Chapter II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The importance of organic manures and fertilizers in the maintenance and

improvement of soil productivity particularly under intensive cultivation has been well documented

in the literature. Organic manures are the valuable byproducts of farming and allied industries

derived from plant and animal resources. These organic manures being slow in release of

nutrients, assume greater significance in a cropping sequence than individual crops and their

usefulness needs to be investigated on long term basis.

In this chapter an attempt has been made to review the available literature on the

present topic under the following heads:

2.1 Effect of organic manures

2.1.1 Soil physical and chemical properties

2.1.2 Microbiological biomass carbon

2.1.3 Growth and development

2.1.4 Yield and yield attributes

2.1.5 Nutrient accumulation and nutrient uptake

2.2 Effect of chemical fertilizers

2.2.1 Soil physical and chemical properties

2.2.2 Microbial biomass carbon

2.2.3 Growth and development

2.2.4 Yield and yield attributes

2.2.5 Nutrient accumulation and nutrient uptake

2.3 Effect of organic manures and chemical fertilizers

2.3.1 Soil physical and chemical properties

2.3.2 Microbiological biomass carbon

2.3.3 Growth and development

xii
 2.3.4 Yield and yield attributes

2.3.5 Nutrient accumulation and nutrient uptake

2.1 Effect of organic manures

The continuous depletion of nutrients due to intensive cropping system is posing a

serious threat to sustainable agriculture. At the same time, the farmers can not afford to supply all

the essential nutrients through chemical fertilizers. Organic sources of the nutrients although in

small quantities, can solve the problem to some extent and help to conserve soil health.

2.1.1 Soil physical and chemical properties

Organic matter is an important soil component influencing the physical, chemical and

microbiological properties of soil to a great extent. All physical properties of soil are affected by

changes in organic matter levels of soil. Decrease in bulk density with the addition of organic

matter has been reported by many workers (Singh and Singh, 2000; Ray and Gupta, 2001; Sharma

et al., 2001).

Thakur et al. (1995) reported significant decrease in bulk density of silty clay loam soil

at Palampur due to incorporation of dhaincha (Sesbania aculeata) and French bean biomass at an
-1 -1
average rate of 18.3 and 1.3 t ha year after every 3 years, respectively. The effect of dhaincha

(Sesbania aculeata) was significantly higher than French bean probably because of much higher

biomass addition of the former than the latter. In a clay loam soil at Kaul (Haryana) incorporation of
-1
dhaincha (Sesbania aculeata) @ 33 t ha decreased the bulk density by 8.1 per cent at 0-15 cm

and 2.3 per cent at 15-30 cm depths over the control (Gupta et al., 1995). Ray and Gupta (2001)

reported that incorporation of green manure before puddling of rice field improved soil aggregation

and thereby decreased bulk density. Thus, from above cited literature it is evident that the bulk

density decreased with application of FYM and green manures, over a period of 2-7 years.

The use of organic manures ,increased soil organic matter and total N, increased the

effectiveness of soil P, increased the population of soil organisms, especially some bacteria, and

increased the activities of some soil enzymes such as urease. Mann and Ashraf (2000) reported

that organic manures increased soil organic matter content and thus total nitrogen. Green

manuring has been reported to increase the organic carbon, available nitrogen, phosphorus
xiii
and potassium status of soil in highly sodic soils (Chaphale et al., 2001). Studies of Abeysekerra et

al. (2001) documented that organic manures enhanced the mineral nitrogen contents in the soil

irrespective of the source of green manure.

Pattanayak et al. (2001) reported recycling of K through dhaincha, Azolla and

-1
sunnhemp varied from 10.0 to 17.5; 11.7 to 15.9 and 2.7 to 3.0 kg ha , respectively. Organic

carbon and available N, P and K contents in soil were also improved with the application of FYM

and Kudzu (Pureria thumbergiana) compost in wheat-ragi sequence under Almora conditions
-1
(Singh and Chauhan, 2002). The application of farmyard manure @ 7 t ha to both the rice and the

wheat crops continuously for eight years increased organic carbon levels from 1.4 to 1.6 per cent.

Green manuring increased total nitrogen and available potassium and decreased base saturation

of soil (Chettri et al., 2003). Application of farm yard manures in paddy fields provides nutrient

recycling (Oh et al., 2004). Mirza et al. (2005) reported that N and P utilization by rice also

significantly improved with the application of green manure. Nitrogen uptake by rice (grain + straw)

was increased by 17.8 per cent and of P by 21.9 per cent with green manuring. Singh et al. (2006)
-1 -1
found that the available N of soil improved from the initial values of 235 kg ha to 261 kg ha with

farm yard manure.

Above mentioned literature indicates that organic manures not only improved the

physical properties of the soils due to higher amount of organic matter but also enhanced the soil

productivity through improvement in soil chemical properties. Thus, application of organic manures

greatly influence the physical and chemical properties of the soil.

