Integrated Nutrient Management in Acid Soil: A Practical.

The productivity of crops in wetland is constrained by the reduced availability of Sulphur (S) and micronutrients like Boron (B), Copper (Cu), and Zinc (Zn) in acid soil. A greenhouse study was conducted using acid soil (Inceptisol, Silty loam) to evaluate the effects of liming, soil moisture regime and application of Sulfur, Boron, Copper and Zinc on the availability of applied nutrients, growth and yield of rice. The effects of application of lime (2.0 t/ha) over no lime; alternate flooding and drying (AFD) over continuous flooding (CF) and moisture regime maintained at field capacity (FC); and nutrients viz., S, B, Cu and Zn on growth and yield of rice were assessed. Rice cv. IR 36 was grown with NPK applied @ 60 mg N, 30 mg P2O5 and 30 mg K2O /kg soil. S, B, Cu, and Zn were applied @ 10, 0.5, 1.5 and 5 mg/kg of soil, respectively. Application of 22.4 kg S, 1.12 kg B, 3.36 kg Cu, and 11.2 kg Zn/ha significantly enhanced the growth and yield of rice over control in alluvial soil. Yield response of rice to the application of S, B, Cu and Zn was further improved by liming and alternate flooding and drying during the growing season.

Dr. A K Karan is a soil scientist working as a consultant at IIT Kharagpur, W.B., India. He completed his Ph.D. in Soil Science from IIT Kharagpur, W.B., India.Vikas K. Singh is a Research Scholar at IIT Kharagpur, W.B., India. He obtained his B.Tech (Agril. Engg.)from NDUAT, Faizabad, UP and M.Tech (Agril. Engg.)from GBPUAT, Pantnagar, UK, India.