ICAR–Indian Institute of Rice Research (ICAR–IIRR), Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, Telangana, India ADASCA India, B-205–206, Dhanashree Heights, Veera Desai Road, Andheri (West), Mumbai – 400053, India Corresponding Author: Brajendra
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The present study was undertaken to evaluate the potential of N-Carb, fermented organic manure (FOM), for improving soil health through soil organic carbon (SOC) management in dryland chilli-growing areas of Adoni, Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh. The study focused on soils characterized by low organic carbon, nutrient deficiencies and localized salinity problems, which can adversely affect crop productivity and nutrient-use efficiency. N-Carb contains fermented organic extracts along with organic matter and plant nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and micronutrients. Its application was evaluated for its potential to improve soil organic matter, soil structure, moisture retention and nutrient availability in the root zone. A field-based assessment was conducted in selected chilli-growing areas of Adoni. A total of 32 surface soil samples (0–15 cm depth) were collected from the experimental plots and analyzed using rapid soil-testing kits and the Krishitantra soil-testing system developed by ICAR–IIRR, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. The study examined the soil conditions associated with low SOC and nutrient stress and assessed the response to the application of N-Carb and Fertisil under farmer-managed conditions. The observations indicated that SOC management through organic inputs has potential to improve soil physical conditions, nutrient availability and crop growth under dryland conditions. Improved soil moisture retention, aeration and root-zone conditions may contribute to better nutrient uptake and improved crop tolerance to abiotic stresses such as drought and salinity. The findings suggest that the integration of fermented organic manure with balanced fertilizer management may be a useful approach for improving soil health and promoting sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices in degraded and nutrient-stressed soils.
Keywords: Soil organic carbon; soil health; N-Carb; Fertisil; fermented organic manure; nutrient manage- ment; soil moisture; salinity; nutrient-use efficiency; dryland agriculture; microorganisms 734; Soilorganiccarbon; soilhealth; fermentedorganicmanure; nutrientmanage- ment; soilmoisture; nutrient-useefficiency; drylandagriculture; microorganisms
Terrestrialsoilorganiccarbonishavingmoreinfluence on climate change and global warming than atmosphericcarbon.Soilhasthepotentialtocaptureand storebothorganicandinorganicformsofcarbonand actasasinkaswellasasource.
Restorationofsoilhealththroughsoilorganiccarbon (SOC)managementisacrucialaspectofsustainable agricultureandlandmanagement. Soilorganiccarbonisthecarboncontainedinorganicmatterwithin thesoil,suchasplantandanimalresidues,microorganisms,anddecomposedorganicmaterial.Managing SOClevelsinthesoilisessentialforseveralreasons:
ImprovingSoilFertility: Organiccarbonisafundamentalcomponentofsoilorganicmatter,anditplays a vital role in nutrient cycling. Soil microorganisms breakdownorganicmatter,releasingessentialnutrientslikenitrogen,phosphorus,andsulphur,whichare thenavailableforplantuptake.IncreasedSOClevels canleadtoenhancedsoilfertility.
EnhancingSoilStructure: Organicmatterhelpsbind soilparticlestogether,improvingsoilstructureandreducingerosion.Thiscanpreventsoilerosion,improve waterinfiltration,andincreasesoilwater-holdingcapacity.Asaresult,soilwithhigherSOCcontentisgenerallymoreresistanttodroughtanderosion.
CarbonSequestration: ManagingSOCcanalsocontributetoclimatechangemitigationbysequestering carboninthesoil. Thismeansthatcarbonisstored inthesoil, reducingitspresenceintheatmosphere ascarbondioxide,whichisagreenhousegas.Healthy soilsactasacarbonsink,helpingtooffsetcarbonemissions.
IncreasedWaterRetention: Soilswithhigherorganic carboncontentcanretainmorewater,reducingthe riskofwaterstressforcropsduringdryperiods.This isespeciallyimportantinregionswithlimitedwater resources.
N-Carbisfermentedorganicmanure;itaddsorganic mattertothesoil,whichcanincreaseSOClevelsover aperiodoftime.Thesematerialsprovideasourceof carbonandnutrientsforsoilmicroorganisms. ApplicationofN-Carbtothesoilisoneamongtheholistic managementpracticesofRegenerativeAgriculture.
N-CarbhelpspHBuffering: Organicmattercanhelp buffer soil pH, making it more stable and resistant todrasticchanges. Thisisparticularlyimportantfor maintainingoptimalconditionsfornutrientuptakeby plants.