2.1.2 Microbial biomass C

The amount of microbial biomass although comprise a small portion of soil organic

matter, yet reflects the total organic matter content within the living microbial component. Dinesh et

al. (2000) found that soils amended with organic manures consistently registered significantly

greater microbial biomass and biomass C compared to the unamended soil. Yan et al. (1998)

found that soil microbial biomass C increased greatly after application of organic manures. Similar

results were reported by Yangchun et al. (2007) which showed increase in microbial biomass C

after organic manures were applied. Hojati and Nourbakhsh (2006) found that applications of

xiv
sewage sludge and cattle manures significantly increased soil organic carbon and microbial

biomass carbon.

2.1.3 Growth and development

Application of organic manures have significant effect on growth and development of

-1
crop plants (Sharma, 1983). With the application of FYM @ 10 t ha to each crop in a rice-wheat
-2
sequence, Sharma (1992) reported a significant increase in the plant height, number of shoots m

and dry matter accumulation of both rice and wheat crops at Palampur. The residual effect of FYM
-1
@ 10 t ha applied to preceding crop of rice/wheat was also significant on plant growth of the

succeeding crop over no FYM.

Singh and Mandal (1997) reported that application of organic materials like Ipomoea

sp., blue green algae (BGA), Pistia sp., water hyacinth and FYM with inorganic nutrition resulted in

significant increase in dry matter accumulation and leaf area index over control treatment. Suresh

et al. (2000) while studying the effect of application of enriched FYM with single super phosphate

and phospho-bacteria in rice found significant improvement in crop emergence, plant height, leaf
-2
area index and panicle m .

Hemalatha et al. (2001) reported that amongst the organic treatments, in-situ
-1
incorporation of dhaincha @ 12.0 t ha recorded taller plants, higher number of tillers per hill, leaf

area index and dry matter production, grain yield and straw yield of rice over no manuring.

Vaiyapuri and Sriramachandrasekaran (2002) at Tamilnadu revealed that Incorporation of 12.5 t

-1
ha of Sesbania aculeata recorded highest plant height and number of tillers per hill. Bhattacharya

et al. (2003) reported significantly higher plant height both at 45 and 90 days after transplanting of
-1
rice with 9.0 t FYM and 1.0 litre humic acid ha both being at par. The application of 7.0 t FYM and
-1
1.0 litre humic acid ha resulted in the highest dry matter accumulation at 45 and 90 days after

transplanting. Pramanik et al. (2004) documented the best performance of Sesbania rostrata
-1
influencing plant height and total number of tillers hill of rice.

From the above cited literature, it is evident that application of various organic manures

improved the plant growth of rice and wheat crops.

2.1.4 Yield and yield attributes

xv
 Incorporation of different organic materials before transplanting of rice, increased the

total productivity of rice-wheat cropping system on an average by 2.9 to 126.2 per cent, due to

improvement in soil physical properties like bulk density, penetration resistance, aggregation,

hydraulic conductivity, infiltration and moisture retention (Prasad, 1994; More, 1994; Gupta et al.,

1995; Aggarwal et al., 1997; Mishra and Sharma, 1997), and chemical properties, like organic

carbon, available macro- and micro-nutrients like Zn, Cu, Mn and Fe (Maskina et al., 1988;

Bhandari et al., 1992; Prasad, 1994; Aggarwal et al., 1995; Kumar and Yadav, 1995; Mahapatra

and Sharma, 1995; Pathak and Sarkar, 1995; Tiwari et al., 1995). Incorporation of organic manures

in sodic soils, decreased pH, EC and ESP thereby increased crop yields (More, 1994; Kumar and

Yadav, 1995). Ganai (1983) and Sharma (1983) reported that application of FYM improved yield

attributes and yield of both rice and wheat in rotation at Palampur. The residual effect of FYM

applied in rice were on succeeding wheat crop (Ganai, 1983). Sharma (1992) also reported an

improvement in yield and yield attributes of rice and wheat with the use of FYM in rice and wheat

crops. The residual effect of FYM application on yield of either of succeeding crops was also

observed when it was applied in any of the preceding crop. Verma and Dixit (1989) observed that

wheat grain yield increased significantly with the incorporation of paddy straw and had significant

residual effect on following rice crop in wheat-rice sequence at Palampur.

-2
The number of panicles m and spikelets per panicle, percentage of filled grains and

1000-grain weight increased with increasing NPK rates and FYM application (Mondal et al., 1990).

