integrated nutrient management and waste recycling for restoring soil fertility and productivity in...

Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 80 (2000) 267–275

Integrated nutrient management and waste recycling forrestoring soil fertility and productivity in Japanese mint

and mustard sequence in Uttar Pradesh, India

D.D. Patra∗, M. Anwar, Sukhmal ChandCentral Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), P.O. CIMAP, Lucknow 226 015, India

Received 4 November 1998; received in revised form 14 June 1999; accepted 14 March 2000

Abstract

Supplementing the nutrient requirement of crops through organic manures plays a key role in sustaining soil fertility, andcrop productivity and reducing use of fossil fuels. Field experiments were conducted for 2 years at two different locations(i.e. Lucknow and Pantnagar) in Uttar Pradesh, India. The objectives of the study were to assess the herb and essential oilyields of Japanese mint (Mentha arvensiscv. Hy 77), and its nutrient accumulation under single and combined applicationsof organic manures and inorganic fertilizers (NPK). Changes in physical and chemical characteristics of the soils (Fluvisols,Mollisols) were also determined. Eight treatments comprising different combinations of NPK through inorganic fertilizersand farm yard manure (FYM) were compared. The distilled waste of mint after extraction of essential oil was recycled tosoils in the plots to supplement the nutritional requirement of the succeeding mustard crop (Brassica junceacv. Pusa Bold).Herb and essential oil yield of mint were significantly higher with combined application of organic and inorganic sourcesof nutrients as compared to single applications. Accumulation of N and P was at par under full inorganic and combinedsupply whereas, K accumulation was higher with the former. Soil organic C and pH after harvest of mint did not significantlydiffer among the treatments, but the level of mineralizable N, Olsen-P and NH4OAc extractable K were higher in soil withintegrated supply of nutrients. Significant increase in soil water stable aggregates, organic C, available NPK and microbialbiomass, and decrease in soil bulk density were observed with waste recycling over fertilizer application. These benefits werereflected in the seed and stubble yield of mustard which succeeded mint. This study indicates that combined application ofinorganic fertilizers with organics helps in increasing the availability of nutrients and crop yield and provides a significanteffect to the succeeding crop. Similarly, recycling crop residues reduces the need for fossil fuel based fertilizer, and helps insustaining and restoring soil fertility in terms of available nutrients and major physical and chemical characteristics of thesoil. © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords:Essential oil; Japanese mint; Integrated nutrient management; Residue recycling

∗ Corresponding author. Tel.:+91-522-342676;fax: +91-522-342666.E-mail address:[email protected] (D.D. Patra)

1. Introduction

Improved cropping systems, involving major cropsthat rely on the use of high rates of inorganic fertil-izers, continuously for several years often lead to un-sustainability in production and also pose a threat to

0167-8809/00/$ – see front matter © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.PII: S0167-8809(00)00151-1

268 D.D. Patra et al. / Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 80 (2000) 267–275

the environment. The major concerns are the develop-ment of multi-nutrient deficiency and fertilizer relatedenvironmental pollution (Prasad and Power, 1995).In response to these concerns, there is a concertedeffort world wide to use green manuring, legumesand organic manures to produce the same amountof food with less fossil fuel based inorganic fertiliz-ers. In general, there is a considerable move towardslow input sustainable agriculture (Prasad, 1998; Ramand Kumar, 1996). In India, also, integrated supplyof nutrients to plants through organic and inorganicsources is becoming an increasingly important as-pect of environmentally sound sustainable agriculture(Meelu et al., 1995). For example, farm residues canbe very efficiently recycled to supplement the nutrientrequirement of crop(s), thereby sustaining productiv-ity, reducing use of fossil fuel based fertilizers, andrestoring soil fertility. Organic materials hold greatpromise due to their local availability, as a source ofmultiple nutrients and ability to improve soil charac-teristics. Mint (Mentha arvensisL. var. Piperascens)which is widely used in pharmaceuticals, food andcosmetic preparations, yields essential oil rich inmenthol on hydro-distillation of fresh herb. The dis-tillation waste which retains its nutritional values canbe recycled to the soil as a potential organic manurefor supplementing the nutritional requirement of thesubsequent crop (Chattopadhyay et al., 1993).

