EFFECT OF PRESS MUD COMPOST ON SOIL PROPERTIES, NUTRIENT UPTAKE AND YEILD OF MAIZE IN INCEPTISOL 1M K Potkule, 2S R Shelke, 3B M Kamble, 4A G Durgude, 5R S Thakare, 6M R Patil, 7S S Gholave

Introduction

Maize (Zea mays L.), often referred to as the 'queen of cereals,' is one of the most important cereal crops globally owing to its high genetic yield potential and efficient C4 photosynthetic pathway. It serves as a major source of dietary energy, protein, oil and micronutrients for humans, poultry and livestock. In India, maize occupies a critical position in ensuring food, feed and industrial security. As per the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, the area, production and productivity of maize increased from 9.89 million ha, 31.65 million tonnes and 3,199 kg ha⁻¹ during 2020-21 to 12.09 million ha, 43.41 million tonnes and 3,590 kg ha⁻¹ during 2024-25 (DA&FW, 2023; DA&FW, 2025) [1,2] , reflecting the crop's growing importance and the need for improved nutrient management strategies. A large share of intensive maize cultivation in Maharashtra is carried out on Inceptisols, which are characterized by weak pedogenic development, low organic carbon reserves, susceptibility to compaction and limited macronutrient availability. Continuous cultivation of nutrient-exhaustive crops like maize, coupled with excessive reliance on inorganic fertilizers, has been associated with declining fertilizer-use efficiency and deterioration of soil physical and biological properties (Basel et al., 2014; Bayu et al., 2006) [3,4] . Integration of organic amendments such as press mud compost, a nutrient-rich byproduct of the sugarcane processing industry, is therefore essential for sustaining soil health. Composted press mud improves soil physical properties such as porosity and water-holding capacity (Ghulam et al., 2010; Rangaraj et al., 2007) [5,6] , lowers pH in alkaline soils through organic acid release (Dang et al., 1996) [7] , and stimulates beneficial microbial populations that enhance nutrient mineralization and availability (Yang et al., 2013; Budiyanto, 2021) [9,8] . With 200 sugar factories operating in Maharashtra during 2024-25 (Sugar Commissionerate et al., 2025) [10] , recycling press mud through composting is both agronomically and environmentally relevant. Given maize's high nutrient demand and the demonstrated agronomic potential of press mud compost over other organic manures in earlier studies (Prasad et al., 2020) [11] , the present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the effect of press mud compost, applied at varying rates with graded levels of recommended fertil izer dose, on soil properties, nutrient uptake and yield of maize grown in an Inceptisol, with the objectives to study the effect of press mud compost on soil properties after harvest of maize and to study the effect of press mud compost on nutrient uptake and yield of maize.

Materials and Methods

A field experiment was conducted during Kharif 2024-25 at the Post Graduate Institute Research Farm, Department of Soil Science, MPKV, Rahuri, Maharashtra (19°47′-19°57′ N, 74°19′-74°32′ E; 495 m amsl), situated in the semi-arid tropical zone. The experimental soil (Inceptisol, clayey texture) was moderately alkaline (pH 8.29), normal in EC (0.26 dS m -1 ), medium in organic carbon (0.58%) and calcium carbonate (7.29%), medium in available N (254.27 kg ha -1 ) and P (18.40 kg ha -1 ), very high in available K (417 kg ha -1 ), and sufficient in DTPA-Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu (4.91, 8.32, 0.68 and 1.26 mg kg -1 , respectively). The press mud compost (PMC) used contained pH 7.24, EC 2.15 dS m -1 , organic carbon 28.40%, total N 1.68%, P 1.21%, K 0.92% and C:N ratio 16.9:1. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Block Design with eight treatments and three replications using maize hybrid Advanta 756 (spacing 75 × 20 cm). Treatments comprised: T 1 -Absolute control; T 2 -GRDF (120:60:40 kg N:P 2 O 5 :K 2 O ha -1 ) + FYM @ 10 t ha -1 ; T 3 -100% RDF + PMC @ 5 t ha -1 ; T 4 -100% RDF + PMC @ 7.5 t ha -1 ; T 5 -75% RDF + PMC @ 5 t ha -1 ; T 6 -75% RDF + PMC @ 7.5 t ha -1 ; T 7 -50% RDF + PMC @ 5 t ha -1 ; T 8 -50% RDF + PMC @ 7.5 t ha -1 . Fertilizers (urea, SSP, MOP) were applied with half N and full P, K as basal dose, and remaining N top-dressed in two splits at knee-high and tasseling stages. PMC was incorporated ~15 days before sowing. Other agronomic practices were kept uniform across treatments. Plant height and leaves plant -1 were recorded at harvest from tagged plants, while grain and stover yields (q ha -1