Application of FYM to rice not only increased the grain yield of rice but that of wheat also due to

marked residual effects at Ludhiana (Brar et al., 1995). A significant increase in grain and straw
-1
yields of rice and wheat was obtained with the application of 10 t FYM ha to rice (Singh et al.,

1996). Increase in the productivity of rice-wheat cropping system has also been reported with the

use of green manure in rice (Nair and Gupta, 1999). Application of various organics in rice

significantly increased the rice grain yield and also exhibited significant residual responses on grain

and straw yields of wheat (Singh et al., 2001b). Chettri et al. (2003) from Bhutan reported that the

Farmers practice of applying seven tonnes farmyard manure per hectare appeared adequate to
-1
produce stable rice yields of 4-6 t ha .

xvi
 Tiwari et al. (1995) reported that the productivity of rice-wheat system increased from
-1 -1
62.6 q ha without green manure to 77.7 and 76.7 q ha with in-situ manuring of Sesbania rostrata

and Sesbania cannabina, respectively. Mann and Ashraf (2000) from Pakistan reported that high
-1 -1
rate of farmyard manure (20 t ha ) in combination with lower N (49 kg ha ) gave significant

increase in paddy yield. Mirza et al. (2005) reported that green manuring with Sesbania improved

the paddy grain and straw yields by 15.4 and 14.5 per cent, respectively. Productive tillers
-1
increased with the application of FYM but 10 and 20 tonnes ha of FYM was at par with each
-1
other. The increases in paddy yield due to application of 5, 10 and 20 tonnes ha FYM over

control were 6.8, 24.4 and 37.6 per cent, respectively. In an experiment conducted , Singh et al.

(2002) observed that application of 50 per cent of the recommended dose of nitrogen (RDN)
-1
through inorganic fertilizer (IF) + dhaincha (Sesbania aculeata) at 2.5 tonnes ha to rice gave
-1 -1
significantly higher mean grain yield of rice (31.8 q ha and wheat (28.4 q ha ) over the rest of the
-1
treatments, except for 50 per cent RDN through chemical fertilizers + pressmud at 5 tonnes ha in

rice. The yield of succeeding wheat increased by 43.1-48.9 per cent because of the integrated

nutrient management over the control. Premi (2003) reported that green manuring of dhaincha
-1
(Sesbania aculeata) with 25 per cent of recommended dose of nitrogen (30 kg N ha ) produced as
-1
much yield as recommended dose (120 kg N ha ) of nitrogen. Similarly, higher yields of rice as

well as succeeding wheat crop in Sesbania green manured plots was also recorded by Mandal et
-1
al. (2003). Parihar (2004) reported that grain yields obtained with 80 kg N ha (50% through green
-1
manure + 50% through urea) were comparable to 80 kg N ha (50% through FYM + 50% through

urea), but both were significantly superior over 80 kg N through urea. Integrated sources of

nutrients (organic + inorganic) had residual effect on succeeding wheat yield and nutrient uptake of

rice-wheat system. Dwivedi et al. (2005) from Lucknow indicated the possibility of saving
-1
approximately 90-120 kg chemical N ha with the use of green manures. Combined use of organic

and inorganic nutrients increases grain yield by 10 to 20% in rice-wheat cropping system. Similar

findings have also been reported by Singh (2006). He also reported that amongst the organic

manures the overall performance of green manure was best, followed by FYM and rice straw.

Thus, from the above discussion, it can be concluded that application of various

organic manures in rice and wheat as individual crops or in the cropping system as a whole,

xvii
improved the crop yields.

2.1.5 Nutrient accumulation and nutrient uptake

In general, NPK contents and uptake by the crops were shown to increase significantly

with application of FYM to rice and wheat crops grown in rotation by Ganai (1983). Significant

increase in NPK contents and their uptake in rice and wheat crops with the application of 10 t FYM
-1
ha over no FYM application was also observed by Sharma (1992). A consistent increase in the

uptake of N, P and K by rice as well as wheat was observed with increase in FYM application from
-1
0 to 12 t ha in rice (Brar et al., 1995). Sesbania green manure incorporation in rice also increased

the N, P and K uptake by rice and succeeding wheat crop over control (Nair and Gupta, 1999).

While studying the effect of different organic manures in rice-what sequence, Singh et al. (2001)

observed maximum N, P and K uptake in green manured plots followed by application of FYM to

rice crop. Kachroo and Dixit (2005) found that total NPK uptake by rice and wheat was significantly

increased by residues treatment over no residues treatment; incorporation of residues like rice

straw in wheat and wheat straw in rice decreased bulk density and increased organic matter and

microbial population compared with the initial values.

Thus, from the above findings, it can be inferred that application of organic manures

(FYM, crop residues and green manures) improves nutrient concentration and their uptake in rice

and wheat crops. However, nutrient accumulation and their uptake differ depending upon nutrient

status and degree of decomposition.

2.2 Effect of chemical fertilizers

To meet the demand of the current population of more than one billion in India, the

estimated minimum food grain production target is 230 million tones. The estimated nutrient

removal to produce the targeted food grains and other agricultural crops is around 34.33 million

tonnes as against the fertilizer consumption of about 18 million tonnes leaving a gap of about 16.33

million tonnes. Thus, widening gap between nutrient addition and crop removal has resulted in

deterioration of soil health (Jaggi et al., 2001).