The present study was undertaken to evaluate theeffect of combined applications of organic manure(FYM) and inorganic fertilizers (NPK) in differentproportions on yield of mint as the test crop. In ad-dition, the influence of incorporation of distillationwaste of mint on the succeeding crop mustard (Bras-sica junceaL. Czern & Coss.) crop and influence ofintegrated supply of nutrients on soil properties werealso determined.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Experimental sites

Field experiments were conducted for 2 years(1994–1996) with Japanese mint at the CIMAP re-search farm at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, located at26.5◦N latitude, 80.5◦E longitude and 120 m abovem.s.l. Similar experiments were also conducted at

Table 1Initial properties of the soils at the experimental sites at Lucknowand Pantnagar, Uttar Pradesh

Soil characteristics Lucknow Pantnagar

Soil type Fluvisol MollisolTexture Sandy loam Clayey loampH (water) 8.2 7.2Organic C (g kg−1) 3.5 12.0Mineralizable N (KMnO4

extractable, mg kg−1)55.4 140.0

Phosphorus (0.5 M NaHCO3extractable, mg kg−1)

10.0 10.0

Potassium (N NH4OAcextractable, mg kg−1)

26.0 95.0

Bulk density (Mg m−3) 1.35 1.36

the CIMAP Field Station, Pantnagar, Uttar Pradesh,situated at 20◦N latitude, 79.5◦E longitude and 244 mabove m.s.l. The details of the initial properties of thesoils are presented in Table 1.

2.2. Treatments

The trial was carried out in a randomized block de-sign (6 m×8 m plot at Lucknow and 10 m×12 m atPantnagar) with eight treatments having different com-binations of fertilizers (NPK) and farm yard manure(FYM). Fertilizer NPK was applied through urea, sin-gle super phosphate and muriate of potash, respec-tively. Details of the elemental composition of FYMare presented in Table 2. The treatments comprisingdifferent combinations of organic fertilizer and NPKare presented in Table 3. All the treatments were repli-cated three times in a randomized block design.

Suckers of Japanese mint were planted end to end inthe last week of January in 5 cm deep furrows, 50 cm

Table 2Elemental composition (g kg−1) of farm yard manure (FYM) andmint distillation waste

Nutrient element FYM Distillation waste

Carbon 285 436Nitrogen 8.5 15.5Phosphorus 6.3 4.6Potassium 13.3 22.2Zinc 0.16 0.20Manganese 0.20 0.28Copper 0.18 0.22Sulphur 1.80 2.50

D.D. Patra et al. / Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 80 (2000) 267–275 269

Table 3Details of combinations of manure and fertilizers applied underdifferent treatments

Treatmentsa Fertilizer (kg ha−1) Manure (Mg ha−1)

N P K

1 0 0 0 –2 200 40 60 –3 100 20 30 54 50 10 15 105 50 10 15 156 – – – 207 – – – 158 – – – 10

a : Control; 2: fertilizer (full rate) and no FYM; 3: fertilizer(half rate) plus FYM at 5 Mg ha−1; 4: fertilizer (one-fourth rate)plus FYM at 10 Mg ha−1; 5: fertilizer (one-fourth rate) plus FYM at15 Mg ha−1; 6: no fertilizer but FYM at 20 Mg ha−1; 7: no fertilizerbut FYM at 15 Mg ha−1; 8: no fertilizer but FYM at 10 Mg ha−1.

apart and covered with soil. Farm yard manure andinorganic fertilizers (full rate of P and K and one-thirdof N) were applied prior to planting. The remainingtwo-thirds of N was applied in two equal splits at40-day intervals.

2.3. Harvesting of mint and sampling

Above ground foliage of the crop was harvestedduring the last week of May. For plant sampling a1 m×1 m area in the middle of each plot was har-vested 1 week before the final crop harvest. Extractionof essential oil was conducted on 200 g fresh sam-ples following hydro-distillation for 3 h. For chemicalanalysis, a representative sample of 100 g was takenfrom the bulk sample collected for oil extraction. Theplant samples were shade dried, oven dried, groundand chemically analysed for elemental compositionfollowing standard procedures.