N-CarbEnhancesBiologicalDiversity: Organiccompoundssupportadiverseandhealthysoilecosystem, includingbeneficialinsects,earthworms,andmicroorganisms.Thisbiodiversitycontributestopestcontrol, nutrientcycling,andoverallsoilhealth.
incorporatingorganicmatterandcompounds,farming reducestheneedforsyntheticfertilizers, whichcan havenegativeenvironmentalimpactswhenoverused.
N-Carbproductoverviewandthesoil functionsitisintendedtopromote.
Fertilizers(Control)Order1985–IS7219.
pH(inWater) CarbonContent(%) TotalProtein TotalNitrogen(%),Kjeldahl TotalPhosphorus(%) TotalPotassium(%) TotalZinc(%) TotalCalcium(%) TotalMagnesium(%) Iron Boron Carbon:NitrogenRatio TotalOrganicMatter 83.21(FreshCowDung) 89.87%
Geographicalareaswithmajorsoilconstraints,includinglowsoilorganiccarbon,salinityandnutrientdeficiencies,wereidentifiedforconductingfieldexperimentswithN-Carb.Theobjectivewastoevaluatethe potentialofN-Carbforimprovingsoilhealthandcrop performanceinchilli-growingareasofAdonidivision, Kurnooldistrict,AndhraPradesh.
Theselectedareasareimportantchilli-growingregions wheresoilsarecharacterizedbyloworganiccarbon content,rangingfrom0.35to0.65%,withanaverage ofapproximately0.50%,alongwithlocalizedsalinity problems and nutrient deficiencies. These soil constraintswereassociatedwithrelativelylowchilliproductivity.Theobservedyieldwasgenerally15–18quintalsperacre, comparedwithapotentialyieldofapproximately25–30quintalsperacreunderimproved soilandcropmanagementconditions.
Consideringtheexistingfertilizerpracticesandtheeconomicsofchillicultivation,N-Carbwasincorporated intothefarmer’sexistingnutrient-managementschedule.Theproductwasappliedduringfinallandpreparationbeforetransplantingsothatitsusecouldbeintegratedintothefarmer’snormalcultivationpractices withoutmajorchangesintheproductionsystem.
N-Carbisfermentedorganicmanure(FOM)inliquid formcontainingorganicextractsandisdescribedas a proprietary product of Adasca. The product is reportedtobeFCO-certifiedbytheGovernmentofIndia. Itisintendedforuseinregenerativeagriculturalpracticesandcontainsorganicmatteralongwithnitrogen, phosphorus,potassiumandmicronutrients.Itsapplicationisintendedtoimprovesoilorganicmatterand soilorganiccarbon,therebycontributingtobettersoil structureandoverallsoilhealth.
7.3–8.6 6–7.1 6.63–7.2% 52.63% 0 40.17% 1.4–5.8% 6.42% 0.4–1.4% 0.44% 0.12–0.52% 0.03% 0.01–3.0% 0.04% 1.5–3.0% 0.22% 0.5–1.1% 0.24% 0 0.04% 0 0.001% 7.7–8.03 8.24
Soilswithahighsandcontentgenerallyhaveweakaggregationandloworganicmatter,whichcanadversely affectwaterandnutrientretention. Theapplication oforganicmaterialscanimprovesoilaggregationand structural stability. N-Carb was therefore used with theobjectiveofimprovingsoilstructureandorganic mattercontentintheselectedfields.
Improvementinsoilstructureandaggregationmay enhancesoilporosityandaeration,reducetheriskof soildegradationanderosion,andimprovemoisture retentionintherootzone.Theseimprovementsmay subsequentlyhelpthecroptolerateperiodsofmoisturestressandotheradversesoilconditions.Thefield observationswerethereforefocusedonchangesinsoil condition,rootdevelopmentandcropgrowthfollowingN-Carbapplication.
Theprogrammecomparedthreetreatments:Control (F1,regularfarmerpractice);AdvancePractice(F2,nutritionschedulewith0:40:40+TEandN-Carb(organic matterenhancer)plusreducedquantityofchemical fertilizers);andThird-PartyProductPractice(F3,regularfarmerpracticeplus19:19:19).
DAT=DaysafterTransplanting.
ThefielddemonstrationwasconductedinChinapendekalvillageofAdonimandal,Kurnooldistrict,Andhra Pradesh, in a farmer’s chilli field. The farmer, Sri K. Venkatesh,wascultivatingchilliunderconditionsof lowsoilorganiccarbon,withpatchesaffectedbysalinity.Basedontheinitialassessment,thesoilwasneutraltoalkalineinreactionandcharacterizedbyverylow organiccarboncontent. Thelowsoilorganiccarbon andassociatedsalinitywereconsideredimportantfactorscontributingtoreducedcropproductivity.Anarea of1acreoutofthefarmer’s2-acrechillifieldwasselectedfordemonstration.N-Carb,fermentedorganic manure (FOM), was applied along with the farmer’s normalagronomicpracticesandrecommendedfertilizerschedule. Theproductwasappliedintwoequal doses,at15and60daysaftertransplanting(DAT),by broadcastingaftermixing1LN-Carbperacrewiththe fertilizerateachapplication[2,3,10].
