INTEGRATED APPLICATION OF ROCK PHOSPHATE AND ORGANIC FERTILIZERS ENHANCES SOYBEAN YIELD, SOIL FERTILITY AND NUTRIENT UPTAKE IN CALCAREOUS SOIL OF PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN

Abstract

In alkaline and calcareous soils, P deficiency is often a significant constraint on crop production, and application of low-cost rock phosphate may not yield significant crop response. To test the effect of rock phosphate (RP) with farmyard manure (FYM), poultry manure (PM) and compost on yield and post harvest soil fertility and plant uptake of nutrients, a field experiment was conducted at Agricultural Research Institute, Tarnab, Peshawar, during kharif season 2020 with soybean (Glycine max L.). The experimental design was a randomized complete block with 12 treatments of fertilizer and 3 replications. Treatment means were reorganized from the original means in the thesis; publication-ready figures were created by python. The results indicated that the joint application of RP and organic fertilizer had a significant effect on the productivity and soil fertility characteristics of soybean. The maximum total dry matter yield (9530 kg ha-1), grain yield (3554 kg ha-1), pods plant-1 (190), 1000-grain weight (155 g), plant N uptake (150.14 kg ha-1) and plant P uptake (16.96 kg ha-1) were recorded under RP+FYM+PM+compost. This treatment resulted in a 89.6% gain in total dry matter, 99.3% increase in grain yield, 132.6% higher in N uptake and 175.8% higher in P uptake than RP alone. The post harvest soil organic matter and AB-DTPA-extractable P also rose from 1.54% to 4.95 mg kg-1, respectively, in the integrated treatment compared to the control. The results indicate that the use of co-application with various organic amendments can increase the agronomic value of local soil RP by improving the nutrient release, organic matter accumulation and plant nutrient uptake in calcareous soils