Soil Test Based Fertilizer Application Improves Productivity, Profitability and Nutrient Use Efficiency of Rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i> L.) under Direct Seeded Condition
Vijay Kant Singh,
Poonam Gautam,
Gangadhar Nanda,
Salwinder Singh Dhaliwal,
Biswajit Pramanick,
Shiv Singh Meena,
Walaa F. Alsanie,
Ahmed Gaber,
Samy Sayed,
Akbar Hossain
Affiliations
Vijay Kant Singh
Department of Soil Science, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar 263145, Uttarakhand, India
Poonam Gautam
Department of Soil Science, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar 263145, Uttarakhand, India
Gangadhar Nanda
Department of Agronomy, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar 263145, Uttarakhand, India
Salwinder Singh Dhaliwal
Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, Punjab, India
Biswajit Pramanick
Department of Agronomy, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar 263145, Uttarakhand, India
Shiv Singh Meena
Department of Soil Science, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar 263145, Uttarakhand, India
Walaa F. Alsanie
Department of Clinical Laboratories Sciences, The Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
Ahmed Gaber
Department of Biology, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
Samy Sayed
Department of Science and Technology, University College-Ranyah, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
Akbar Hossain
Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute, Dinajpur 5200, Bangladesh
A field investigation on direct seeded rice (DSR) was carried out in the two consecutive rice growing seasons of 2017 and 2018 at Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India for the development and validation of soil test crop response (STCR) to fertilizer and for assessing the performance of STCR-treatments as compared to the general recommended dose (GRD) in terms of yield, nutrient uptake and use efficiency, and the economics of DSR. For producing 1 Mg of rice-grain, the required nutrients (N, P, and K) were 2.01 kg, 0.44 kg, and 3.06 kg; the contribution from the soil was 22.05%, 37.34%, and 41.48%; from applied farmyard manure 23.25%, 28.34%, and 16.80%, from fertilizer 38.08%, 49.93%, and 252.98%; and from fertilizer with FYM 44.83%, 60.57%, and 278.70%; for N, P, and K, respectively. The STCR approach, with or without FYM, at both the target yields (4.5 Mg ha−1 and 5.0 Mg ha−1) markedly enhanced the grain yield (20.2% to 32.3%) and production efficiency over the GRD. It also exhibited a higher NPK uptake and use efficiency, along with better profitability, than the GRD. Therefore, the STCR-targeted yield approach could improve the yield, economics, and efficiency of nutrient use for direct seeded rice.