2.4. Incorporation of distillation waste and growingof mustard

The distillation waste (residues) of mint was recy-cled to half of the plots under each of the eight treat-ments. The elemental composition of the distillationwaste and FYM is presented in Table 2. The materialsafter chopping were thoroughly mixed into the soil andfollowed by an irrigation (flooding). The waste mate-rials were well decomposed, due to high temperature

and adequate soil moisture, during August–September.At the end of September plots were thoroughly pre-pared and mustard seed (cv. Pusa Bold) was sown toevaluate the residual effect of the treatments appliedto mint and the recycled distillation waste. Nitrogen,P and K at minimum rates (25, 25 and 30 kg ha−1

N, P and K, respectively) were applied prior to sow-ing of mustard. The crop was grown to maturity andharvested at the end of February. The seed and to-tal dry matter yields were recorded. A representativesampling for seed and stubbles was conducted and thesamples analysed for elemental (NPK) composition.

2.5. Soil sampling and analysis

Soil samples were taken after the harvest of mus-tard. Soils were sampled from three randomly selectedsites (one in the middle and two from the oppositecorners from each plot) to a depth of 15 cm with soilauger. The soils were mixed, homogenized, sieved(2 mm) and a composite sample of approximately500 g was obtained. Soils were dried in shade andstored in plastic bags prior to analysis.

For soil microbial biomass fresh samples after siev-ing were stored in bins at 5◦C in the presence of sodalime prior to analysis. Microbial biomass C and Nwere estimated following the method of Jenkinson andPowlson (1976) and Vance et al. (1987), respectively.Shade dried soil samples were analysed for organic C(Walkley and Black, 1934), available N (Subbiah andAsija, 1956), 0.5 M NaHCO3 extactable P, and 1 NNH4OAc extactable K (Jackson, 1973). Water stableaggregates were determined by the method of Kemperand Chepil (1965).

2.6. Statistical analysis

Data on all the observations were subjected to anal-ysis of variance (ANOVA) and least significant differ-ences (LSD) were calculated using T-method (Sokaland Rohlf, 1981).

3. Results

3.1. Herb and oil yields of mint

At Lucknow, the herb yield of Japanese mint in-creased significantly with all treatment combinations,


Table 4Influence of single and combined application of organic manures and inorganic fertilizers on herb and essential oil yield of mint at twolocations in Uttar Pradesh

Treatmentsa Lucknow Pantnagar

Herb (Mg ha−1) Oil (l ha−1) Herb (Mg ha−1) Oil (l ha−1)

1 14.16 124.8 17.97 129.02 19.32 172.8 24.27 181.63 21.11 175.2 25.32 215.14 17.25 168.0 26.79 218.25 20.13 177.0 30.00 220.26 19.46 171.9 26.60 204.07 15.25 140.9 21.96 168.28 14.60 133.3 18.07 148.5

LSD (P=0.05) 1.95 7.05 2.21 8.21

a 1: Control; 2: fertilizer (full rate) and no FYM; 3: fertilizer (half rate) plus FYM at 5 Mg ha−1; 4: fertilizer (one-fourth rate) plusFYM at 10 Mg ha−1; 5: fertilizer (one-fourth rate) plus FYM at 15 Mg ha−1; 6: no fertilizer but FYM at 20 Mg ha−1; 7: no fertilizer butFYM at 15 Mg ha−1; 8: no fertilizer but FYM at 10 Mg ha−1.

over the control (Table 4). There was an increase of36% in herb yield over control with the applicationof full rate of inorganic NPK. However, the extentof yield increase was 49, 22 and 42% over controlwith Treatments 3, 4 and 5, respectively. Herb yieldincreased by merely 8 and 3% over control with ap-plication of only FYM (without fertilizer) at 15 and10 Mg ha−1, respectively. Herb yield with 20 Mg ha−1

application of FYM was at par with that of the com-bined applications of organic and inorganic fertilizersin different proportions.

Oil yield followed a similar trend as the herb yieldand it was highest with 15 Mg FYM applied withone-fourth NPK as inorganic fertilizer (Treatment 5).Oil yield with combined application of 5 Mg FYM andhalf rate of inorganic NPK was about 40% higher thanthat in the control. There was an increase of 38% inoil yield over control with supply of nutrients eitherthrough full rate of inorganic NPK (Treatment 2) or20 Mg FYM (Treatment 6).

