Vol. 11, Issue 2 (2022)

Author(s):
Shiv Sing Meena, Ajay Shrivastava, BR Meena, Vijay Kant Singh and Vinit Kumar

Abstract:
Agriculture has been the backbone of the Indian economy. In India around 70 per cent of the population earns its livelihood from agriculture. It fulfils the basic need of human beings and animals. It is an important source of raw materials for many agro-based industries. All physical properties of the soil are the key factor of soil fertility. Different physical properties in soil viz., bulk density, particle density, hydraulic conductivity of soil and mean weight diameter etc. However the magnitudes of the impact at 0-15 and 15-30 cm soil depth are varies and alterations in the physical properties of soil are not well defined. Therefore, the present trial was conducted on long term impacts of organic manures and chemical fertilizers on different physical properties of a Tarai soil at the N.E. Borelog crop research centre, GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology Pantnagar, Uttarakhand (India). The experiments plot comprising of six treatments were laid out in simple randomized block design with four replications. Treatments were i. Control, ii. 100% NPK (LTFE), iii. 100% NPK + FYM (LTFE), fallow field, poplar based agro-forestry system and eucalyptus based agro-forestry system. The particle density was lowest with plots receiving 100% NPK+FYM @ 15 t ha^-1 (T₃) and highest PD was observed in the control plot (T₁). The values were statistically significant in both the surface and sub surface soil. The highest mean weight diameter of soil aggregates at surface and sub surface soil was observed in FYM along with 100% NPK fertilizer treated plot (T₃). This might be due to the application of FYM and chemical fertilizer significantly enhanced organic carbon status in soil and increases the MWD of soil aggregates. With respect to surface soil, saturated hydraulic conductivity varied from 0.168 to 0.344 (cm hr^-1). In the sub surface soil layer (15-30 cm) saturated hydraulic conductivity ranged from 0.136 to 0.257 (cm hr^-1). The data obtained from this experiment enhanced the understanding of long term impacts of organic manures and chemical fertilizers on different physical properties of soil in the Tarai region soil of UK in India.