Book of Extended summaries ISDA

International Conference on Reimagining Rainfed Agro-ecosystems: Challenges & Opportunities
during 22-24, December 2022 at ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad
part of the excess nutrients and also water, resulting in more balanced macronutrient cation
ratios in the root environment and thus able to enhance water and nutrient use efficiency.
Zeolite possess unique characteristics of high cation exchange capacity, large internal
porosity, uniform particle size distribution, and reduces the effect of stress on the crop
(Hazrati et al., 2017). Its application improved soil nutrients and soil water content in various
soil types and various crops, i.e. rice, Aloe vera, amaranth, sunflower and dragonhead
(Hazrati et al., 2017; Karimzadeh Asl and Hatami, 2019; Karami et al., 2019). Thus, zeolite
application leads to soil improvement. However, very little literature is available regarding
zeolite performance in divergent crop and soil types in India. Thus, this study was taken up to
study the impact of zeolite application on soil nutrient, water and crop performance in rainfed
Alfisols.
Methodology
Pot experiment was carried at CRIDA, Hyderabad with maize as test crop with different
levels of zeolite (0, 50,100 & 200 kg ha -1 ) in combination with different fertilizer dose
(control, 50% RDF & 100% RDF) at two different moisture levels (50% and 100% Field
capacity). The experimental design was completely randomized block design with three
replications. The soil used in the study was collected from Hayathnagar Research Farm
(HRF), CRIDA, Hyderabad. The maize hybrid studied was DHM-117. The soils collected
were sieved through 2 mm sieve and was mixed with zeolite and fertilizers as per the
treatments and after mixing of zeolite, the pot is filled with soil @ 10 kg pot -1 . At the end of
the maturity stage, cob from each plant from pot was harvested. Grains were separated from
the cobs and grain yield was calculated. The post-harvest soil samples were also collected
and analyzed for SOC, and available macro (N, P, K) and micro nutrients (Zn, Fe, Mn and
Cu) as per standard procedure. Also, details of water added to the crop was collected to
calculate the water use efficiency (WUE).
Results
The two most important factors that affects the maize production is nitrogen and moisture
content. The grain yield of maize ranged from 17.99 to 52.15 g pot -1 . The grain yield of
maize was significantly improved by application of different combinations of recommended
dose of fertilizers and zeolite levels. The lowest grain yield was observed in control (17.99 g
pot -1 ). Increasing the zeolite dose have significantly improved N uptake from 169.39 mg pot -1
to 261.43 mg pot -1 and nitrogen levels also significantly improved N uptake. Similarly,
zeolite application has significantly improved K uptake from 198.75 mg pot -1 to 299.14 mg
pot -1 . Also, zeolite addition improved soil available N by 20.3% and 27% at 50% and 100%
Field capacity respectively and soil available K by 27% and 34.4% under 50% and 100%
Field capacity, respectively.
Resource conservation and rainfed agriculture
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