2.2.1 Soil physical and chemical properties

The chemical fertilizers are invariably applied to meet the nutritional

xviii
requirements of the crops, however, these materials are also known to influence the physico-

chemical properties of soil. Among various chemical fertilizers, the less mobile fertilizers in soil

system exert more pronounced effect on soil properties by way of their accumulation in soil when

used continuously for long time. Long-term fertilizer trials in rice-wheat cropping system by Swarup

and Singh (1989) showed significant reduction in available N, P and K contents in plots where no

fertilizer was applied. Narang et al. (1990) reported appreciable improvement of organic carbon,

available P and K after two years use of chemical fertilizers. Similarly, long-term fertilizer studies in

rice-wheat cropping system by Brar et al. (1995) indicated significant increase in organic carbon,

available P and K in soil with increase in fertilizer levels beside meagre improvement in available N

status. Based upon long-term fertilizer studies in rice-wheat cropping system at various location in

India, Hegde (1998) reported an increase in organic carbon, available N, P and K status in soil with

increase in fertilizer levels. Increase in organic carbon, bulk density and available water capacity

with increase in NPK levels was also reported by Sarkar (1998). In long-term fertilizer experiment in

rice-wheat cropping system, Kumar et al. (2000) also obtained significant increase in organic

carbon and available N, P and K contents in soil with increase in fertilizer levels over control

Yadav et al. (2005) found that 100% NPK to both crops increased organic carbon and
-1
available P content by 0.06% and 3.5 kg ha , respectively, while available K content decreased by
-1
3.5 kg ha .

2.2.2 Microbial biomass carbon

Wang et al. (2006) in an experiment found that soil microbial biomass to carbon added

with organic fertilizers increased faster than added with inorganic fertilizer. Also Yangchun et al.

(2007) observed that the application of organic manures with a reduced amount of commercial

chemical fertilizer increased the content of soil organic C, microbial biomass carbon compared to

the treatment with inorganic fertilizer alone. Masto (2006) reported that application of farmyard

manure plus NPK fertilizer significantly increased soil organic carbon and microbial biomass

compared to the treatment with NPK fertilizer alone.

2.2.3 Growth and development

The importance of fertilization on plant growth and development hardly needs any

xix
emphasis. A significant improvement in growth parameters of wheat (Choudhary and Thakuria,

1997; Peltouro et al., 1997) and rice (Singh et al., 1996; Kumar, 2001, Patil et al., 2001) with the

application of nitrogen has been reported by many workers

Sharma (1992) reported that plant height, number of shoots and dry matter

accumulation of both rice and wheat increased consistently with increase in fertilizer levels from 50

to 150 per cent of the recommended NPK in rice-wheat cropping system at Palampur. Increase in

fertilizer level from 50 to 100 per cent of recommended NPK also resulted in significantly higher

plant height and dry matter accumulation in wheat (Kumar, 1996).

-2
Singh and Jain (2000) reported significant increase in plant height, number of tillers m

and total biomass production with increase in NPK levels in rice crop. At Palampur, Choudhary

(2000) recorded significant increase in plant height, dry matter accumulation and number of tillers
-2 -1
m in wheat with increase in fertilizer levels upto 120 kg N, 60 kg P2O5 and 30 kg K2O ha .
-1
Mendhe et al. (2002) reported that nitrogen @ 125 kg ha significantly increased plant

height (130.09 cm) and number of effective tillers per hill (9.29) as compared to application of
-1
nitrogen @ 75 and 100 kg ha . Meena et al. (2003) observed significantly increase in plant height,
-
total number of tillers, dry matter accumulation with increasing nitrogen application upto 220 kg ha
1
. Similarly, Sarkar et al. (2004) found that the plant height and leaf area duration increased with
-1
the increasing levels of nitrogen upto 80 kg N ha in combination with green manuring crops.

From the above cited literature it is evident that fertilizer application has a significant

role in improving the growth and development of rice and wheat crops.

2.2.4 Yield and yield attributes

There is a close relationship between the yield of cereals and fertilizer use. Long-term

fertility studies in wheat-rice sequence by Gurung and Sherchan (1993) in Nepal indicated that

wheat yield increased with increase in fertilizer application. The residual effects of fertilizers were

also significant on succeeding rice crop in terms of grain yield. Pramanick and Das (1997) had also

documented the residual effects of application of chemical fertilizers to wheat on yield of

xx
succeeding rice crop.

Increase in grain yield of wheat due to increase in fertilizer level to proceeding maize

or rice had been reported by several workers (Sharma and Gupta, 1998; Nair and Gupta, 1999;

Singh and Verma, 1999). Choudhary (2000) reported that increasing fertilizer application to wheat

significantly increased its yield and yield attributes.

Long-term fertility management studies have emphasized that balanced fertilization

was must to realize the higher-yields and yield sustainability in rice-rice (Katyal and Gangwar,

2000) and rice-wheat cropping systems (Katyal et al., 2000). Increase in crop productivity of rice-

wheat cropping system with efficient use of chemical fertilizers has been reported by many workers

(Kumar et al., 2000; Yadav, 2001; Singh et al., 2001a; Singh et al., 2001b).

