Impact of different composts on physical and chemical properties of vertisols under rainfed Bt. cotton

Abstract

The experiment was initiated from 2023-24 to study the “Impact of composts on physical and chemical properties of vertisols under rainfed Bt. cotton” at Research Field of Department of Soil Science, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidhyapeeth, Akola, Maharashtra. There were eight treatments viz. T1- Absolute control, T2-10 t ha-1 FYM (University Recommended Dose), T3-75% RDN through VNIT compost, T4-75% RDN through Vermicompost, T5-75% RDN through PDKV phospho-compost, T6-100% RDN through VNIT compost, T7-100% RDN through Vermicompost and T8-100% RDN through phospho-compost replicated three times in Randomized Block Design. The results after 1st year of organic Bt. cotton experimentation, application of 100% RDN through phosphocompost revealed significant improvement in physical properties viz., BD, HC and MWD of the Vertisols, whereas in case of physic-chemical properties improvement in pH, EC and organic carbon content of the soil was non-significant. However, the significant improvement in residual available N, P and K content in soils was observed under 10 tha-1 FYM application treatment. The available S content was significantly highest in PDKV phosphocompost treatment.