For the Pantnagar site the response to fertilizer andorganic matter application with respect to herb and es-sential oil yield was almost similar to that under Luc-know conditions (Table 4) The Pantnagar soil beingmore fertile than the Lucknow one, produced a higheryield of herb. The highest herb yield was recorded,for Treatment 5, which was about 67% higher thanthat with the control (Treatment 1). Herb yield withother treatment combinations were as follows: Treat-ment 6>Treatment 4>Treatment 3. The response to

full application rate of inorganic NPK (Treatment 2)was a 35% increase in herb yield over the control.Application of FYM at 15 Mg ha−1 (Treatment 7) and10 Mg ha−1 (Treatment 8) without any inorganic fer-tilizer resulted in an increase of 22 and 14% herb yieldover control, respectively. The oil yield treatment re-sponse followed the identical trend as the herb yield.The oil yield with full rate of inorganic NPK (Treat-ment 2) was about 41% higher than that in control. Theoil yield with a combined application of inorganic andorganic nutrients (Treatments 3, 4 and 5), which wassignificantly higher than that of the control and Treat-ment 2 (full rate of NPK), were statistically similar.

3.2. Nutrient content and accumulation in mint

Data in Table 5 indicates that the N content in mintat Lucknow site was significantly affected by the treat-ments. The highest N content in plants was found inTreatment 2, followed by the combined application oforganic and inorganic nutrients (Treatments 3, 4 and5). The N accumulation by the plants also followedsimilar trends. Accumulation of N with full inorganicNPK (Treatment 2) was about 35 and 53% higher thanthat in the control at Lucknow and Pantnagar, respec-tively, and it did not differ from that in Treatments3, 4 and 5. Nitrogen accumulation with highest rateof manure (20 Mg FYM, Treatment 6) was greaterthan that with Treatment 7 (15 Mg FYM) and Treat-ment 8 (10 Mg FYM). Both P and K accumulation by


Table 5Influence of single and combined application of organic manure and inorganic fertilizers on accumulation (kg ha−1) of major nutrients inmint at two locations in Uttar Pradesh


Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium

1 121.9 (2.60)b 24.4 (0.52) 88.2 (1.88) 144.5 (2.53) 24.5 (0.43) 85.6 (1.50)

2 164.7 (2.93) 39.3 (0.70) 122.8 (2.18) 226.5 (2.80) 53.1 (0.68) 139.1 (1.73)

3 156.7 (2.75) 38.8 (0.68) 107.3 (1.89) 216.9 (2.69) 44.9 (0.54) 134.3 (1.65)

4 160.4 (2.85) 36.0 (0.64) 100.2 (1.78) 215.6 (2.54) 45.8 (0.54) 136.0 (1.72)

5 164.4 (2.83) 34.9 (0.60) 109.2 (1.88) 216.4 (2.48) 43.3 (0.52) 138.3 (1.65)

6 136.5 (2.63) 34.8 (0.67) 88.7 (1.71) 199.3 (2.64) 45.3 (0.60) 117.0 (1.55)

7 130.1 (2.71) 35.0 (0.73) 84.0 (1.75) 165.9 (2.58) 37.3 (0.58) 99.0 (1.54)

8 127.5 (2.64) 33.8 (0.70) 84.0 (1.74) 156.5 (2.60) 32.5 (0.54) 96.3 (1.60)

LSD (P=0.05) 8.85 (0.12) 2.75 (NS) 4.92 (NS) 11.62 (NS) 2.83 (NS) 5.86 (NS)

a 1: Control; 2: fertilizer (full rate) and no FYM; 3: fertilizer (half rate) plus FYM at 5 Mg ha−1; 4: fertilizer (one-fourth rate) plusFYM at 10 Mg ha−1; 5: fertilizer (one-fourth rate) plus FYM at 15 Mg ha−1; 6: no fertilizer but FYM at 20 Mg ha−1; 7: no fertilizer butFYM at 15 Mg ha−1; 8: no fertilizer but FYM at 10 Mg ha−1.

b Figures in parenthesis represent nutrient content (g kg−1); NS: not significant.

the plants were variable but no significant differenceswere found among treatments.

