An Asian Journal of Soil ScienceVolume 10 | Issue 1 | June, 2015 | 108-113 | e ISSN–0976–7231 Visit us : www.researchjournal.co.in

Response of tillage practices and farm yardmanure on soil health, growth, yield and nutrientuptake by potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cv.KUFRI BADSHAH

VISHESH KUMAR, T. THOMAS AND SUSHIL KUMAR

HIND AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING INSTITUTE

MEMBERS OF RESEARCH FORUM:

Received : 26.03.2015; Revised : 29.04.2015; Accepted : 09.05.2015

SummaryThe field experiment was conducted during Rabi season 2011-12. This study evaluated theeffects of tillage and FYM on soil health, growth and yield in south Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh.The experimental consisted of 9 treatments laid out in Randomized Block Design with threereplications, three levels of tillage (10, 20 and 30 cm) and FYM (0, 15 and 30 t ha-1). Theobservations of crop were taken at 30, 60 and 90 DAS (Days after sowing). All levels of tillageand FYM, improved the soil physical and chemical properties but best performance wasrecorded in T

8(Depth of tillage at 30 cm + FYM at 30 t ha-1). All growth parameter and yield was

found statistically significant. The maximum plant height (18.40, 38.63 and 56.86 cm,respectively), number of branches (5.16, 11.30 and 13.86) and leaves plant-1 (21.30, 68.63 and91.76) was found in treatment 8 (T

8) and maximum tuber yield (44.83 t ha-1) was also recorded

in T8,where depth of tillage at 30 cm + FYM at 30 t ha-1.

Key words : Tillage practices, FYM, Potato, Soil properties, Yield attributes

How to cite this article : Kumar, Vishesh, Thomas, T. and Kumar, Sushil (2015). Response of tillagepractices and farm yard manure on soil health, growth, yield and nutrient uptake by potato (Solanumtuberosum L.) cv. KUFRI BADSHAH. Asian J. Soil Sci., 10(1) : 108-113.

Research Article

Corresponding author :VISHESH KUMAR, Department ofSoil Science, Allahabad School ofAgriculture, Sam HigginbottomInstitute of Agriculture, Technologyand Sciences, ALLAHABAD (U.P.)INDIAEmail: visheshchauhan.ag@gmail.com

DOI : 10.15740/HAS/AJSS/10.1/108-113

Co-authors :T. THOMAS, Department of SoilScience, Allahabad School ofAgriculture, Sam HigginbottomInstitute of Agriculture, Technologyand Sciences, ALLAHABAD (U.P.)INDIA

SUSHIL KUMAR, Department ofAgricultural Chemistry and SoilScience, C.C.R. (P.G.) College,MUZAFFARNAGAR (U.P.) INDIA

IntroductionPotato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of most

important vegetables and largest food crop. The potatois starchy tuberous crops from the perennial cropbelonging to Solanaceae family (also known as thenightshades). Its consumption has increased in thedeveloping countries over the last decade. Global potatoproduction has increased at anannual average rate of4.5 per cent (FAO, 2007). It gained a considerableimportance as an export crop to European markets and

one of the national income resources. Potato, being aheavy surface feeder, needs huge quantity of nutrientsfor proper growth and development of tubers. Therefore,sole application of inorganic fertilizers not only leads totheir imbalanced and inadequate use but also results inpoor yield, deterioration of soil fertility and multiple nutrientdeficiencies (Acharaya and Mondal, 2007). So, combinedapplication of available organic sources along withinorganic fertilizers assures better nutrients uptake, highcrop yield and soil productivity on sustainable basis

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(Manna et al., 2003). It may help in improving nutrientuptake and yield in potato crop.

Tillage brings about a suitable tilth which results intodesirable physical conditions required for better plantgrowth. Tillage helps in proper mixing of appliedfertilizers, organic manures and residual organic matterin the soil, thus, it increases rate of mineralization bypromoting decomposition. The increased humus contentof the soil, buffers soil reaction through which soilreaction becomes stable and the availability of almost allthe plant nutrients remain ideal for better crop production.Low soil temperature is most critical to seed germination,plant emergence and root growth but tillage helps inregulation of soil temperature. Surface permeability torainfall or irrigation is increased by tillage especially whenthe soil surface is crusty however, this improvement maybe temporary. The increase in permeability reduces runoff and controls erosion. Moreover sub-soil permeabilityis least affected by tillage (Balasubramaniyan andPalaniapppan, 2007).

Potato needs nitrogen, phosphorus and potassiumin suitable combinations and at optimum levels forobtaining higher yield, variable response to nitrogen,phosphorus and potassium have been reported and theresponses were observed to vary with a number of factorslike soil, climate and varieties (Lal and Arora, 1987).Application of nitrogen increases tuber number andweight plant-1 along with increased nitrate content butdecreased vitamin-C content (Sharma and Arora, 1987).

