Effect of integrated nutrient management on macronutrient concentration, uptake and recovery in maize crop grown in acid soil

Abstract

A pot culture experiment was carried out during the Kharif season in the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture, Bhubaneswar, to evaluate the Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on Macronutrient Concentration, Uptake and Recovery in Maize crop Grown in Acid Soil . The experiment was conducted using an acid sandy loam soil, with hybrid maize as the test crop. Each pot was filled with 5 kg of processed soil, and three seeds were sown per pot. The experimental location is characterized by a warm and humid climate, with hot summers and mild winters. During the cropping period, the mean minimum and maximum temperatures were recorded as 22.1 °C and 31.9 °C, respectively. Observations pertaining to the concentration, uptake, and recovery of primary macronutrients in maize were recorded at appropriate growth stages. The treatments comprised control (T₁), soil test-based recommended dose (STD) (T₂), vermicompost (T₃), lime (T₄), lime + vermicompost (T₅), STD + vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha⁻¹ (T₆), STD + lime (T₇), and STD + vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha⁻¹ + lime (T₈). The results of the experiment revealed that the combined application of STD + vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha⁻¹ + lime significantly improved the concentration, uptake, and recovery of primary macronutrients in maize compared to the other treatments.