Number of panicles and 1000-grain weight (Garcia and Azevedo, 2000) and grain yield
-1
(Mendhe et al., 2002) increased with increase in nitrogen levels upto 150 kg N ha ; number of

grains per panicle responded quadratically to nitrogen. Supatnekar et al. (2002) reported that N at

50-125 per cent increased grain from 5.7 to 52.8 per cent and straw yield from 20.1 to 100.3 per

cent over the control. In West Bengal, Maiti et al. (2003) reported that the application of 140 kg
-1
nitrogen ha resulted in the highest grain yield, number of panicles, number of filled grains per

panicle and 1000-grain weight. Raghuwanshi et al. (2003) and Manjapa (2004) also concluded that

grain and straw yields of rice increased with increase in the level of nitrogen. In north Bihar,
-1
Pandey et al. (2004) reported that rice responded significantly upto 150 kg N ha in influencing

yield attributing characters and grain and straw yields.

Thus, it is evident that application of chemical fertilizers had marked influence on yield

attributes and grain and straw yields of rice and wheat.

2.2.5 Nutrient accumulation and nutrient uptake

Numerous field studies on fertilizer management in rice and wheat crops have shown

an increase in nutrient accumulation and their uptake with increase in level of fertilization through

chemical fertilizers. Jadhav (1990) reported that N, P and K uptake by wheat increased significantly

with increase in the level of fertilizers ascribed to higher grain and straw yields alongwith higher

nutrient contents in the crop with higher levels of fertilizers. Narang et al. (1990) also reported an

increase in uptake of N, P, K with increase in fertility levels.

xxi
 Increase in NPK levels from 50 to 150 per cent of the recommended in rice-wheat

cropping system resulted in significant increase in N, P and K contents and uptake by grains and

straw of rice and wheat at Palampur (Sharma, 1992). Similar results were also reported by various

South Asian workers (Bhardwaj and Omnawar, 1994; Kumar, 1996; Ramd and Saha, 1999;

Sherchan and Gurung, 1998; Nair and Gupta, 1999; Tiwana et al., 1999). Increase in nutrient

contents and uptake with higher fertilizer levels in wheat has also been reported by Choudhary

(2000) and in rice by Kumar (2001).

In rice-wheat system, Kachroo and Dixit (2005) reported highest N P K uptake when

both the crops were fertilized with 100% NPK; whereas K uptake was highest when 50% N in rice

was substituted by green leaf manuring and wheat crop was fertilized with 100% NPK.

From the above literature, it is evident that application of chemical fertilizers resulted in

significant increase in nutrient contents and uptake in grains and straw of rice and wheat due to

enhanced yields.

2.3 Effect of organic manures and chemical fertilizers

It is widely recognized that neither organic manures nor chemical fertilizers used

separately can achieve the yield sustainability at a higher order under the modern intensive

farming, in which the nutrient turnover in the soil-plant system has been quite high. Integrated plant

nutrient supply system involving conjunctive use of chemical fertilizers and organics assume great

significance particularly in rice-wheat cropping system mainly due to two reasons. First, the system

requires the application of higher amounts of nutrients than used at present and the present level of

fertilizer availability and economic conditions of large number of Indian farmers do not allow this.

Secondly, it leads to soil health deterioration because of high nutrient requirement. Several studies

have also indicated that in intensive cropping systems the sustainability could be achieved only

through integration of inorganic and organic sources of nutrients (Hegde et al., 1999; Prasad,

1999).

2.3.1 Soil physico-chemical properties

The chemical fertilizers alone or in combination with organic manures are invariably

applied to meet the nutritional requirement of the crops, however, these materials are known to

influence the physico-chemical properties of the soil.

Findings of a long-term study in rice-wheat cropping system by Kumar and

xxii
Yadav (1995) revealed that integrated use of organic manures and chemical fertilizers significantly

improved the soil organic matter, available N and P and DTPA extractable Zn, Cu, Mn and Fe

contents compared to sole application of chemical fertilizers. Long-term studies in maize-wheat

system by Sarkar (1998) revealed that integrated use of crop residues and chemical fertilizers

decreased bulk density and increased in plant available water capacity, soil pH, organic carbon,

microbial population and microbial biomass. In a long-term fertility experiment in rice-wheat

cropping system, Katyal et al. (2001) also reported a marked effects of organics and chemical N

fertilization on organic carbon and available P and K contents. Findings of Sharma et al. (2001) in

rice-wheat cropping system revealed that integrated use of organic manures like FYM and green

manuring with chemical fertilizers significantly improved the organic carbon, cation exchange

capacity and available N, P, K and S contents as well as build-up of micronutrient cations in the

soil. Besides this, a marked increase in water holding capacity were also observed with the

integrated use of organics and chemical fertilizers.