Farm yard manures (FYM) acts as buffering agentwhich reduces the toxicity of excessive acid, alkali orsalts present in the soil. Being the store house the variousnutrients both macro as well as micro, is of vitalimportance. The soil physico-chemical and biologicalcharacteristics are very much benefited by FYM. Theaverage composition of FYM nitrogen 1.13 per cent,phosphorous 1.25 per cent, potassium 1.30 per cent, lime0.6 per cent, ash 4.9 per cent, sulphuric acid 0.13 percent, magnesium 0.15 per cent (Source: fertility andnutrient management). The content of nitrogenphosphorus and potassium in Farm yard manure are quitevariable because of variation in quality of dung.

Resource and Research MethodsThe experiment was conducted at Research Farm

of Department of Soil Science at Sam HigginbottomInstitute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences,Allahabad. the area is situated on the south of Allahabad

on the right side of the river Yamuna on the South ofRewa Road at a distance of about 6 km from Allahabadcity. It is situated at 25.57024’08.71-N latitude, 81050'16.95”E longitude and at the altitude of 98 meter abovemean sea level. The soil of the experimental field isalluvial in nature, the experiment was conducted duringRabi season 2011 and 2012. The treatments wereallocated in Randomized Block Design with threereplications and three levels of tillage (10, 20 and 30 cmdepth of soil) and FYM (0, 15 and 30 t ha-1) for the crop.Treatments combination viz., T

0 - Depth of tillage at 10

cm + FYM at 0 t ha-1, T1 - Depth of tillage at 10 cm +

FYM at 15 t ha-1, T2 - Depth of tillage at 10 cm + FYM

at 30 t ha-1, T3 - Depth of tillage at 20 cm + FYM at 0 t

ha-1, T4 - Depth of tillage at 20 cm + FYM at 15 t ha-1,

T5 - Depth of tillage at 20 cm + FYM at 30 t ha-1, T

6 -

Depth of tillage at 30 cm + FYM at 0 t ha-1, T7 - Depth

of tillage at 30 cm + FYM at 15 t ha-1 and T8 - Depth of

tillage at 30 cm + FYM at 30 t ha-1. Each plot size wasof 2m × 1.5m (3m2) and the crop was applied withrecommended dose of fertilizers i.e. N, P, K and Zn @160, 80, 120 and 25 kg ha-1.

Before and after crop harvest soil sample weretaken from 0-15 (cm) and 15-30 (cm) depth randomlyprior to tillage operations, air dried and passed through 2mm sieve and the size of sample was reduced by conningand quartering for the determination of important physicaland chemical properties of soil, viz., soil texture(Bouyoucos Hydrometer method by Bouyoucos, 1927).The composition of soil sample was, sand 60.80 per cent,silt 24.10 per cent and clay 15.10 per cent. Texture wassandy loam according to USDA system. Particle density(Relative density bottle method by Black, 1965), Bulkdensity (Core method by Black, 1965), Pore-space (Useof 100 ml Graduated Cylinder by Black,1965), Soil pH(Digital Electric pH meter by Jackson, 1958), EC (DigitalConductivity meter by Wilcox, 1950), Organic carbon(Walkley method, 1947), Available N (Alkalinepermanganate method by Subbiah and Asija, 1956), P(Colorimetric method by Olsen et al., 1954), K (FlamePhotometric method by Toth and Prince1949) and Zn(Holmes, 1945).

The observations of crop were taken at 30, 60 and90 DAS (at an interval of 30 DAS). The height of thethree tagged plants was recorded from ground level tothe tip of the leaves. The number of branches and leavesof all the three randomly selected plants were countedand averaged plants-1 carefully forms the soil in natural

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condition. The yield of potato from each plot wasrecorded and converted into t ha-1.

Research Findings and DiscussionThe results obtained from the present investigation

as well as relevant discussion have been summarizedunder following heads :

Effect of tillage and FYM on soil physicalproperties:

The data indicated in Table 1, the best performanceof bulk density (1.35 and 1.33 gcm-3), particle density(2.48 and 2.47 g cm-3) and pore space (53.66 and 54.33%) was recorded in T

8 - (D

3F

2) Depth of tillage at 30

cm + FYM at 30 t ha-1 treatment combination, after cropharvest soil of potato grown plot were decreases withincreasing levels of tillage practices and farm yardmanure and it increases with increasing soil depth, attwo levels of soil sampling (0-15 and 15-30 cm). Simlaleyfinding that the soil bulk density increased with depthwas attributed to the large fraction and compaction.Brady (1990) and Agbede (2006) found that bulk densitygenerally is higher in lower profile layers. This is due tothe lower concentration of the organic matter, lessaggregation, less root penetration and compaction causedby the weight of the overlying layers. The low soil bulkdensity and high porosity produced by conventional tillagesystem could be attributed to the loosening effects oftillage (Agbede, 2008).

