Comparative Study of Soil Properties under Gamhar (Gmelina arborea) Based Agrisilvicultural System
Abhay Kumar *
Department of Silviculture and Agroforestry, Faculty of Forestry, Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi-834006, Jharkhand, India.
M. S. Malik
Department of Silviculture and Agroforestry, Faculty of Forestry, Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi-834006, Jharkhand, India.
P. R. Oraon
Department of Silviculture and Agroforestry, Faculty of Forestry, Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi-834006, Jharkhand, India.
Rakesh Kumar
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi-834006, Jharkhand, India.
Sheela Barla
Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi-834006, Jharkhand, India.
Swati Shabnam
Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi-834006, Jharkhand, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
A two year experiment was conducted during kharif and rabi season of 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 at experimental site near Faculty of Forestry in main campus of Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. Sole cropping and gamhar based agrisilviculture systems with four different intercrops (arhar, cowpea, greengram and mustard) were under investigation. To study the overall scenario of soil properties under agrisilviculture system, soil samples were analysed at different profile depths (0-15 and 15-30 cm) to measure the changes in soil properties under the influence of gamhar (Gmelina arborea) tree and intercrops grown in between. Soil pH, electrical conductivity (dsm-1), organic carbon (%), available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (kg ha-1) were found higher at the soil depth 0-15 cm as compared to 15-30 cm due to addition of organic residue on the surface soil. Soil OC, available N, P and K in 0-15 cm as well as in 15-30 cm profile was found to be statistically significant. It showed an increase from initial value in all the treatments in 2016-17 and 2017-18. The increase was more in gamhar based agrisilviculture system than in sole tree and sole crops in both the years.
Keywords: Agroforestry, soil properties, intercrops, arhar, cowpea, greengram, mustard.