) were recorded from the net plot. Composite soil samples (0-15 cm) collected before sowing and after harvest were analyzed for pH and EC (1:2.5 suspension; Jackson, 1973) [12] , organic carbon (Walkley et al., 1934) [13] , available N (Subbiah et al., 1956) [14] , available P (Olsen et al., 1954) [15] , available K (Jackson, 1973) [12] , DTPA-Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu (Lindsay et al., 1978) [16] , CaCO 3 (Jackson, 1973) [12] and bulk density (Blake et al., 1986) [17] . Grain and stover samples were analyzed for N (micro-Kjeldahl), P (vanado-molybdate method) and K (flame photometry) content (Jackson, 1973) [12] to compute nutrient uptake. Soil bacterial, fungal and actinomycete populations were enumerated by the serial dilution plate technique (Dhingra et al., 1995) [18] . Data were statistically analyzed by ANOVA for Randomized Block Design (Panse and Sukhatme, 1954).

Results and Discussion

Effect of press mud compost on soil properties after harvest of maize

Physical properties: Sand (28.90-28.93%), silt (21.02-21.10%) and clay (50.00-50.16%) content of soil after harvest did not differ significantly among treatments, as soil texture is a stable property unlikely to change within a single cropping season. Bulk density, however, showed a favourable numerical decline from 1.32 Mg m -3 (initial) to 1.29 Mg m -3 under T 2 and T 6 , against 1.32 Mg m -3 in the absolute control (T 1 ), reflecting improved soil aggregation and pore space due to organic matter addition through PMC, consistent with Tompe et al. (1997) [19] and Chattha et al. (2019) [20] . Chemical properties: Soil pH (8.13-8.31) and EC (0.26-0.32 dS m -1 ) after harvest were not significantly affected by treatments, indicating that PMC application neither increased alkalinity nor caused harmful salt accumulation over one season. In contrast, organic carbon was significantly influenced, increasing from an initial 0.58% to a maximum of 0.63% under T 4 (100% RDF + 7.5 t PMC ha -1 ), statistically at par with T 2 (0.61%), against a decline to 0.52% under the control -attributable to the 28.40% organic carbon content of the PMC and its gradual mineralization (Tompe et al., 1997; Rangaraj et al., 2007) [19, 6] . Calcium carbonate content (7.26-7.32%) remained statistically unaffected, confirming that PMC did not disturb the carbonate equilibrium of this calcareous Inceptisol. Available macronutrients: Available N, P and K in soil after harvest were significantly enhanced by PMC application. The highest available N (309.33 kg ha -1 ), P (31.94 kg ha -1 ) and K (473.67 kg ha -1 ) were recorded under T 4 , statistically at par with T 2 (308.33, 31.84 and 472.84 kg ha -1 , respectively), against initial values of 254.27, 18.40 and 417.00 kg ha -1 . The lowest values were recorded under the absolute control (227.00, 18.33 and 383.00 kg ha -1 ). This improvement is attributed to direct nutrient contribution from PMC, mineralization of organic nitrogen, reduced phosphorus fixation through organic acid release, and enhanced potassium cycling via improved cation exchange, in agreement with Rangaraj et al. (2007) [6] , More (1994) [21] , Bayu et al. (2006) [4] and Khan et al. (2012) [22] . DTPA-extractable micronutrients: PMC application significantly increased DTPA-extractable Fe (4.21-5.91 mg kg -1 ), Mn (7.21-9.80 mg kg -1 ), Zn (0.70-1.07 mg kg -1 ) and Cu (1.13-1.54 mg kg -1 ) in soil, with T 4 recording the highest values for all four micronutrients, statistically at par with T 2 for Fe and Mn. This enhancement reflects the direct micronutrient contribution of PMC (826, 22, 75 and 53 mg kg -1 of Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu, respectively) and organic-mattermediated improvement in micronutrient retention, supporting Khan et al. (2012) [22] and Sardar et al. (2012) [23] . Soil microbial population: Bacterial (22.80-37.70 × 10 6 cfu g -1 ), fungal (12.23-18.90 × 10 4 cfu g -1 ) and actinomycete (15.00-26.90 × 10 4 cfu g -1

