Browsing by Author "Ram S. Meena"

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Effect of 10 years of biofertiliser use on soil quality and rice yield on an Inceptisol in Assam, India
(CSIRO, 2018) Smrita Buragohain; Banashree Sarma; Dhruba J. Nath; Nirmali Gogoi; Ram S. Meena; Rattan Lal
In the present study, field experiments were performed over 10 consecutive years (2006-15) to assess the effects of biofertiliser and enriched biocompost on soil quality, total organic carbon (TOC) and rice yields in an Inceptisol. Experiments were conducted in a randomised block design with four replicates and five treatments: Unfertilised control (T1); recommended doses of inorganic fertiliser (T2); biofertiliser with reduced (50%) inorganic N and P fertilisers (T3); reduced (50%) inorganic N and P fertilisers with 1 t ha-1 enriched biocompost (T4); and reduced (75%) inorganic N and P fertilisers with 2 t ha-1 enriched biocompost (T5). T3 improved soil chemical and biological properties with enhanced soil quality index (40%), total P (23%), total K (42%) and fungal (38%) and bacterial (44%) colony counts. T5 significantly improved the carbon pool index (29%) and available nutrients (N, P and K at rates of 37%, 22% and 10% respectively) and increased soil pH (11%), resulting in a higher sustainable yield index (39%) of rice. Fraction 2 (labile carbon) of TOC, total P, available K, microbial biomass carbon and phosphate-solubilising bacteria were key indicators to assess the suitability of these fertilisers in rice cultivation in north-east India. © CSIRO 2018.