Effect of integrated nutrient management on soil health, growth and yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during the rabi season 2019-20 to study integrated nutrient management in wheat at the Crop Research Farm of Soil Science Department, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj. The treatments were allocated in Randomized Complete Block Design having nine treatments with three replications. The treatment combination T9 [50% RDF + 10 t FYM ha-1 + 200 g Azotobacter 10 kg-1 seed] gave the best results with respect to growth and yield parameters, viz., plant height (89.70 cm), number of tillers (104.81), fresh weight (19.75 g), dry weight (7.27 g), test weight (59.20 g), biological yield (89.13 q ha-1) and grain yield (45.20 q ha-1). Combined use of inorganic fertilizers, organic manures and biofertilizers resulted in significant enrichment of soil fertility status. Nitrogen in combination with FYM and Azotobacter resulted in slight decrease in pH (7.3), electrical conductivity (0.19), organic carbon (0.56%) and available nitrogen (287.34 kg ha-1), phosphorus (29.27 kg ha-1) and potassium (169.53 kg ha-1) in the soil.