3.3. Status of N, P and K in soil after the harvest ofmint

Data presented in Table 6 indicates that the availableN and P in soil after the harvest of mint were higher

Table 6Available N, P and K in soil after harvest of mint (kg ha−1) at two locations in Uttar Pradesh


N P K N P K

1 47.5 7.5 24.2 128 8.5 92.22 52.3 10.2 28.3 148 12.2 98.33 63.4 13.5 29.0 155 14.8 99.84 65.5 12.9 27.8 158 12.9 98.05 68.5 12.7 27.7 155 11.8 96.06 72.5 12.2 27.0 162 13.1 95.27 65.6 12.4 28.0 152 12.9 94.38 60.3 12.8 28.5 156 12.7 93.5

LSD (P=0.05) 7.52 2.83 NS 16.52 2.54 NS

a 1: Control; 2: fertilizer (full rate) and no FYM; 3: fertilizer (half rate) plus FYM at 5 Mg ha−1; 4: fertilizer (one-fourth rate) plusFYM at 10 Mg ha−1; 5: fertilizer (one-fourth rate) plus FYM at 15 Mg ha−1; 6: no fertilizer but FYM at 20 Mg ha−1; 7: no fertilizer butFYM at 15 Mg ha−1; 8: no fertilizer but FYM at 10 Mg ha−1; NS: not significant.

in all the treatments as compared to control (Treat-ment 1). The results also reveal that at both the loca-tions, available N and P were higher under combinedapplication of manure and fertilizers as well as underapplication of FYM alone as compared to that underfull application of inorganic fertilizers (Treatment 2).No significant variation was observed with respect toavailable K under different treatment combinations.


Table 7Influence of integrated nutrient management on grain and stubble yield of mustard (as residual crop) at Lucknow

Treatmentsa Seed yield (Mg ha−1) Stubble yield (Mg ha−1) Total dry matter (Mg ha−1)

1 −MS 1.56 7.85 9.41+MS 2.05 9.89 12.34

2 −MS 2.13 10.05 12.18+MS 2.58 14.35 16.93

3 −MS 2.06 12.38 14.44+MS 2.46 14.63 17.09

4 −MS 2.28 13.06 15.34+MS 2.32 14.67 17.19

5 −MS 2.36 13.61 15.97+MS 2.66 14.98 17.64

6 −MS 2.23 12.67 14.70+MS 2.56 13.06 16.62

7 −MS 2.38 12.65 15.03+MS 2.49 14.03 16.52

8 −MS 1.89 10.59 12.48+MS 2.09 11.71 13.80

LSD (P=0.05) 0.494 1.56 1.63−MS 0.252 0.601 0.520+MS 0.328 0.71 0.450

a 1: Control; 2: fertilizer (full rate) and no FYM; 3: fertilizer (half rate) plus FYM at 5 Mg ha−1; 4: fertilizer (one-fourth rate) plusFYM at 10 Mg ha−1; 5: fertilizer (one-fourth rate) plus FYM at 15 Mg ha−1; 6: no fertilizer but FYM at 20 Mg ha−1; 7: no fertilizer butFYM at 15 Mg ha−1; 8: no fertilizer but FYM at 10 Mg ha−1; −MS: without mint waste;+MS: with mint waste.

3.4. Seed and stubble yield of mustard grown aftermint

Data in Table 7 indicates that application of both or-ganic matter in the form of manure and incorporationof distillation waste significantly increased the seedand total dry matter yield of mustard over the supplyof inorganic nutrients alone. The influence was morepronounced in the treatments with either no fertilizers(Treatment 1), full rate of fertilizers (Treatment 2) andcombined application of organic and inorganic sourcesof nutrients (Treatments 3, 4 and 5), and less in treat-ments which supplied organic manure only. Seed andtotal dry matter yields increased by 57 and 31%, re-spectively, due to waste incorporation under Treatment1 (no fertilizer and manure during mint). The corre-sponding increase under Treatment 2 was 21 and 40%,respectively. The increase in total dry matter yield dueto waste incorporation in the plots receiving the com-bined application of organic and inorganic sources ofnutrients during mint growing period was in the orderof 10–18%.

