Impact of Integrated Nutrient Management on Growth and Properties of Soil in Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)
Amit Kumar Mehta *
Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science, U. P. College, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Sanjay Kumar Shahi
Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science, U. P. College, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Shravan Kumar Maurya
Department of Agronomy, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Krishna Kumar Patel
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Rishikesh Yadav
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Devrani Gupta
Department of Agronomy, Banda University of Agriculture and Technology, Banda, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Chandrakant Chaubey
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India.
P. K. Sharma
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, IAS, BHU, Varanasi-221005, Uttar Pradesh, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
A field experiment was conducted on sandy loam soil at Udai Pratap (Autonomous) College, Varanasi with sunflower, variety PSH-50 as test crop during Zaid season (2020-2021) to study the impact of integrated use of inorganic fertilizers, FYM and bio-fertilizers on performance of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) and soil properties. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design (RBD) with four replications. The treatments were T1 (control), T2 (50% RDF), T3 (100% RDF), T4 (125% RDF), T5 (50% RDF + 15 tons FYM ha-1 + PSB + Azotobacter), T6 (75% RDF +15 tons FYM ha-1 + PSB + Azotobacter) and T7 (100% RDF +15 tons FYM ha-1 + PSB + Azotobacter). It is evident from the results that maximum plant height, number of leaves, capitulum diameter, test weight and oil content were obtained with treatment T6 (75% RDF +15 tons FYM ha-1 + PSB + Azotobacter). It was also found that nutrient availability (NPKS) and nutrient uptake (NPKS) was also superior in treatment T6 (75% RDF +15 tons FYM ha-1 + PSB + Azotobacter).
Keywords: Inorganic fertilizers, FYM, PSB, RDF, bio-fertilizers, soil fertility, capitulum diameter, NPK, animal manure, crop nutrition