Tolanur and Badanur (2003) reported that available N, P and K contents increased

significantly with the application of various organic sources of nutrients in combination with

fertilizers over the fertilizers alone. Increase in organic carbon, available N, P and K contents in soil

by the application of FYM or green manure has also been reported by various workers

(Yaduvanshi, 2001; Bastia, 2002; Bisht et al., 2002; Bajpai et al., 2002; Singh and Singh, 2003;

Dutta and Bandopadhyaya, 2003).

In rice-wheat experiment, Yadav et al. (2005) found that 100% NPK to both crops

maintained higher values of organic carbon and available phosphorus in the soil, while available

potassium was maximum when 25% N in rice was substituted by green leaf manuring and 75%
-1
NPK applied in wheat. An increase of 20 kg ha available phosphorus was also recorded when

25% N in rice substituted by green leaf manuring and 75% NPK were applied in wheat.

Gupta et al. (2006) reported that application of NPK through fertilizers upto 75% of

recommended levels in both the crops markedly reduced P, K, S and Zn contents of sol from their

initial status upto completion of 17 crop-cycle of the rice-wheat sequence. However, Organic

Carbon, N, K, S and Zn contents of soil showed rising trend with maintaining stability of P contents

xxiii
under all integrated nutrient management treatments.

Singh (2006) found that the available N, P, K and Zn status of the soil decreased

appreciably in the control plots on continuous cropping of rice and wheat grown in sequence. The

application of organic manures and chemical fertilizers individually and in combination increased
-1 -1
the available N by 7.1-94.5 kg ha after rice and 19.7-106.2 kg ha after wheat over control.

Combined use of organic and inorganic sources of nitrogen have also been reported to

decrease the bulk density of the soil (Premi, 2003; Mandal et al., 2003).

Thus from the above findings, it can be inferred that integrated use of organic manures

and chemical fertilizers in rice-wheat cropping system greatly improve the physico-chemical

properties of the soil besides its favourable influence on growth and yield.

2.3.2 Microbial biomass carbon

Microbial transformations play a pivotal role in nutrients recycling via decomposition,

immobilization and mineralization. The amount of microbial biomass although comprise a small

portion of soil organic matter, yet reflects the total organic matter content within the living microbial

component. The total amount of microbial C is generally greater in soils of cooler and wetter

regions compared to warmer and drier regions (Allison, 1973).

Ladd et al. (1994) added that microbial biomass C is a good measure of the state of

the edaphic environment and its inclusion in a soil quality index leaf to reduction in the number of

properties that need to be considered. Thus, soil microbial biomass influences crop productivity

besides nutrients recycling.

Soil and crop management practices greatly influence soil biological activity through

their effects on the quantity and quality of organic matter added to the soil and the initial distribution

of such material in the soil.

In a dernopod zolic soil after 45 years of cropping, Naumova and Barsukov (1991)

found that NPK plots contained 10-30% and manured treatments 1.5 times more microbial biomass

as compared to control. Patra et al. (1992) observed that the amount of biomass carbon was

largest in the wheat straw amended soil.

Goyal et al. (1992) found that management practices and times of sampling affected

xxiv
the magnitude and direction of change in the concentration of microbial biomass carbon. Ladd et

al. (1994) found that management practices and times of sampling affected the magnitude and

direction of change in the concentration of microbial biomass carbon.

At culture studies carried out by Shen et al. (1997) revealed that soil microbial biomass

carbon increased with the application of organic manures and decreased with the application of

ammonium sulfate.

Rochette and Gregorich (1998) found that manure amendments increased the

microbial biomass carbon by 2 to 3 folds compared to the control. Manjaiah et al. (2000) observed

that different crop management systems significantly affected the C and N stocks and microbial

biomass C and N at different soil depths; inclusion of legume in the system improved the soil

microbial biomass. Santhy et al. (2002) found that soil biomass carbon was higher where 100%

NPK + FYM was applied than 150% NPK alone.

2.3.3 Growth and development

It is widely recognized that proper plant nutrition enhances the growth and

development of crop plants be it through organics or chemical fertilizers. However, the integrated

use of organics and chemical fertilizers has been found to be more promising in improving the

growth and development of rice and wheat crops.

-1
Integrated use of 10 t FYM ha with 50 to 150 per cent of recommended NPK in rice or

wheat or in both the crops resulted in significant increase in the number of shoots and dry matter

accumulation by both the crops (Sharma, 1992). Kumar (1996) found favourable effects of
-1
combined use of FYM @ 10 t ha with chemical fertilizers on plant height and leaf area index of
-1
wheat. However, Sharma and Bali (1998) reported the superiority of 120 kg N ha over 120 kg N
-1
ha alongwith incorporation of rice stubbles in terms of plant population and number of effective

tillers of wheat crop in a rice-wheat cropping system. Based on three years studies in rice-wheat
-1
cropping system, Singh and Verma (1999) found that application of 10 t FYM ha alongwith 50 per

cent N and 100 per cent P, K and Zn produced significantly taller plants and higher number of tillers

per hill over recommended N, P, K and Zn dose in rice. Suresh et al. (2000) reported that

application of enriched FYM with single super phosphate and phosphobacteria in rice, resulted in
-2
significant improvement in crop emergence, plant height, leaf area index and panicles m .
xxv
 Pramanik et al. (2004) obtained the best performance of Sesbania rostrata alongwith
-1
recommended fertilizer doses in respect of plant height and total number of tillers hill . Singh et al.

