Effect of amendments on different forms of soil aluminum and acidity in an acid alfisol of western Himalayas

The present investigation was carried out to study the effect of integrated nutrient supply on forms of aluminum and acidity at the Experimental Farm of Department of Soil Science, COA, CSK HPKV, Palampur in a randomized block design with 13 treatments replicated three times. The soil of the experimental site was silty clay loam and classified taxonomically as ‘Typic Hapludalf’ with acidic reaction, medium in organic carbon, low in available N, medium in P and K at the initiation of the experiment. Thirteen treatment combinations of lime, NPK doses and vermicompost were imposed in pea-okra cropping system from winter 2008–09 to summer 2011. Results revealed that application of chemical fertilizers alone or in conjunction with lime or vermicompost decreased all the forms of aluminum and soil acidity over chemical fertilizers alone. Maximum reduction in all the forms of aluminum and soil acidities was recorded with lime application along with 125% NPK which was statistically similar to 75% NPK+lime and 100% NPK+lime. Among the rates of vermicompost application, extent of reduction was more under the treatment getting 10 t/ha vermicompost as compared to 5 t/ha.