Effect of tillage and FYM on soil chemicalproperties :

The data indicated in Table 2 shows that, the pH,

EC, organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium andzinc in potato crop were increased with increasing levelsof tillage practices and farm yard manure in crop duringthe experiment. However, pH (7.35 and 7.42), EC (0.18and 0.19 dS m-1), organic carbon (0.52 and 0.44 kg ha-

1), nitrogen (235.00 and 220.66 kg ha-1), phosphorus(22.90 and 21.73 kg ha-1), potassium (175.33 and 169.00kg ha-1) and zinc (0.48 and 0.44 kg ha-1) at two levels ofsoil samples (0-15cm and 15-30 cm depth) were foundin treatment combination T

8 - (D

3F

2). Depth of tillage at

30 cm + FYM at 30 t ha-1, because FYM as we knowFYM is a good source of N, P, K, and other nutrients.Reported that the soil pH, organic C, total N, available P,exchangeable K, Ca and Mg were higher at the soilsurface layer (0–15 cm depth) than at sub-soils (15–30and 30–45 cm depths) could be attributed to higherconcentration of organic matter in the upper soil layerthan in the subsoil layers since organic matter is knownto be ultimate determinant of soil fertility in most tropicalsoils (Obatolu and Ibiremo, 1999). Agbede (2010) alsoreported the soil pH, organic C, total N, available P andZn higher at the soil surface layer (0–15 cm depth) thanat sub-soils (15–30 cm and 30–45 cm depths) could beattributed to higher concentration of organic matter inthe upper soil layer than in the subsoil layers since organicmatter.

Effect of tillage and FYM on plant growthparameters :

The result (Table 3) showed that the plant height,number of branches and number of leaves and yield ofpotato crop were increased with increasing levels oftillage practices and farm yard manure in potato crop.

RESPONSE OF TILLAGE PRACTICES & FARM YARD MANURE ON SOIL HEALTH, GROWTH, YIELD & NUTRIENT UPTAKE BY POTATO

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Table 1 : Response of tillage practices and farm yard manure on after crop harvest soil physical properties of the experimental field at 0-15(cm) and 15-30 (cm) depth of soil

Bulk density (g cm-3) Particle density (g cm-3) Pore space (%)Treatments

0-15 (cm) 15-30 (cm) 0-15 (cm) 15-30 (cm) 0-15 (cm) 15-30 (cm)

T0 1.36 1.30 2.50 2.48 54.66 53.66

T1 1.33 1.33 2.45 2.49 52.66 51.66

T2 1.35 1.37 2.58 2.54 55.33 53.00

T3 1.34 1.36 2.52 2.50 53.00 56.33

T4 1.33 1.32 2.47 2.50 53.00 53.66

T5 1.39 1.31 2.51 2.47 53.33 53.66

T6 1.34 1.34 2.46 2.54 55.66 52.66

T7 1.35 1.34 2.47 2.51 53.66 53.00

T8 1.35 1.33 2.48 2.47 53.66 54.33

C.D. (P=0.05) 0.07 0.04 0.07 0.09 2.86 2.49

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The maximum plant height (18.40, 38.63 and 56.86 cm,respectively), number of branch (5.16, 11.30 and 13.86)and leaves plant-1 (21.30, 68.63 and 91.76) was foundin treatment 8 (T

8) and maximum tuber yield (44.83 t

ha-1) was also recorded in T8, where depth of tillage at

30 cm + FYM at 30 t ha-1 and lowest plant height(11.86, 25.20 and 39.06 cm, respectively), number ofbranch (2.86, 6.20 and 9.30) and leaves plant-1 (11.96,44.63 and 66.40) at 30, 60 and 90 DAS was found intreatment 0 (T

0) and lowest tuber yield (20.00 t ha-1).

Sojka et al. (1993) also reported that zone sub-soilingconsistently improved tuber grade or increased tubersize and tended to increase total yield of potatoes whencombined with reservoir-tillage, a tillage system thatcreates small reservoir-like structures in the inter rowarea to pond water, thereby decreasing runoff. Thegrowth of sweet potato crop grown on zero tilled soilwas comparable to conventionally tilled soil. This agreeswith detailed studies by Watanabe et al. (1966) citedby Howeler et al. (1993) that under compactioncondition, top growth flourish at the expense of tuberousroot thickening. Conventional tillage enhanced tuberyield compared with zero tillage. This could be adducedin part to improving soil porosity due to tillage (Ojeniyiand Adekayode, 1999; Adediran et al., 1999).

It may be concluded that the combine applicationof depth of tillage at 30 cm + FYM at 30 t ha-1 wasfound to be benificial in increasing the productivity ofcrops and inproving available N, P, K and Zn.

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