(2006) reported that all the growth and yield parameters improved significantly due to integrated

nutrient management practices over rest of the treatment.

It is evident from the above review of literature that integrated use of organics and

chemical fertilizers appreciably improves the growth of rice and wheat crops over individual

applications of both the sources of plant nutrition.

2.3.4 Yield and yield attributes

Integrated use of both organic manures and chemical fertilizers has been found to

enhance the productivity in intensive cropping systems in comparison to chemical fertilizer alone.

Halepyati (1991) reported that application of 50 per cent P2O5 of rice to Sesbania

rostrata and remaining 50 per cent to rice crop recorded 30 and 13 per cent higher grain yield of

rice when compared with application of all 100 per cent P2O5 to rice and all 100 per cent P2O5 to

Sesbania rostrata, respectively. Budhar et al. (1991) recorded significantly higher grain yield of rice

with the application of green manures over control but observed no difference in productive tillers
-2
per hill, panicles m , filled grains per panicle and 1000-grain weight.
-1
Verma (1991) concluded that application of 10 t FYM ha to paddy could save 50 per

cent of chemical fertilizer requirement under Palampur conditions. Studies conducted at Palampur
-1
by Sharma (1992) indicated that application of 10 t FYM ha alongwith 50 to 150 per cent

recommended NPK to rice or wheat significantly increased the grain and straw yields.

The studies carried out by Hundal et al. (1992) revealed that green manures viz.,

cowpea, dhaincha and sunnhemp raised with phosphorus application resulted in significantly

higher yield than direct application of P to rice.

Meelu et al. (1992) reported that green manuring with dhaincha, sunnhemp, soybean

and cowpea increased the grain yield significantly as compared to the control and the residual

effect from green manure on dry season rice was not significant during first year but was significant

during second year. Effect of green manuring with Sesbania cannabina, Sesbania rostrata and

Crotolaria juncea on transplanted rice was studied by Choudhary and Thakuria (1996) and it was
-2
observed that green manuring increased panicles m , panicle weight and grain yield
xxvi
over control and was statistically at par with fertilizer application. Budhar and Palaniappan (1997)

also reported that partial substitution of nutritional requirement with green manure recorded almost

similar or comparable yield with that under full recommended dose through fertilizers.

Findings of long-term fertilizers experiments conducted at various locations in India

indicated that 25 to 50% nitrogen needs of rice can be substituted through FYM or green manures

without any detrimental effects on the productivity of rice-wheat cropping system (Hegde, 1998).

Ram and Saha (1999) observed that the grain and straw yields of rice was comparatively lower

when nitrogen fertilizer was applied as urea alone in comparison to the treatment where organic

manures like FYM, poultry manure or Sesbania green manure and chemical nitrogen fertilizer were
-1
applied in 50:50 combination. Singh and Verma (1999) reported that application of FYM @ 10 t ha

along with 50 per cent of recommended nitrogen significantly increased yield attributes (viz.,

number of tillers, panicle length, grains per panicle and test weight) and grain and straw yield of

rice over 100% NPK through chemical fertilizers. Residual effects of FYM applied to rice were

significant in influencing the yield of wheat in the sequence.

-1
Sharma et al. (2000) reported that green manuring combined with 40 kg N ha to rice

recorded grain and straw yields significantly higher over incorporation of green manure alone as
-1
well as over application of 120 kg N ha to rice. Yaduvanshi (2001) reported that mean rice and

wheat yields obtained from combined application of 100% recommended NPK through inorganic

fertilizers + organic manures (FYM or Sesbania green manure) were significantly higher than those

obtained under the application of 100% NPK through chemical fertilizers alone. Singh et al. (2001)
-1 -1
revealed that application of 5 t FYM ha or incorporation of 5 t FYM ha or incorporation of 4 t rice
-1
straw ha or green manure in rice alongwith recommended NPK fertilizers increased the grain yield

of rice significantly over variable doses of NPK supplied through inorganic fertilizers, FYM

maintained its superiority over other organics with respect to grain yield of succeeding wheat.

Significant increase in grain yield of rice by the application of FYM or Sesbania green manure was

also reported by Paikaray et al. (2001), Beena and Balachandran (2002), Bajpai et al. (2002) and

Bastia (2002).

Singh and Singh (2003) reported that application of 100% NPK + FYM resulted in

xxvii
significant increase in grain yield of wheat as compared to 100% or 150% NPK alone.

