Integrated nutrient management as a managerial tool for applying saline water in wheat crop cultivated under sub-tropic and semi-arid conditions of North-Western India

The present study was conducted during the Rabi seasons of 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 to investigate the effectiveness of adding three organic manures (farmyard manure @10 t/ha, vermicompost @ 2.5t/ha, and biogas slurry @ 2.5t/ha) in combinations with graded dose of chemical fertilizers (75%, 100%, and 125% recommended dose of fertilizers) and microbial inoculations, i.e., salinity tolerant strain of Azotobacter chroococcum (Mac 27) and Biomix [Azotobacter (Mac 27) + Azospirillum (J 11-12) + phosphate solubilizing bacterias (p 36)] on the productivity of wheat crop irrigated with saline water (7.5-8.0 dS/m). The recommended dose of fertilizer + farmyard manure + Biomix resulted in significant improvement in growth parameters and grain yield (49.78 q/ha), straw yield (71.72 q/ha), biological yield (121.5 q/ha) of the wheat crop as compared to the control and recommended dose of fertilizer. The highest gross returns (Rs. 112,476), net returns (Rs. 38,615), and B:C (1.52) were also realized in the same treatment. The integrated nutrient application had improved the viable microbial count of Azotobacter, Azospirillum, and phosphate solubilizing bacteria as compared to control (untreated) and inorganic fertilizer treatments. Soil electrical conductivity and pH were decreased, while organic carbon increased by farmyard manure, vermicompost, and biogas slurry application when compared with the control (untreated). The availability of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in soil also significantly improved over the control and sole recommended dose of fertilizer treatments. Hence, in North-Western plains of India having the problem of salinity, wheat can be profitably cultivated by the adoption of integrated nutrient management practices.