Lime and Manure Amendment Improve Soil Fertility, Productivity and Nutrient Uptake of Rice-Mustard-Rice Cropping Pattern in an Acidic Terrace Soil

Abstract

Acid soil is an obstacle to agricultural development and a concern regarding food and environmental security. Therefore, a study was carried out for two consecutive years to see how lime and organic manure (OM) amendments affect yield and nutrient absorption in the Transplanted (T.) Aman–Mustard–Boro cropping pattern in an acidic terrace soil. With nine treatments and three replications, the experiment was set in a randomized complete block design. The treatments were applied to the first crop, T. Aman, with different dosages of lime (dololime at the rate of 1 and 2 t ha−1), OM (cow dung at 5 t ha−1, poultry manure at 3 t ha−1) and lime–OM combination, and their residual effects were studied in the following mustard and boro rice crops. Results demonstrate that the effect of lime and manure was more pronounced in the case of the second and third crops in the first year and of all crops in the pattern in the second year. In the first year, grain and straw yield of T. Aman as well as the overall system productivity were not influenced significantly by the application of lime and manure, but significant increases were obtained in the second year. As an average of both years, the highest grain yield of 5.2 t ha−1 (12% over control) was recorded for T. Aman, 1.7 t ha−1 (41% over control) for mustard and 5.9 t ha−1 (47% over control, 3.9 t ha−1) for boro rice when dololime was applied in combination with poultry manure. In both years, N, P, K and S uptake were significantly increased compared to the control in all the crops due to the combined application of lime and cow dung or poultry manure. Combined application of lime and manure amendment significantly improved nutrient availability and soil quality. Therefore, applying lime in combination with manure can be practiced to uplift crop productivity in acidic terrace soils.

Integrated Nutrient Management Enhances Productivity and Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Crops in Acidic and Charland Soils

“…Nitrogen is the most important yet limited nutrient among chemical fertilizers worldwide due to very low NUE due to gaseous losses such as denitrification, volatilization, and leaching from agricultural cropping systems [78,79]. Our results showed that the combined application of organic manure, inorganic fertilizer and dolomite significantly increased total crop yields (i.e., system productivity) of the cropping patterns (Tables 5 and 9), which is consistent with previous studies in acidic soil [7,24,25]. In the acidic soil of Nalitabari, Sherpur, Islam et al [7,24] reported that combined application of lime, organic amendment, and chemical fertilizer increased yield and nutrient uptake of the T. Aman-Maize-Fallow and Wheat-Mungbean-T. Aman cropping patterns.…”

“…Addition of organic and inorganic fertilizers significantly increased soil TN in acidic soil (Table 4), which aligns with Islam et al [7,24,25] and Van Chuong [67]. Previous research showed that the C:N ratio of the manure is essential for mineralization and the build-up of SOC and TN, and that a low C:N ratio boosts the mineralization process, resulting in increased soil TN [68,69].…”

“…In the acidic soil of Nalitabari, Sherpur, Islam et al [7,24] reported that combined application of lime, organic amendment, and chemical fertilizer increased yield and nutrient uptake of the T. Aman-Maize-Fallow and Wheat-Mungbean-T. Aman cropping patterns. In another study at the same site as the present study, Islam et al [25] observed that combined application of lime, organic manure, and chemical fertilizer significantly improved the total system productivity and nutrient absorption of the T. Aman-Mustard-Boro cropping pattern with subsequent improvement in the soil quality. The authors postulated the rise in soil pH and other soil physicochemical properties as the cause of the increase in crop productivity and nutrient uptake.…”

“…It indirectly promotes soil quality by improving soil structure and stimulating microbial activity relative to conventional chemical fertilization [21][22][23]. Application of dolomite in combination with PM and chemical fertilizer increases crop productivity, N uptake, and NUE, as well as improves the physicochemical properties of acidic soil [7,24,25].…”

Improving Soil Fertility and Maize Growth in Suboptimal Land Through Application of Humic Acid

“…Suboptimal land is land that has low productivity and soil fertility so that it is not able to support plant growth optimally and is not economically profitable, either due to natural causes or due to human activities [4,5]. Therefore, as an effort to increase land productivity, it is necessary to improve soil fertility and essential nutrient cycles through the addition of organic matter, balanced fertilization, and/ or liming application [6,7]. Shahid and Al-Shankiti [8] stated that the organic matter addition can increase the efficiency of inorganic fertilizers through positive interactions in improving the quality of soil biological, chemical and physical properties.…”