.(=0.05) 8.7 7.48 0.95 3.27
Bhalerao et al., 2010
71. Case study 3: Seed cotton yield as influenced by various treatments
(100:50:50 NPK Kg ha-1)
Treatment Seed cotton (q ha-1) Pooled
mean
Cotton stalk (q ha-1) Pooled
mean
2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12
T1
- 100% RD through
drip (WSF)
16.45 17.58 16.01 16.68 36.78 38.80 38.07 37.88
T2
- 75% RD through
drip (WSF)
14.90 15.43 14.74 15.02 36.42 36.78 33.75 35.65
T3
- 100% RD soil
application
15.80 15.00 14.19 15.00 38.66 36.00 35.78 36.81
T4
- 100% RD + Zn (4 kg ha-
1)
+ Fe (5 kg ha-1)
through drip (WSF)
18.10 18.69 17.78 18.19 42.40 43.08 40.21 41.89
T5 - 75% RD + Zn (3 kg ha-1) +
Fe (3.75 kg Fe ha-1) through
drip (WSF)
16.50 17.63 16.85 16.99 39.30 41.30 37.86 39.49
T6 - 100% RD + Zn (4 kg ha-1) +
Fe (5 kg ha-1) soil application
17.50 16.12 14.56 16.06 41.48 35.92 33.44 36.94
T7
- 75% RD through
drip (Urea,
Phosphoric acid, MOP)
14.00 14.45 13.72 14.05 34.67 33.14 29.45 32.42
SE (m) ± 1.20 0.75 0.77 0.70 1.73 1.71 1.99 1.72
CD at 5% 3.57 2.24 2.28 2.09 4.87 5.08 5.93 5.11
C.V 14.87 9.21 9.99 9.01 9.10 11.16
Mangare et al.,2018
72. Case study 4. Gain yields of crops in response to fertilization according to
farmer’s inputs (FI) and balanced nutrient management (BN, BN = FI + SBZn
+ NP) treatments in the semi-arid zone of Andhra Pradesh, India, during
three (2002 to 2004) rainy seasons
Grain yield (kg ha−1)
Year Treatment Maize castor mungbean Pigeonpe
a
groundn
ut
2002 FI 2730(20)a 590(8) 770(9)a 536(43)a 1180(19)
a
BN 4560 880 1110 873 1570
LSD(0.05) 419 143 145 156 92
2003 FI 2790(24) 690(17) 900(6)a 720(12)a 830(30)a
BN 4880 1190 1530 1457 1490
LSD(0.05) 271 186 160 220 96.8
2004 FI 2430(19) 990(6) 740(12)a 1011(21) 1320(40)
BN 4230 1370 1160 1564 1830
LSD(0.05) 417 285 131 106 122.5
(Rego et al., 2007)
aThe values in parentheses are the number of farmers’ fields used for on-farm trials.
73. Case study 5. Effects of farmers’ practice (FP) and balanced nutrition (BN)
on post-harvest soil fertility status under rainy season groundnut in an
alkali soil of Hyderabad
(Chander et al., 2014)
74. Case study 6. Yields of rice under different treatments in saline soil at rice research
station, Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Treatment Mean yield (t ha-1)
Flooding and leaching 1.64
Flooding + Paddy straw (5.6 t ha-1) 2.29
Flooding + Green manure (5.6 t ha-1) 2.40
Flooding + Gypsum (5.6 t ha-1) once in the
beginning
2.00
Flooding + Molasses (1.12 t ha-1) 2.33
(Swarajyalakshmi, 2008)
75. Case study 7. Effect of lime application on nutrient content in the shoot of sunflower
in an acid soil
Levels of lime
Nutrient 0 1/3 LR 2/3 LR 1 LR LSD (5%)
N (%) 4.00 4.15 4.19 4.18 0.11
P (%) 0.14 0.16 0.16 0.15 NS
Ca (%) 1.09 1.40 1.32 1.35 0.13
Mg 0.46 0.70 0.84 0.83 0.08
Zn (mg kg-1) 33.8 45.9 45.5 45.3 2.9
Cu (mg kg-1) 46.8 43.8 40.0 35.5 4.7
Fe (mg kg-1) 269 312 307 313 25
Mn (mg kg-1) 209 126 81 73 19
(Barman, 2014)
76. Conclusion
fertigation, nano-technology,Different
nutrient
advanced techniques such as
briquettes, seed priming, soil amendment and water
management practices are adopted for increasing nutrient use efficiency.
It may be concluded that maximum nitrogen was retained by the
treatment of fertigation at all depths followed by application of briquette
in root rhizosphere.
Increased NUE in plants is vital to enhance the yield and quality of crops,
reduce nutrient input cost and improve soil, water and air quality.
Integrated soil management comprising balance fertilization, amelioration
of soil, soil and water conservation measures, forestry and pasture, and
improved agronomic practices are needed for sustaining soil fertility and
food production in problematic soils .
Site specific nutrient management practices increase NUE.
