Use of Inorganic Fertilizers and FYM for Twenty-Nine Years in Rice-Wheat Cropping System Improves Physical Soil Quality Indices after Rice

In order to assess the effect of balanced and imbalanced use of inorganic fertilizers and FYM in rice-wheat cropping system for twenty-nine years on physical soil quality indices after rice the observations were recorded from the continuing long-term fertility experiment initiated in 1984 at Norman E. Borlaug Crop Research Centre, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar. Combined use of inorganic fertilizer along with FYM significantly improved the bulk density (BD), water holding capacity (WHC), hydraulic conductivity (HC), mean weight diameter (MWD) and water stable aggregate (WSA) after rice in both the surface and sub-surface soil layer. Lowest bulk density (1.28 and 1.35 g cm-3) in surface and sub-surface soil, respectively was achieved due to N120+P40 +K40+FYM and N120+P40+K40+Zn(F)+FYM, while application of N180+P80+K40+Zn(F)+FYM resulted in highest WHC (69.32 and 57.94%), HC (0.273 and 0.192 cm hr-1), MWD (0.610 and 0.506 mm) and WSA (24.15 and 20.27%) at surface and sub-soil surface layers, respectively. The positive significant correlations were observed between various soils physical quality indices whereas BD and PD were negatively correlated with MWD, WSA, porosity, WHC and HC. The present investigation clearly points out the significance of balanced use of nutrients including FYM in rice-wheat cropping system for improving the various physical soil quality indices over a long period.