Effect of Long-term Fertilization and Manuring on Soil Enzyme Activity in Rice-rice Cropping System in Semi-arid Southern India

Abstract

Nutrient management practices have huge influence on soil biological health. The present study was conducted during kharif-2021 in the on-going AICRP on LTFE after 21 years of continuous application of fertilizers and manures to estimate the enzymatic activities i.e., urease and dehydrogenase activity at different growth stages of rice crop. In all the treatments, enzymes exhibited higher activity at flowering stage and thereafter the activity was decreased towards harvesting stage of the rice crop. Among all the treatments, FYM and 100% NPK+FYM treatments recorded highest dehydrogenase and urease activity, respectively as compared with all other treatments. Balanced fertilizer application i.e., 100% NPK also recorded significantly higher enzymatic activity compared with imbalanced fertilizer treatments i.e., 100% N and 100% NP during all the stages of crop growth period. Integrated nutrient management (100%NPK+FYM), FYM and 100% NPK are the best treatment with respect, to increasing enzymatic activity as compared with all other treatments. Grain yield of rice varied from 4078 kg ha-1 to 6569 kg ha-1during kharif-2021. Among all the treatments, maximum grain yield (6569 kg ha-1) was obtained with 100% NPK+FYM. Lower grain yield (4078 kg ha-1) was recorded in the treatment 100% N. Integrated use of inorganic fertilizer and organic manure resulted in higher growth parameters and maximum yield of rice. The combined use of organic as well as inorganic source of plant nutrients could be a sustainable option for optimizing the yield of rice in rice-rice cropping system in semi-arid southern India.

Effects of Water-Fertilizer-Air-Coupling Drip Irrigation on Soil Health Status: Soil Aeration, Enzyme Activities and Microbial Biomass

“…This was not consistent with the study by Li et al that showed that soil enzyme activities decreased first and then increased under the condition of muskmelon planting under aerated irrigation [37]. The activity was also affected by the soil nutrients, seasons, management practices and other conditions [38,39]. The soil urease activity of soil treated with oxygen improved significantly during the fruit expansion stage and maturation stage, and the soil urease activity of soil treated with water was also positively affected during the flowering and fruit-setting stage and fruit expansion stage, but was opposite in the maturation stage.…”

Long-term application of organic manures and chemical fertilizers improve the organic carbon and microbiological properties of soil under pearl millet-wheat cropping system in North-Western India

“…Continuous application of FYM has been found to increase the dehydrogenase activity at various growth stages of rice under rice-rice cropping systems in semi-arid region of South India [ 29 ]. Integrated nutrient management (INM) with the inclusion of organic manures like poultry manure, urban compost, maize residue, green manures, FYM, and press mud also resulted in higher alkaline phosphatase, arylsulfatase, and dehydrogenase activities under different cropping systems [ 5 , [30] , [31] , [32] , [33] ].…”