3.5. Changes in soil physico-chemical characteristicsafter the harvest of mustard

Integrated supply of nutrients had significant influ-ence on the physical and chemical characteristics ofthe soils (Table 8). Soil pH significantly decreased dueto cropping and incorporation of waste. The highestreduction was with Treatment 5. Soil organic C increa-sed in all the treatments. The extent of increase was,however, higher when manure was applied in combi-nation with inorganic fertilizers. A similar trend wasobserved for soil bulk density, which decreased underintegrated supply of inorganic nutrients and organicresidues. Water stable aggregates (WSA), which are animportant index of soil physical quality, significantlyimproved due to organic manuring and residue recy-cling. The extent of increase in WSA was 5% in plotsreceiving full supply of inorganic NPK (Treatment 2)and 19% when receiving 15 Mg FYM with one-fourthof the rate of inorganic fertilizer (Treatment 5).

Data on available N (alkali KMnO4 extractable),Olsen-P and 1 N NH4OAc extractable-K indicated


Table 8Physical and chemical characteristics of the soil (15 cm depth) at Lucknow site, before and after harvest of mustard

Treatmentsa pH (1:2.5 H2O) Organic C (g kg−1) Bulk density (Mg m−3) Water stable aggregates (%)

Initial Harvest Initial Harvest Harvest Harvest

1 7.55 7.49 3.4 3.8 1.34 38.22 7.58 7.46 3.6 4.2 1.32 40.03 7.52 7.36 3.6 4.5 1.31 43.54 7.45 7.37 3.5 4.8 1.30 44.65 7.25 7.06 3.8 4.9 1.28 45.56 7.38 7.29 3.5 4.8 1.27 42.67 7.45 7.40 3.7 5.0 1.30 42.58 7.35 7.29 3.6 4.8 1.31 42.0

LSD (P=0.05) 0.03 0.03 NS 0.4 0.02 3.8

a 1: Control; 2: fertilizer (full rate) and no FYM; 3: fertilizer (half rate) plus FYM at 5 Mg ha−1; 4: fertilizer (one-fourth rate) plusFYM at 10 Mg ha−1; 5: fertilizer (one-fourth rate) plus FYM at 15 Mg ha−1; 6: no fertilizer but FYM at 20 Mg ha−1; 7: no fertilizer butFYM at 15 Mg ha−1; 8: no fertilizer but FYM at 10 Mg ha−1; NS: not significant.

that integrated supply of nutrients significantly influ-enced the soil fertility with respect to their availability(Table 9). In general, available N and P were signifi-cantly higher in soils that received combined applica-tion of fertilizer and manure. Available N increasedby 137% over the control and 44% over that receiv-

Table 9Available N, P and K and microbial biomass (SMB) N and P in soil after the harvest of mustard, at Lucknow site

Treatmentsa Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium SMB-N SMB-P (kg ha−1)

1 −MS 57.6 26.5 62.1 51.6 21.5+MS 79.1 35.3 67.7 56.2 27.5

2 −MS 92.8 38.0 102.2 55.8 23.8+MS 112.6 51.3 106.0 65.8 34.6

3 −MS 92.8 37.5 84.4 63.5 26.5+MS 115.2 48.2 89.3 73.4 36.5

4 −MS 135.5 38.5 85.2 62.3 24.8+MS 158.2 48.6 88.9 72.3 36.8

5 −MS 132.6 41.2 89.8 69.9 31.7+MS 162.5 54.7 92.0 80.8 40.5

6 −MS 125.8 35.1 85.9 71.3 30.2+MS 158.2 41.9 93.5 85.2 42.6

7 −MS 70.9 36.7 85.0 65.2 28.9+MS 95.0 45.4 93.0 75.6 37.5

8 −MS 67.2 32.9 77.5 68.3 27.0+MS 85.0 42.3 86.0 73.2 36.6

LSD (P=0.05) 12.5 9.8 13.2 9.5 4.5−MS 15.2 8.5 NS 8.2 4.8+MS 11.5 7.2 NS 9.8 5.5

a 1: Control; 2: fertilizer (full rate) and no FYM; 3: fertilizer (half rate) plus FYM at 5 Mg ha−1; 4: fertilizer (one-fourth rate) plusFYM at 10 Mg ha−1; 5: fertilizer (one-fourth rate) plus FYM at 15 Mg ha−1; 6: no fertilizer but FYM at 20 Mg ha−1; 7: no fertilizer butFYM at 15 Mg ha−1; 8: no fertilizer but FYM at 10 Mg ha−1; NS: not significant;−MS: without mint waste and+MS: with mint waste.

