Authors: Sunanda Biswas1, A. R. Saha2, S.P. Mazumdar2 and B. Majumdar2
1Division of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi-110012
2Crop Production Division, ICAR-CRIJAF, Barrackpore, West Bengal
*Corresponding author, email: sunandabiswas13@gmail.com
Jute is the most important bast fibre, popularly known as golden fibre crop. Farmers practice blanket application of fertilizers for getting higher production of jute. Soil testing is now used as an important tool for recommendation of fertilizers for various crops in India but it would be more useful if fertilizer recommendation is made based on the knowledge of soil-crop-variety-fertilizers-climate-management interaction. In this respect, target yield approach may be unique and useful which recommends balanced fertilization of a particular crop. Soil Test Crop Response (STCR) correlation studies were initiated at CRIJAF, Barrackpore, West Bengal in 1971 through AICRP on STCR programme. Over the years, CRIJAF has generated valuable information on prescription based fertilizer applications schedule for jute based cropping system (jute, rice and rabi pulses) to get desired yield of crops. Field experiments on jute (cv. JRO 128), rice (cv. Satabdi-super fine grain) and garden pea (cv. Azad P-3) under jute-rice-garden pea sequence were conducted with different fertility gradient at CRIJAF, Barrackpore. Basic data like nutrient requirement (NR) for producing one quintal of economic yield and % contribution of nutrients from soil, fertilizer and manure have been calculated from these experiments and targeted yield equations for various crops have been developed. The target yield equations developed for jute var. JRO-128 are presented below:
| var. JRO 128 Basic data N P K Targeted Yield Equations | ||||
| Nutrient requirement (kg q-1) | 2.88 | 0.97 | 5.07 | FN = 8.26 T – 0.54 SN – 0.09 ON FP = 2.41 T – 0.48 SP – 0.20 OP FK = 2.95 T– 0.27 SK – 0.10 OK Response yardsticks (kg kg-1) = 7.74 |
| Soil efficiency (%) | 18.82 | 21.11 | 45.61 | |
| Fertilizer efficiency (%) | 34.86 | 43.65 | 171.61 | |
| Organic efficiency (%) | 3.18 | 8.81 | 16.94 | |
Where FN, FP, FK are fertilizer N, P and K in kg/ha, respectively; T is the targeted yield in q/ha and SN, SP, SK are soil N, P and K, in kg/ha, respectively. Validity of these targeted yield equations were tested in farmers’ fields through follow up trials on jute (var. JRO 128) at Haringhata block of Nadia district in West Bengal. Jute with ST-TY based fertilizers+FYM treatment recorded higher fibre yield (43.0 q ha-1) than with RDF (Recommended Dose of Fertilizers) (40.0 q ha-1). Response ratio was found maximum (15.7q ha-1) in ST-TY based fertilizers + FYM (40 q ha-1) followed by ST-TY based fertilizers (35q ha-1) treatment (Table 1). The target of jute fibre yield (35 q ha-1) were achieved with (+) 7.62% and (+) 2.10 yield deviation by the application of fertilizers as per soil test and targeted yield equation with and without FYM (Table 1). Similarly, the targets of 40 q ha-1 jute fibre yield was achieved with (+) 4.17 and (+) 7.50 % yield deviations without and with application of FYM @ 5 t ha-1 in conjunction with NPK fertilizers, respectively. The highest B: C ratio was observed under ST-TY based fertilizers +FYM (40 q ha-1) treatment (2.19).
Table 1. Validation of soil test and target yield based fertilizers application to jute
(var. JRO-128) infarmers’ fields
| Treatments | Fertilizer doses (kg ha-1) | Fibre yield (q ha-1) | Resp. ratio (q ha-1) | Net return (q ha-1) | Yield deviation (%) | B:C ratio | ||
| N | P2O5 | K2O | ||||||
| Control | - | - | - | 26.8 | - | 16280 | - | 1.41 |
| Farmers practice (FP) | 23 | 59 | 59 | 34.6 | 0.00 | 30205 | - | 1.71 |
| Governmental Recommended Dose of Fertilizers (RDF) | 80 | 40 | 40 | 40.0 | 8.63 | 41864 | - | 1.99 |
| ST-TY 35 q ha-1 | 17 | 10 | 10 | 35.7 | 14.0 | 34541 | (+) 2.10 | 1.85 |
| ST-TY 35 q ha-1 +FYM5 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 37.7 | 9.77 | 38314 | (+)7.62 | 1.94 |
| ST-TY 40 q ha-1 | 54 | 10 | 19 | 41.7 | 11.7 | 46175 | (+)4.17 | 2.12 |
| ST-TY 40 q ha-1 +FYM5 | 48 | 10 | 17 | 43.0 | 15.7 | 49061 | (+) 7.50 | 2.19 |
Thus application of inorganic fertilizers together with organic manure on the basis of soil test and yield target proved useful and remunerative under farmers’ field conditions.
About Author / Additional Info:
WORKING AS A SCIENTIST IN ICAR-IARI