) populations were significantly higher under PMC treatments, with T 4 recording the maximum count for all three groups, statistically at par with T 2 . The increase reflects the readily decomposable organic carbon and nutrient substrate supplied by PMC, which stimulated microbial proliferation, consistent with Tompe et al. (1997) [19] and Yang et al. (2013) [9] .

Effect of press mud compost on nutrient uptake and yield of maize

Grain and stover yield: Grain yield (43.20-70.90 q ha -1 ) and stover yield (79.20-119.40 q ha -1

) were significantly influenced by PMC application. T 4 recorded the highest grain (70.90 q ha -1

) and stover yield (119.40 q ha -1

), statistically at par with T 2 for grain yield (69.97 q ha -1

) but significantly superior to T 2 for stover yield (117.83 q ha -1

). The lowest yields were recorded under the absolute control. This improvement reflects better vegetative growth, greater nutrient uptake and enhanced assimilate accumulation under integrated nutrient supply, in agreement with Muhammad et al., (2009) [24] , Manimaran et al. (2019) [25] , Budiyanto (2020) [26] and Bashir et al. (2021) [27] . Macronutrient uptake: Total N, P and K uptake by maize were significantly higher under PMC-amended treatments. T 4 recorded the maximum uptake of N (172.20 kg ha -1 ), P (42.70 kg ha -1 ) and K (164.40 kg ha -1 ), statistically at par with T 2 (171.94, 42.63 and 163.87 kg ha -1 , respectively), while the lowest uptake was recorded under the control. This is attributed to the combined and complementary nutrient supply from RDF and PMC (containing 1.66% N, 1.21% P and 0.92% K), which promoted greater biomass production and nutrient absorption, corroborating Muhammad et al., (2009) [24] , Ghulam et al. (2012) and Manimaran et al. (2019) [25] . Notably, within each RDF level, increasing PMC from 5 to 7.5 t ha -1 consistently improved nutrient uptake (e.g., K uptake rose from 127.41 to 137.57 kg ha -1 at 75% RDF), indicating a dose-dependent contribution of PMC even under reduced fertilizer levels. Micronutrient uptake: Total uptake of Fe (930-1510 g ha -1 ), Mn (501-689 g ha -1 ), Zn (91.50-97.27 g ha -1 ) and Cu (80.00-128.00 g ha -1 ) was significantly highest under T 4 , generally at par with T 2 , reflecting the additional micronutrient supply from PMC coupled with greater biomass production and improved root proliferation under integrated nutrient management (Khan et al., 2012; Sardar et al., 2012) [22, 23] .

Overall, the results indicate that integration of 100% RDF with 7.5 t PMC ha -1 (T 4 ) was most effective in enhancing post-harvest soil fertility, biological activity, nutrient uptake and yield of maize, primarily through the combined mineral and organic nutrient supply, improved soil organic carbon status and stimulated microbial activity.

Table 1. Effect of press mud compost and inorganic fertilizers on chemical properties of soil after harvest of maize

Conclusion

The results of the present investigation revealed that integrated application of press mud compost (PMC) with recommended fertilizer dose significantly improved soil fertility, nutrient uptake and productivity of maize grown in Inceptisol. Application of 100% RDF (120:60:40 kg N:P 2 O 5 :K 2 O ha -1 ) along with 7.5 t PMC ha -1 (T 4 ) recorded the highest grain and stover yield, maximum uptake of macro-and micronutrients, and enhanced post-harvest availability of soil N, P, K and DTPA-extractable Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu, without adversely affecting soil pH, EC or CaCO 3 status. However, on the basis of economic returns, 100% RDF + 5 t PMC ha -1 (T 3 ) proved more remunerative, recording the highest net returns and B:C ratio. Thus, for maximizing maize productivity and soil fertility, 100% RDF + 7.5 t PMC ha -1 is recommended, while 100% RDF + 5 t PMC ha -1 offers a more economical alternative for resource-constrained farmers, under similar Inceptisol conditions.

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