ThechillivarietycultivatedwasRoyalDelux,andtransplantingwascarriedouton12August2021. Twonutrientmanagementpracticeswerecompared.Under farmerpractice(F1),thefertilizerapplicationconsisted of500kgNPKcomplexfertilizer,200kgurea,100kg MOPand10kgZnSO4 peracre. Undertheadvanced practice(F2),300kgNPKcomplexfertilizer,150kgurea, 75kgMOPand2LN-Carbperacrewereappliedalong withfertilizers.Inaddition,FERTISIL(0:40:40+6%Zn) −1 wasappliedat2mLL at40DATasafoliarspray.The fieldwasmonitoredat15-dayintervalsfromtransplantinguntilharvest.Visualobservationsindicatedthatthe N-Carb-treatedplotdevelopedacomparativelyloose soilstructureandalighterbrowncolourofthesurface soil.Plantsinthetreatedplotexhibitedvigorousvegetativegrowth,greaterbranchingandacomparatively largercanopythanthoseunderfarmerpractice[4,5,6].
The N-Carb-treated plants also showed better performance with respect to plant height, number of branches per plant, number of chilli pods per plant andpodlength.Moreextensiveroothairdevelopment wasobservedinthetreatedplot,suggestingimproved rhizospheredevelopmentandrootproliferation.The greater root development may have contributed to improved exploration of soil nutrients and water. Improvement was also observed in several soil and cropattributes,includingsoilporosity,permeability, and moisture retention in the root zone, vegetative biomass,branching,floweringandpodsetting. The treated plants appeared better able to withstand short periods of delayed irrigation and adverse soil conditions.Theseobservationsindicatethepotential ofN-Carbasasoil-conditioningorganicinputunder low-organic-carbonandsalinity-affectedconditions [6,7,8].
Theimprovedsoilphysicalconditionobservedinthe N-Carb-treatedplotmayhavefacilitatedgreaterroot spread and better access to soil moisture and nutrients. Improvedaerationandmoistureconditionsin therhizospherecanalsosupporttheactivityofbeneficialsoilmicroorganisms,includingbacteriaandfungi, whichplayimportantrolesinnutrientcyclingandsoil organicmattertransformation.Overall,thefieldobservationssuggestthatincorporationofacarbon-richfermentedorganicinputsuchasN-Carbmaycontribute to improvement in soil physical condition and crop growth.However,quantitativesoilanalyses,yieldmeasurementsandstatisticalvalidationarerequiredtoestablishthemagnitudeandsignificanceoftheseeffects [9,10,11].
Improvementinbranchingandvegetativegrowth.5. Floweringandpodsetting/flowerdropping.6.Effect ofpestanddiseases.7.Fertilizeruseefficiency.8. Yieldparametersandeconomicbenefittofarmer.
Thefielddemonstrationindicatedthatapplicationof N-Carb,afermentedorganicmanure(FOM),hadapositiveeffectonsoilconditionandchillicropgrowthunderlow-organic-carbonandsalinity-affectedsoilconditions.TheN-Carb-treatedplotshowedimprovedsoil looseness,porosityandmoisture-retentioncharacteristics, together with better root development, vegetative growth, branching, flowering and pod formation compared with farmer practice. The improved rhizosphereconditionandgreaterrootdevelopment mayhaveenhancedtheavailabilityanduptakeofnutrientsandwaterbythecrop. Theobservationsalso indicatedbettercropestablishmentandtoleranceto shortperiodsofmoisturestressandadversesoilconditions.Thecarbon-richorganicmaterialinN-Carbmay supportbeneficialmicrobialactivityandcontributeto theimprovementofsoilorganicmatter.Thus,N-Carb haspotentialasanorganicsoil-conditioninginputfor improvingsoilhealthandcropperformance,particularlyinsoilscharacterizedbyloworganiccarbonand salinity-relatedconstraints.Itsusemaybeintegrated withbalancedfertilizermanagementaspartofregenerative and sustainable agricultural practices. However,furthermulti-locationandmulti-seasonstudies involvingquantitativesoilproperties,nutrientuptake, yield, soilorganiccarbonandeconomicreturnsare recommendedtoscientificallyvalidateitslong-term effectiveness.