Many researchers have reported increase in grain yield of rice by the application of

FYM and Sesbania green manure over control (Panda et al., 1999; Kumar et al., 1999; Katyal and

Gangwar, 2000; Raju and Reddy, 2000; Kumar et al., 2002; Bisht et al., 2002 and Adhikari and

Mishra, 2002).
-1
Sharma et al. (2000) reported that green manuring combined with 40 kg N ha to rice

recorded grain and straw yields significantly higher over incorporation of green manure alone as
-1
well as application of 120 kg N ha to rice. Yaduvanshi (2001) reported that mean rice and wheat

yields obtained from combined application of 100% of recommended NPK through inorganic

fertilizers + organic manures (FYM or Sesbania green manure) were significantly higher than those

obtained under 100% NPK through chemical fertilizers alone.

Number of filled grains per panicle and grain yield were recorded with the application
-1
of 75% NPK + FYM @ 4 t ha were comparable with those obtained under 50% NPK + FYM @ 8 t
-1
ha or 100% NPK alone (Mondal et al., 2003). Similar findings were also reported by Dutta and

Bandyopadhyaya (2003).
-1
Satheesh and Balasubramanian (2003) reported that application of FYM (10 t ha ) in
-1
combination with neem cake (3 t ha ) has been found to be equally effective for getting higher

grain yield as compared to nitrogen application through fertilizers. The significant increase in grain

yield was supported by higher number of effective tillers and 1000-grain weight. Yaduvanshi (2003)

evaluated the effect of the substitution of inorganic fertilizers with organic manures on yield of

paddy grains.

In rice-wheat cropping sequence, it was reported that the mean rice yield with
-1
Sesbania green manure or 10 t FYM ha in combination with 50 per cent of recommended NPK

was similar to the yield obtained from the application of 100% of recommended NPK wheat grain

yield owing to the residual effect of green manures combined with the recommended inorganic

fertilizers was significantly higher that those under recommended inorganic fertilizers alone.

Similarly, Premi (2003) reported that recommended dose of nitrogen through chemical fertilizers

produced as much grain yield of rice as that obtained from green manuring with dhaincha or

xxviii
 -1
sunnhemp alongwith 25% of recommended dose of nitrogen indicating a saving of 90 kg N ha in

the form of chemical fertilizers.

Patro et al. (2005) obtained highest total productivity of rice-wheat with Sesbania green
-1 -1
manure along with 180 kg N ha applied to rice and 150 kg N ha applied to wheat in sequence.

Similarly, Singh (2006) found that 25 or 50% of recommended N through FYM, pressmud and

paddy straw and the rest of recommended N through inorganic fertilizers gave significantly higher

grain and straw yields of both rice and wheat over 75% of recommended N through organic

sources and 25% recommended N through inorganic fertilizers.

From the above literature it can be summarized that integrated use of organics and

chemical fertilizers has remarkable effect on yield and yield attributes of wheat and rice crops

individually or in the cropping system as a whole.

2.3.5 Nutrient accumulation and nutrient uptake

Many integrated nutrient management studies have revealed that integrated use of

organics and chemical fertilizers improve the nutrient contents and their uptake in crop plants. This

also influences the nutrient content and uptake of the succeeding crop in the cropping system as a

whole due to residual effects.

A successive increase in uptake of N, P and K in rice was observed with increase in

-1
FYM application from 0 to 12 t ha in rice which also had a significant residual effect on the uptake

of these nutrients in succeeding wheat crop (Brar et al., 1995). In another study, Jana and Ghosh

(1996) reported that total N, P and K uptake by rice under 75% NPK through fertilizers + 25%

through FYM or Sesbania green manure was at par with that under 100% NPK through chemical

fertilizers. A large number of findings indicated that integrated use of chemical fertilizers and

organics significantly increased N, P and K uptake in rice and wheat (Rathore et al., 1995; Brar et

al., 1995), N uptake in wheat (Rajput, 1995), grain P content and K uptake in wheat (Kumar, 1996)

and N, P and K uptake in wheat (Sharma and Bali, 1998; Singh and Sharma, 2000) in rice-wheat

cropping system.

Uptake of N, P and K by direct seeded rice was better by the combined use of 5 t FYM

xxix
 -1 -1
+ 50 kg N ha which was more than FYM @ 10 t ha or 100%. NPK through chemical fertilizers

alone (Babu and Reddy, 2000). Similarly, Yaduvanshi (2001) reported that application of inorganic

fertilizers in combination with green manures or FYM significantly enhanced the uptake of N, P and

K by rice and wheat crops as compared to control or inorganic fertilizers alone. Similar findings

were also reported by Sharma et al. (2001).

Studies by Singh et al. (2002) revealed that application of nitrogen in combination with

green manures, FYM and blue green algae significantly enhanced the uptake of N, P and K by rice

grain and straw over absolute control, nitrogen alone and green manuring.

Singh et al. (2006) reported that 25% RDN through pressmud + 75% RDF through

organic fertilizers resulted in highest uptake of N, P and K by rice + wheat crops. Similarly, Gupta

et al. (2006) found that total N, P, K uptake by rice-wheat system significantly increased with

fertilizers alone and in combination with different organic manures such as FYM, wheat straw and

green manure.

xxx