Book of Extended summaries ISDA

International Conference on Reimagining Rainfed Agro-ecosystems: Challenges &
Opportunities during 22-24, December 2022 at ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad
T4-01O-1124
Long-Term Effect of Nutrient Management Practices in Rainfed Maize in
Southern Rajasthan under Dryland Condition
R. K. Sharma 1* , J. K. Balyan 2 , G. R. Chary 4 , Ramavtar 1 , S. Dadheech 1 and S. K. Sharma 3
1 College of Agriculture Bhilwara–311001, Rajasthan
2 Dryland Farming Research Station, Arjia, Bhilwara
3 Directorate of Research, Udaipur4ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad
*rksdfrs@ yahoo.co.in
Rainfed agriculture is the main stay of farmers in Rajasthan. Out of 10.23 lakh ha of gross
cropped area in Sub-Humid Plain and Southern Hills of South Rajasthan, 77% area is rainfed.
The zone is characterized by small and scattered land holdings, erratic distribution of rainfall,
inherently poor soil fertility and frequent crop failures due to drought. Integrated nutrient
management envisages the use of fertilizers in conjunction with locally available nutrient
sources of organic-based manures (FYM, compost, green leaf manure etc.), legume in
cropping system for sustaining soil health and productivity. The soils are low in nitrogen.
Therefore, instead of solely depending on costly chemical fertilizer, some low-cost practices
should be adopted to explore the possibility of getting the natural sources of nitrogen
available to the farmers.
Methodology
Field experiments were conducted in All Indian Coordinated Research Project on Dryland
Agriculture, Dryland Farming Research Station (MPUAT) Arjia, Rajasthan during kharif
2008-2020 under dryland conditions. The experimental site is typically representative of the
dryland conditions of western India and having Sandy loam soil texture. The experiment was
laid out in a randomized block design with four replications and nine treatments in a set. The
treatments consisted of T 1- Control (No fertilizer), T 2-100% RDN & P (50 kg N+30 kg P 2O 5
ha-1) through inorganic fertilizer,T3- 25 kg N through FYM and remaining 25 kg N through
IF +30 kg P 2O 5 ha-1, T 4-25 Kg N through compost and remaining 25 kg N through IF+30 kg
P2O5 ha-1, T5-25 kg N through crop residues (wheat straw) and remaining 25 kg N through
IF+30 kg P2O5 ha-1, T6- 15 kg N through FYM + 10 kg N through crop residues and
remaining 25 kg N through IF+30 kg P 2O 5 ha-1, T 7- 15 kg N through FYM + 10 kg N
through compost and remaining 25 kg N through IF+30 kg P2O5 ha-1, T8- 15 kg N through
FYM + 10 kg N through Greenleafand remaining 25 kg N through IF+30 kg P 2O 5 ha-1 and
T 9- 100% RDN through IF without phosphorus and applied in maize crop. The treatments
were superimposed with 4 replications in a Randomized Block Design with plot size of 6 m ×
5 m. Maize crop was sown at a row-plant spacing of 60 × 25 cm and blackgram crop was
sown at a row- plant spacing of 30 x 10 cm. The recommended dose of P fertilizers was
434 | Page Sustainable soil management for resilient rainfed agro-ecosystem: conservation agriculture, organic farming, INM,
soil-microorganisms-plant interactions