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Brinjal is a widely grown vegetables. A pot experiment was conducted to study the effect of farmyard manure (FYM), Zn and B application on fruit yield, their uptake and ascorbic acid contents of brinjal where two levels of FYM (no FYM and 5 Mg ha−1), four levels of Zn (no Zn, 5 kg Zn ha−1 as basal, 10 kg Zn ha−1 as basal and 5 kg Zn ha−1 as basal + foliar spray of Zn twice @ 0.5% ZnSO4.7 H2O) and three levels of B (no B, 1 and 2 kg B ha−1) were applied in a factorial controlled randomized design. Zn @ 10 kg ha−1 through basal and soil + foliar application enhanced the fruit yield over Zn @ 5 kg ha−1 and control. Foliar spraying of Zn and basal applied Zn enhanced the Zn uptake in fruits to 2.0–2.25 fold, while 2 kg B ha−1 application enhanced the uptake by B of two-fold irrespective of FYM application. A higher B use efficiency was recorded with 1 kg B ha−1 application than 2 kg B ha−1. Basal application of Zn and B, in addition to the foliar spray of Zn, is recommended to correct Zn and B deficiency in brinjal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of micronutrients namely zinc (Zn) and boron (B) with or without farmyard manure (FYM) on growth, yield and quality parameters viz. ascorbic acid and carotene content of tomato was evaluated. A field experiment was conducted with graded doses of Zn (soil and soil + foliar application) and B (soil application) application with or without FYM for the two consecutive years (2012 and 2013). Results revealed that application of Zn and B significantly enhanced fruit yield and different growth parameters as well as plant tissue concentration of Zn and B in tomato. The highest increase in fruit yield over control (27.6%) was observed with the conjoint application of Zn (soil + foliar), B (2.0 kg ha−1) and FYM. Soil application of Zn at higher doses (10 kg ha−1) as well as its application through both soil + foliar method has an edge over control or its application at comparatively lower doses in increasing the fruit yield of tomato. Results further revealed that combined application of Zn and B can significantly increase the important quality parameters viz. carotene and ascorbic acid content in tomato. Such increase in carotene content to the tune of 25 and 35% and ascorbic acid content to the tune of 7 and 30% over control were observed with soil + foliar application of Zn and 2 kg ha−1 B, respectively. Therefore, optimization of Zn and B doses can improve the yield and quality of tomato as well as helps in correcting the micronutrients malnutrition vis-à-vis nutritional disorders in humans by enriching the antioxidants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice-based cropping systems are the foundation of food security in countries of Southeast Asia, but productivity of such systems has declined with deterioration in soil quality. These systems are different from other arable systems because rice is grown under submergence, and this may require a different set of key soil attributes for maintenances of quality and productivity. A minimum dataset was screened for assessing quality of soils belonging to three Soil Orders (Inceptisols, Entisols and Alfisols) by using statistical and mathematical models and 27 physical, chemical and biological attributes. Surface soils were collected from farmers' fields under long-term cultivation of rice-potato-sesame cropping systems. Most of the attributes varied significantly among the Soil Orders used. Four or five key attributes were screened for each Soil Order through principal component and discriminate analysis, and these explained nearly 80% and 90% of the total variation in each Soil Order dataset. The attributes were dehydrogenase activity (DHA), available K, cation exchange capacity (CEC) and [pH.sub.Ca] for Inceptisols; organic C, [pH.sub.Ca], bulk density, nitrogen mineralisation ([N.sub.min]) and β-glucosidase for Entisols; and DHA, very labile C, [N.sub.min] and microbial biomass C for Alfisols. Representation of the screened attributes was validated against the equivalent rice yield of the studied system. Among the selected key soil attributes, DHA and CEC for Inceptisols, organic C for Entisols, and [N.sub.min] and very labile C for Alfisols were most strongly correlated with system yield ([R.sup.2] = 0.45, 0.77 and 0.78). Results also showed that biological and chemical attributes were most sensitive for indicating the differences in soil quality and have a strong influence on system yield, whereas soil physical attributes largely varied but did not predict system yield. Additional keywords: indicator, rice cropping systems, soil biological and chemical attributes, soil quality., Introduction Globally, the area of rice (Oryza sativa L.) production has increased from 148 Mha in 2002 to 164Mha in 2011 (FAOSTAT 2013). Asia is the main continent where this [...]

A long-term experiment was initiated in a sub-humid tropical Indian rice-wheat system to identify suitable soil quality indicators for determining yield and sustainability of the system as influenced by chemical fertilizers (NPK) alone or in combination with organic amendments viz. farmyard manure (FYM), paddy straw (PS) and green manure (GM). Soil samples were analysed for physical, chemical and biological indicators after 30 crop cycles and the soil quality index (SQI) was calculated by nonlinear scoring functions following the methodology of principal component analysis and multiple regression analysis-based minimum data set selection. Application of NPK fertilizers in combination with FYM and GM significantly increased systems yield and sustainability (sustainable yield index or SYI) as well as improved soil properties compared to the control and other combinations. The value of the dimensionless SQI varied from 2.0 in the control plot to 3.1 in the NPK+FYM. A greater SYI and SQI in the NPK+FYM treatment suggested that FYM in combination with chemical fertilizers has an edge over GM and PS. Among all the indicators (30) under study, available-N, soil organic carbon, available-B and aryl-sulfatase were screened as suitable indicators which contributed 24, 29, 24, 22%, respectively to the SQI in NPK+FYM treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field experiment was conducted to explore the possibility of substituting fertilizer N with organic manure and bio-fertilizers (Blue Green Algae) in an integrated manner. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with 12 different Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) modules with 3 replications involving different levels of nitrogen. All the treatments increased the yield and nutrient uptake significantly over the control. The highest paddy yield (50.51 q ha-1) and uptakes of N and K by plants were recorded in plot where 25% N through green manure + 75% through chemical fertilizer were applied. Similar trend was observed in case of leaf area index at 45 and 90 days after transplanting (DAT) and dry matter accumulation at harvest stage. The maximum uptake of P was recorded in 25% N through Poultry manure + 75% N through Fertilizer. The physiological efficiency of NPK were higher with the application of 100% N through fertilizer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]