ing full supply of inorganic NPK, with the combinedapplication of 15 Mg manure with one-fourth rateof NPK (Treatment 5). The available N status wasfurther enhanced with recycling of distillation waste.Almost an identical trend was observed with respectto Olsen-P after the harvest of mustard. Available K


was highest in soil receiving the full inorganic sup-ply of NPK, but did not differ significantly amongtreatments.

Estimates of soil microbial biomass after the harvestof mustard indicated a significant increase of biomassN and P due to addition of organic materials. Recy-cling of mint waste further enhanced the soil micro-bial biomass N and P as compared to that under nonrecycled conditions.

4. Discussion

The results from the study indicate that combinedapplications of manures and fertilizers significantlyinfluenced the herb and essential oil yield of mint.This could be attributed to a significant improvementin soil physical and chemical properties. Besides im-provement in the available soil nutrients (Table 6),combined application of manure and fertilizers im-proved physical properties such as bulk density andWSA (Table 8). Similar observations on improvementof physical properties of soil like WSA, mean weightdiameter, bulk density and infiltration rate were madeby Meelu et al. (1995) under a rice (Oryza sativaL.)-wheat (Triticumspp.) cropping system through in-corporation of crop residues and green manuring. Sim-ilarly, Prasad (1994) and Dudhat et al. (1997) in Indiaobserved a significant improvement in soil aggregationand hydraulic conductivity due to integrated supply ofnutrients through inorganic NPK and blue green algaein rice-wheat system. Beneficial effects of combinedapplication of organic and inorganic sources of nutri-ents on soil fertility and subsequently on productivityof agricultural crops like rice, wheat and maize (ZeamaysL.) were also reported by Mandal et al. (1994).

The recycling of distillation waste of mint has beenobserved to have significant influence in improving thesoil fertility and productivity of succeeding crop mus-tard. The concept of recycling of distillation wastes ofmints stems from the fact that herb after hydrodistil-lation retains its manurial value with respect to majoras well as secondary and trace elements (Chattopad-hyay et al., 1993). Distilled waste fortified with starterapplication of inorganic NPK has the potential to bea balanced source of available nutrients (Chattopad-hyay, 1997). The residues on decomposition releasednutrients specially N which are available for a longer

growth period because of a slow but steady miner-alization of different organic complexes as observedby McLaughlin and Champion (1987) and Chattopad-hyay et al. (1993).

Data on estimates of soil microbial biomass revealsthat biomass N and P significantly improved due tocombined application of manure and fertilizers and re-cycling of distillation waste. Soil microbial biomassis considered to be a significant repository of nutri-ents such as N, P and S in a form much more labilethan the bulk organic matter and it plays a signifi-cant role in nutrient dynamics (Jenkinson and Ladd,1981). Changes in soil microbial biomass can be usedas an early indicator of changes in soil organic matter(Powlson et al., 1987; Jordan et al., 1995). Enhancedmicrobial biomass under the present study providesindication of sustainability of soil, with respect to or-ganic matter and available nutrients like N and P.

5. Conclusions

The findings from the present investigation revealsome distinct benefit of combined application of ma-nure and fertilizers over a full supply of organic mat-ter or inorganic fertilizers. Besides increasing the cropyield, such practices improve both soil physical andchemical properties. The possibility of sustaining thesoil ecology and the environment cannot be ignored.These results indicate a significant increase in the soilmicrobial biomass. It is possible that by supplying nu-trients to the plant in an integrated way, the use offossil fuel based inorganic fertilizer can be reducedwhich in turn, can reduce the risk of fertilizer relatedenvironmental consequences (Anon., 1997).

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Director, CIMAP,Lucknow for providing necessary facilities andScientist-in-Charge, CIMAP Field Station, Pantnagarfor managing the field experiment at Pantnagar.

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